Southwest Missouri News

Joplin

Procurement Conference set for Aug. 13

The Third Annual Federal Procurement Conference, a conference on how to become successful suppliers of goods and services to the federal government, will be held 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Aug. 13 at Missouri Southern State College, Joplin.

U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt and the Institute for Procurement Assistance at Missouri Southern are sponsors.

"Southwest Missouri businesses and individuals will have a unique opportunity to meet face-to-face with purchasing agents of major contractors and to learn to successfully compete for billions of dollars in federal contracts," Blunt said in a news release.

The featured speaker will be Rear Admiral Bill Jenkins Jr., who serves as the deputy for acquisition and business management for the assistant secretary of the Navy, and as competition advocate general of the Navy. Jenkins oversees the purchase of $40 billion worth of military goods and services each year.

Pre-registration for the conference is required. The first 20 participants to register will receive Internet training in the institute's computer lab. For more information and to register, contact the Institute for Procurement Management at Missouri Southern State College, 625-9538.

Industrial Screen offers mobile testing

Steve Belcher, Joplin, has announced the opening of Industrial Screen, a mobile drug and alcohol testing service, which will serve business and government agencies within a 100-mile radius of Joplin.

The business will also offer a workplace substance-abuse consulting service, including program development, employee education and supervisor training.

Neosho

Sunbeam begins $20 million expansion

A $20 million expansion project, the biggest in the history of Sunbeam's Neosho plant, was announced Aug. 3 when officials broke ground for its distribution center.

Jerry Levin, Sunbeam's chairman, president and chief executive officer, told a gathering of city and company officials that this project is evidence of the company's turnaround. The 876,500-square-foot distribution center will be built at the company's site in the city's industrial park. Nabholz Construction Co., of Springfield, is general contractor.

When complete, this will bring the total warehouse and distribution capacity at the plant to 1.76 million square feet. All distribution of gas barbecue grills will be from this center.

"You know a company is big when they start talking about their acres under roof instead of square feet," Phil Tate, director of business expansion and attraction for the Missouri Department of Economic Development, told the gathering.

Hoobie Daniels, vice president of operations in Neosho, said the expansion will add 20 full-time jobs. Sunbeam employs 1,100 workers during its peak season in spring and summer.

When the building is complete next spring, as many as 250 trucks will leave the plant each day.

Less than three years ago, Al Dunlap, then Sunbeam CEO, cut the company's nationwide work force in half, from 12,000 to 6,000, during a restructuring. Dunlap, who earned the nickname "Chainsaw Al," was fired after his plan failed to turn the company around and after concerns about accounting practices and policies led to a federal investigation. Levin replaced Dunlap.

Gib Garrow, director of economic development for Neosho, praised the current leadership. "This time you have a leadership group that is not only concerned about the company, but about the employees and their benefits," he said. "I believe this will be the biggest one-project square footage in Neosho. This is the biggest construction project we have ever had."