In the fall of 2019, the Cape Girardeau, MO plant hosted Missouri Governor Mike Parson and his staff. The governor asked to visit the plant and to hold a roundtable discussion with plant employees. Discussion points ranged from workforce development in southeast Missouri to recent Mississippi River flooding issues.   

Workforce Development

In his effort to strengthen the state’s economy today and plan for the workforce of tomorrow, workforce development in the manufacturing sector has been a primary objective for the governor. Since taking office in 2018 he has worked with state legislature to successfully expand STEM programs (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) within the Missouri Department of Education. He has been a strong supporter of recent legislation designed to expand career training for adults who are looking to further their careers. His initiatives are intended to improve the existing workforce, while also developing future workers in the state of Missouri, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

Employees participating in the discussion explained to the governor that many of his initiatives have been utilized at the plant for several years, to train and develop the BUUSA workforce, with impressive results. The plant is a leading member of the Southeast Regional Industrial Training Group, a consortium of local manufacturing companies. The consortium works with the Cape Girardeau Career & Technology Center (CTC) to offer training and certification programs designed to develop the area workforce, particularly for our skilled trade positions. In fact, each year several employees of the Cape Girardeau Plant enroll in the Electrical Maintenance or Mechanical Maintenance training programs at the CTC. The three-year curriculum for both programs require students to attend classes one evening every week and allows our employees to develop skills they can utilize to further their careers at BUUSA.  Most of the training costs for BUUSA employees and other consortium members are funded through state grants.

The Mississippi River

In recent years, the Mississippi River has significantly impacted operations at the Cape Girardeau and Festus plants, along with several of our distribution terminals along the river. During the roundtable meeting we discussed the need for infrastructure improvements along the river to limit the severity and duration of future flooding events.  Highway infrastructure and road construction needs, to improve the state’s economy and attract new businesses and industry to the state, were also discussed. The governor was interested in knowing more about issues affecting our market and the outlook for the regional cement industry. He was impressed with the fact that the state of Missouri has the capacity to produce approximately 10% of the total U.S. cement output, however the state only consumes about 2% of the volume produced in the US.

While at the plant, Governor Parson was given a tour of the control room where we explained the cement manufacturing process. The governor was very impressed and left the facility that afternoon with a greater appreciation for Buzzi Unicem USA, what we do at the Cape Girardeau plant and our contributions to the surrounding community.