3/12/2010 4:09:00 PM Miracle in Monett Restructuring at Miracle Recreation's parent company creates up to 125 jobs in Monett
The Impact of 100 Jobs
The addition of 100 manufacturing jobs should result in another 53 jobs within the community, economic analysts say. By that math, Miracle Recreation Equipment's 125 jobs could generate 68 additional jobs in Barry and Lawrence counties in industries such as restaurant, child care and professional/technical services. The total wages added to the region's work force should exceed $6 million.
For the last year, Monett-based Miracle Recreation Equipment Co. has been expanding its manufacturing facilities and making room for more workers. Now, it’s in hiring mode – for as many as 125 jobs.
That’s a big number for a single company in a community the size of Monett, population 7,396.
Jasen Jones, executive director of the Workforce Investment Board of Southwest Missouri, said his organization began working with the playground equipment manufacturer last summer to help plan for the company’s expansion.
Hiring began in January and continued in February and another round is expected this spring, he said. Miracle Recreation Equipment’s new jobs will exceed 100, he said, estimating the final tally to come in around 125.
“The jobs will primarily be production jobs, and also some support positions in terms of warehouse and shipping,” Jones said, adding that pay rates are very competitive with the average annual wage – $38,562 – for manufacturing jobs in Barry and Lawrence counties.
Miracle Recreation isn’t saying much about the new positions; in a brief telephone conversation, Director of Human Resources Pete Babb cited corporate policy when he declined to comment. According to an Oct. 21 news release from Miracle’s Huntersville, N.C.-based parent company, PlayPower Inc., the company is consolidating its domestic manufacturing operations to a “center of excellence” in Monett. Phone calls to PlayPower were not returned by press time.
The release said the move was part of a January 2009 strategic decision to move PlayPower’s U.S.-based rotational molding processes to Monett.
To make room for four new rotational molding systems, Miracle added 60,258 square feet to its 878 Highway 60 building, according to a February 2009 construction permit.
The estimated cost of construction was $1.4 million, the permit said, and the expansion was completed in September.
PlayPower’s October announcement said a second facility expansion would follow. In November, a building permit was issued to add three metal buildings totaling about 28,000 square feet at an estimated cost of $659,302.
That addition currently holds a temporary certificate of occupancy, which means only finishing touches are needed before it’s completed, said Monett City Administrator Dennis Pyle.
Monett’s gain is another Missouri city’s loss. The consolidation meant the loss of approximately 70 manufacturing jobs at PlayPower’s Little Tikes plant in Farmington, said Walter Williams, economic development director for the city. Roughly 50 back office and research and development employees continue to work in Farmington, he said.
PlayPower planned to transition the Farmington workers to Monett, according to the news release. Williams said he knew that some workers took the company’s relocation offer, though he didn’t know how many.
Monett’s Pyle said it was too soon to see a change in local numbers that could indicate the significance of relocated workers settling in the area.
“The first thing, you’d see home sales, apartment and house rentals. There may also be an impact on the school system, depending on the number of families that were relocating,” he said.
Local workers also will make an important contribution to the economies in Monett and surrounding counties, said Jones, who ran an economic impact analysis to demonstrate the effect of 100 jobs in recreational equipment manufacturing.
According to the analysis, restaurants, professional and technical, and child care services also would see employment increases. In total, 153 jobs and $4.8 million in wages would reach the region’s work force as a result of Miracle’s expansion, Jones said.
Pyle said Miracle isn’t receiving any tax abatements or credits from Monett, although the company has received help with job training from the Missouri Career Center. He said PlayPower officials would have to speak to specifically why the company chose Monett, but affordability may have been part of it.
“We have a large industrial base, low taxes and low utility costs. I think that probably played into the decisions,” Pyle said.
