Global manufacturer donates $500K to OTC

St. Louis-based international manufacturer Emerson Electric Co. (NYSE: EMR) pledged $500,000 to Ozarks Technical Community College.

The donation is earmarked for OTC's Center for Advanced Manufacturing. It's the first gift in a $10 million capital campaign for the $40 million center, aka CAM, conducted by the OTC Foundation, according to a news release.

“Emerson is a major player in the economic impact of this community," OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon said in the release. "They are showing their appreciation to the community and their faith in OTC by investing in the CAM."

The CAM will house the Emerson Innovation Discovery Lab to introduce students to advanced manufacturing practices.

OTC plans to break ground on the CAM this fall, with an expected completion date in 2022.

"The college set that opening timeline before the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent cuts to state funding," OTC spokesperson Mark Miller said via email. "Therefore, we may be forced to alter our plans, but, for now, that’s still the target."

The project’s budget, originally estimated at $20 million, has been adjusted to $40 million, Miller said. He said when the college won voter approval for the center in 2018, school officials estimated the project would cost at least $20 million.

“In the two-plus years since that election, that number has solidified based on research and visits to similar facilities,” Miller said.