Developer: Construction of Fulton biodiesel plant could begin this spring

After four years of planning, setbacks and more planning, the developer of the proposed Fulton biodiesel plant told the council construction could begin “within the next two or three months.”

Holts Summit to attract new business with Enhanced Enterprise Zone
Posted December 25, 2011 in The Fulton Sun

Holts Summit — The city received welcome news for economic development just in time for Christmas.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development announced Friday that Holts Summit had been designated an Enhanced Enterprise Zone.

The program, first implemented in 2004, is designed to help communities create sustainable jobs in a targeted industry.

“This will give Holts Summit the ability to try to attract and retain jobs,” said Holts Summit City Administrator Brian Crane, noting those jobs would be primarily manufacturing and light industrial companies. “We get leads (on businesses looking for locations) and businesses looking to see what land is available.

“We had talked to a few different companies and realtors, and they asked what we had to offer. If you’re going to try to bring in jobs, you have to (do something to) be competitive.”

John Fougere, a spokesperson with the Department of Economic Development, said communities seeking an Enhanced Enterprise Zone must meet a list of criteria.

“Unemployment has to have gone up over a measurable time period, the population must have gone down in the same time period and the income level has to have gone down,” Fougere said.

Dollar General to add 50 jobs at Fulton plant
Posted: December 1, 2011 from The Fulton Sun

Fulton received some good economic news Wednesday when Dollar General announced it plans to hire 50 employees at its regional distribution center in the city.

“Anyone looking for an exciting opportunity with a fast-paced company should consider applying for a position at our distribution center,” said Steve Gibson, manager of Dollar General’s Fulton Distribution Center. “Dollar General is happy to expand our family of employees in Fulton.”

Gibson said Dollar General offers competitive wages and benefits, including health insurance and paid vacation time.

New Bloomfield firm to export precut oak log homes to China
Posted: November 2, 2011 from The Fulton Sun

New Bloomfield — Lynn Gastineau, owner of Gastineau Log Homes of New Bloomfield, returned home from China Tuesday after signing a contract in Shanghai, China, to export precut oak log homes to China.  Gastineau accompanied Gov. Jay Nixon and other state officials on the Governor’s Trade Mission to China from Oct. 22 to Oct. 29. On the trade mission, Missouri reached an agreement to sell $4.4 billion worth of products, mostly Missouri-produced grain, to China during the three-year period starting next year.  She hopes the export deal with the Chinese firm will be a boost to her business that has been hurt by the 2007 collapse of new home construction in the United States.  Gastineau said Tuesday Gastineau Log Homes is the world’s largest producer of precut oak log homes. She said her firm has homes built in all 50 states in the United States and in 10 other nations scattered around the world.  About a year ago, she was approached by a Chinese builder who wanted to buy oak precut log homes to assemble and sell in China.

“He had heard about us and came to us. He especially liked the fact that we build our log homes with oak lumber. Oak will last for 100 to 200 years. Oak logs do not have to be pressure-treated with chemical preservatives. That is a big selling point in our homes,” Gastineau said.

Govenrnor Nixon Participates in Groundbreaking for Broadband
Posted: October 20, 2011 from The Fulton Sun

Millersburg — Gov. Jay Nixon predicted Wednesday the launch of fiber optic high-speed Internet service will promote business and improve the quality of life of many Callaway County residents.

Nixon participated in Wednesday’s groundbreaking in Millersburg of Socket Telecom’s fiber optic broadband network in Callaway County.

Nixon said Socket participates in Missouri’s MoBroadbandNow initiative.

Commissioner Kelvin L. Simmons of the Missouri Office of Administration said no state money was involved in the Callaway County project and Socket sought on its own the $16.6 million and $7.1 million loan from the United States Department of Agriculture to finance the project. The state’s assistance came through Socket’s participation in the state’s MoBroadbandNow program.

30 Permanent jobs coming to Callaway County
Posted: October 13, 2011 from The Fulton Sun

Callaway County has received a $300,000 industrial infrastructure grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development to improve a county road and help create jobs.

The county road improvement project is designed to support expansion of OCCI Inc., a Callaway County bridge construction firm that promises to add at least 30 new permanent private jobs.

Callaway County Presiding Commissioner Gary Jungermann said the $300,000 state grant will pay about one-third of the cost of widening and paving about 1.75 miles of County Road 256 from State Route J near Millersburg to its intersection with County Road 257. The OCCI firm is located near the intersection of the two county roads.

Jungermann said the county will use its graders and dump trucks to widen the roadway and prepare it to be paved. The county also will replace culverts under the road. The paved road will be 30 feet wide with 15 feet of shoulder on each side.

“When this is completed, we will seek competitive bids to apply asphalt on the widened road,” Jungermann said.

The request for the $300,000 state grant was written by Bruce Hackmann, president of the Fulton Area Development Corporation (FADC).

Broadband work to start for 3,000
Posted: October 5, 2011 from The Fulton Sun

Construction work is scheduled to begin this week on a $23.7 million plan to provide high-speed broadband Internet access to about 3,000 Callaway County homes and businesses.

The area includes much of Fulton stretching along State Route F to include the Millersburg area.

Money to finance the project came from a $16.6 million Rural Utility Service grant to Socket Telecom LLC of Columbia from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a $7.1 million loan from the USDA to make up Socket’s 30 percent share of the cost of the $23.7 million project.

A Socket spokesman said several miles of conduit piping for fiber optic cabling has been delivered.