Southwest Missouri News

Branson

Plumbing company gets business award

L&J Plumbing of Branson was named Small Business of the Year June 8 by the Small Business Advisory Council of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors' Bureau. Owned by the Justus family since 1951, the store offers plumbing supplies, fixtures and swimming pool chemicals and parts. A second store in Stone County also offers electrical supplies. L&J Plumbing has 18 employees, according to the company's president Jeff Justus. "I'm proud of my people. I think that's a good reason why we were nominated for the award," Justus said.

Other nominees were Baird, Kurtz & Dobson, Body & Soul Juice & Java, Branson Lock, Branson Realty, Inc., Branson Scenic Railway, Cobbler & Sandwich Shoppe, Compton Ridge Campground, EconoLodge, First Community Bank of Taney County, Loyd's Electric, Mail Boxes Etc., Mountain Man Fruit & Nut, Rodeway Inn and Signs Now. Nominees were judged on leadership, strategic planning, human resources development and management, process management, community development and customer satisfaction.

The award was presented at the Second Annual Small Business of the Year Award banquet held at the Settle Inn in Branson. The program was presented by Tom Samsel of Springfield Re-Manufacturing Company, who discussed the book "The Great Game of Business."

Skaggs opens outpatient center

Beginning June 20, several departments and offices of Skaggs Community Health Center will move to the first and second floors of the new Skaggs Outpatient Center. Meals will be served in the new cafeteria beginning June 24, the receiving of patients in the facility is targeted for June 26 and the first same-day surgeries to be handled by the new surgical suites are scheduled for July 5. The third, fourth and fifth floors, housing doctors' offices, should be completed and ready for occupancy by mid-July.

The five-story, 112,000-square-foot building is located on the campus of Skaggs Community Health Center in downtown Branson. Built at a cost of $23 million, the facility will contain all of Skaggs' outpatient services. A grand opening is scheduled for Aug. 5.

New business park opens in Branson area

TEPCOR held a ribbon-cutting June 13 for its new Lakes Area Business Park located north of Branson near the junction of U.S. Highway 65 and F. The ceremony was held in conjunction with TEPCOR's annual meeting. According to Mike Rankin, executive director of the Branson Regional Economic Development Association (BREDA), the new park contains about 40 acres with expansion opportunities. "It is a business park more than a traditional industrial park," he said. Rankin added that an announcement will be made soon concerning a company interested in locating at the new park. This is second project for the TEPCOR organization, which also developed the Hollister Industrial Park.

Joplin

Eagle-Picher receives federal award

The Power Systems Department of Eagle-Picher Technologies has received the Value Engineering Achievement Award from the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company's Power Systems Department is based in Colorado Springs, Colo., and received the award during a ceremony at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The department won the award for its contributions and support to the Low Maintenance Vented Nickel Cadmium Battery Improvement Team project for the Navy. Defense officials said in a prepared statement that the team has saved the Navy about $5 million over the past several years.

Monett

Technology firm acquires second company

Jack Henry & Associates, continuing its aggressive buying pattern, recently announced it has purchased the company that built its first computer room in 1986.

Jack Henry said the purchase of Sys-Tech, of Shawnee, Kan., is in the form of a stock transaction worth about $16 million. Sys-Tech provides uninterruptible power supply systems, and specializes in building and maintaining computer facilities. Last year, the privately-held company reported $10 million in revenues.

Sys-Tech and Jack Henry have worked together since 1986, and Sys-Tech became a Jack Henry business partner in 1991. The Kansas firm already has worked with more than 700 Jack Henry customers.

"Over the past 10 years, we have relied on Sys-Tech to supply our customers with the products and services that ensure dependable uptime' for our real-time banking applications," said Michael E. Henry, Jack Henry chairman, in a press release.

Sys-Tech, which employs 16, will remain in Shawnee as a division of Jack Henry. Jack Henry & Associates provides computer systems and automated teller networking products for banks and credit unions. Last month, Jack Henry announced the takeover of Symitar Systems.