Chillicothe Business Showcase
The Business Park also has tenants, including Dollar General, Kille Kubota, the Social Security offices, Morton Buildings, Super 8 Motel, and the USDA Service Center that is also home to the offices of Soil Water Conservation, FSA, RD, NRCS field office, and the Green Hills RC&D.
Potential employers find the industrial park enticing because, in part, the area is designated as a Foreign Trade Zone, and it is an enterprise zone which allows for certain tax incentives. The industrial park was established to provide jobs in the Chillicothe and surrounding area. City leaders to local bank officials and those with their sights set on the future help make the industrial park a success. According to Rumery, "It has been a collaborative arrangement that has certain been a benefit for the community." Growth in the industrial park offers more job opportunities for the local employment base which is increasing in the number of full-time farmers seeking supplemental income away from the farm.
Help comes from the city of Chillicothe which filed for grants to fund infrastructure development and from the Green Hills Regional Planning Commission which assisted with various grant applications, including a state grant to extend rail service to one of the park's residents, Cloverleaf Cold Storage. The blast freezing company is already seeing growth and is enlarging its facility with 100,000 square feet of freezer space. The rail spur, funded largely through the grant money, was also made possible with assistance from the Chillicothe Development Corporation and the city of Chillicothe.
Since its formation in 1955, Chillicothe Development Corporation has been active through many aspects of economic development and has played major roles in recruiting, land acquisition, and financing, as well as location and/or expansion of several companies. The corporation's efforts are to promote and assist the growth and development of area business concerns, to assist existing businesses and industry to expand, and recruit and develop new business and industry. Its goals are also to develop and implement a plan for economic development and to promote more jobs for the area. In helping to accomplish these goals, CIDC organized the CEO Roundtable, which is comprised of a group of chief executive officers of businesses employing 25 people or more. The Roundtable meets at least twice a year, or more often if a need arises.
CDC's income is generated through the lease of a building the corporation owns and maintains, partial ownership of Livingston Manor, and Livingston County economic development funds. CDC works closely with FEC Development, Inc., the area Chamber of Commerce, Chillicothe Municipal Utilities, Missouri Public Service, Southwestern Bell Telephone, Green Hills Regional Planning Commission, Northwest Power, the Small Business Development Center, and the Department of Economic Development. For more information on the Board of Directors, current and past projects, and success stories of CDC, visit their website.
In addition to the industrial park, and aside from the total government employees, there are many other major employers in the Chillicothe area. Top employers of Livingston County include restaurants, schools, hospitals, retail grocers, department stores, glove makers, correctional center, residential care homes, and automobile dealers. Donaldson Company in southeast Chillicothe (which manufactures air filters for caterpillar trucks and other big trucks and consists of 260,000 square feet) employs nearly 300 people. Hedrick Medical Center employs 261, and Midwest Quality Glove and Gear employs 215. A few of the other employers in Chillicothe area Roberts Tool and Die, Dickerson Tool and Die, John Graves Menu Maker, Hy-Vee Food Stores, Wal-Mart, and Pepsi's distribution warehouse.
The construction projects taking place throughout Chillicothe are clear signs that Chillicothe is building for the future. The service industry and manufacturing jobs are also growing, with manufacturing jobs accounting for about 17 percent of the work force in 1999, while non-manufacturing jobs comprised 66 percent of the work force.
Quality of life and quality of schools play significant roles in deciding whether individuals or families choose to move to a community or decide to remain in their hometowns. While many communities in north Missouri have experienced business declines over the last few years, Chillicothe has held strong to the concept that anything is possible with the team effort of goal-oriented people priding themselves in the place they call home.