From
airplanes to silicon wafers, numerous products are manufactured
in St. Louis that are used throughout the world.
By Liese Hutchison
Anheuser-Busch produces millions of bottles of beers a year;
DaimlerChrysler, Ford and General Motors manufacture hundreds
of thousands of cars and trucks annually; and Boeing builds
hundreds of planes in St. Louis. These stalwarts have been a
part of the region's manufacturing fabric for more than 100
years. Besides these classics, the region is home to other manufacturing
gems:
Bissinger French Confectionery
Still made the old fashioned way, one piece at a time by skilled
human hands, Bissinger produces millions of chocolates a year.
Its plant, located on Gratiot Street in St. Louis, employs 50
people who hand make each delicious mouthful. The plant's oldest
employee, 90, has worked for Bissinger for 72 years.
With four stores in St. Louis and three around the country-Atlanta,
Kansas City and Minneapolis-the company still produces enough
chocolate to record the second largest catalog sales of fine
chocolates in the United States. People from around the world
enjoy Bissinger chocolates made in St. Louis. Ken Kellerhals,
president, recalls several visitors from Switzerland and Germany
commenting, "It's amazing the best chocolate in the world is
made in St. Louis!"
Hussmann Corp.
Located in St. Charles, Hussmann manufactures a complete spectrum
of display equipment and refrigeration systems for a variety
of applications. With facilities worldwide, Hussmann employs
more than 9,000 people, 1,500 of whom are based at its St. Charles
headquarters.
For supermarkets and convenience stores, the company manufactures
sandwich merchandisers, salad bars and ice cream spot displays.
The company also manufactures refrigerated service merchandisers
for deli applications-hot food displays for prepared foods and
small self-contained spot displays for impulse items. Hussmann
coils, condensers and refrigeration systems are custom-engineered
for cold storage warehouses and large food processing and chilling
plants.
Cool
Displays. Hussmann's refrigerated
display merchandisers can be seen in
supermarkets throughout the world.
Hussmann has 25 manufacturing plants, the
largest of which is in Bridgeton, Mo. |
MEMC
Electronic Materials, Inc.
St. Peters, Mo., serves as the corporate world headquarters
for MEMC. Employing 2,000 people, according to spokesperson
Janine "rf, the St. Peters" facility is the company's largest
manufacturing and research and development facility. The St.
Peters plant provides advanced-specification large diameter
polished and epitaxial silicon wafer products for the industry's
most sophisticated integrated circuit applications. The facility,
constructed by Monsanto Co., went online in 1959. It became
an MEMC plant with the 1989 formation of MEMC. The plant has
been in continuous operation since 1959.
A leading producer of silicon wafers in the world today, MEMC's
manufacturing locations and participation in joint ventures
can be found in Chonan, South Korea; Hsinchu, Taiwan; Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia; Merano, Italy; Novara, Italy; Pasadena, Texas;
Sherman, Texas; and Utsunomiya, Japan.
Vi-Jon Laboratories, Inc.
This family-owned and private label manufacturer produces goods
for retailers across the country. "We supply every retailer
in the United States," notes Gary Watson, executive vice president
of sales and marketing. From Wal-Mart's Equate brand to Schnucks"
private label, Vi-Jon Laboratories manufactures mouthwashes,
baby products, toiletry items, nail polish removers, waterless
hand sanitizers, and more at its two manufacturing facilities
in St. Louis.
Private Label Pro. Vi-Jon Laboratories manufactures
private label health and beauty products, such as
germ-x hand sanitizer, for retailers around the country.
|
Founded in Cincinnati in 1908, the company moved to St. Louis
in 1912. It employs 400 people and manufactures millions of
products annually.
TUMS
TUMS has given fast, effective relief of heartburn for 70 years.
The history of TUMS began as a "discovery" in the basement laboratory
of Jim Howe in 1928. As a pharmacist, he was able to concoct
a gentle, mint-flavored antacid for his wife's acid indigestion.
He kept some of the tablets in an old mason jar, which the couple
took on an ocean voyage. Mrs. Howe and other passengers experienced
stomach upset, the tablets became a hit, which enabled TUMS
to become the number one antacid remedy today.
Introduced commercially in St. Louis in 1930 by the Lewis Howe
Co., TUMS has been produced at its South Broadway location for
decades. Now owned by SmithKline Beecham, TUMS manufactures
50 million bottles per year. If placed on top of each other,
the individual TUMS tablets inside these bottles would total
3,977 miles, which is the distance from New York to Los Angeles
to Texas.
Liese L. Hutchison is an assistant professor in the department
of communication at Saint Louis University and a free-lance
writer.
