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Strength
in Diversity
Callaway
County enjoys a variety of business and industry while offering a collaborative
network of professional organizations eager to promote economic and
community development. Center stage in this network are the Kingdom
of Callaway Chamber of Commerce and the Fulton Area Development
Corporation (FADC), which was formed by local business leaders.
These two groups work to recruit prospective industry, support existing
enterprises and provide assistance to entrepreneurs in their efforts
to start new businesses. The Chamber and FADC stay abreast of state
and federal economic development programs and convey information to
prospective and established businesses.
Location is always a key to business and industry success. Situated right at the center of the state and the nation, the Kingdom of Callaway region makes a perfect distribution hub and location for office headquarters. Strategically located at the center of Central Missouri's three major highway corridors - Interstate 70 and U.S. Highways 54 and 63 - the area is easily accessible to any point in the country. ItŐs also within a reasonable driving distance of many large markets. In fact, Callaway County has more miles of four-lane highways than any other Missouri county outside the metropolitan areas. In addition to major highway corridors, the area is accessible via rail, barge service, and small and commercial-sized airway systems. Fulton is only about a 90-minute drive from St. Louis' Lambert International Airport. Fulton is one of the state's most progressive and thriving small cities. Signs of growth and development include new projects such as the $4.2 million City Hall, the Tanglewood Business and Technology Park, the Churchill Retail Center, and the $2.2 million YMCA of Callaway County. In fact, Fulton has more than $30 million committed to major building projects, with more slated for the future. Considerable diversity exists in business and industry here. Major employers include a state hospital, two colleges, a school for the deaf and a nuclear plant facility. The Fulton area also boasts a regional distribution center for the Dollar General retail chain; the center occupies a 1.2 million-square-foot facility. Agriculture plays a large role in the economy here as well. The region not only boasts crop production, but is also a major center for animal science and agricultural research. The Fulton area is also quickly becoming a center for the technology trade. Situated along the emerging I-70 biotechnology corridor that stretches from Kansas City to St. Louis, the area boasts nationally recognized centers in academics, research, energy and business development. In addition to two highly respected academic institutions within its city limits, the Fulton area is also just minutes away from the University of Missouri's (MU) flagship campus in Columbia. This world-class re-search institution is one of only six universities in the country with a med- ical school, veterinary school and law school. The region's technology industry is eagerly awaiting the launch of MU's Technology Incubator initiative, which will attract scores of high-technology and information-technology businesses to the area. This new effort will nurture businesses by providing startup help and access to the university's research facilities and business-management experts. A $10 million facility will be built in two phases, ultimately housing 25 to 30 high-tech companies that specialize in life sciences and information technology. The City of Fulton is staying in stride with technological advances through its 32-acre Tanglewood Business and Technology Park, the first phase of which was completed in spring 2002. This picturesque park overlooking Tanglewood Golf Course accommodates technology- and knowledge-based companies in a premier business campus. The park handles the demanding communications needs of its tenants with fiber-optic lines that carry high-speed Internet and real-time communications to points throughout the world. Build-to-suit and innovative lease options are available for qualifying projects. Tanglewood Business and Technology Park recently celebrated the completion of its Medical Office Building, which is already home to two physicians, a clinic and lab services. The FADC shares the Professional Office Building with a technology firm, a mortgage company, insurance and real estate offices, a physical therapy center, and a family counseling center. Fulton also offers land in its 85-acre industrial park to new businesses moving into the area. The park, located on U.S. Highway 54, is just three miles south of Interstate 70. Mid-Missouri has some remarkable research and corporate assets that make it attractive for significant development in the animal science and agriculture areas. Callaway County is home to Sinclair Research Center and Merial's Missouri Research Center, two leading animal science facilities that are exploring innovations in health, nutrition, production and management. William Woods University in Fulton adds an equine focus on animal science, offering one of the leading equine science and administration academic programs in the United States. Crop production is also very important in Callaway County. Producers grow corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat and hay, including alfalfa. Beef, dairy and swine production are also significant. Alternative agricultural crops include grapes for wine, alter- native livestock, agri-forestry harvests, garden vegetables, sunflowers and orchard produce. An abundant potential labor supply in Callaway County continues to attract new enterprises. Population projections through 2025 show that Callaway County should have the second-fastest growth rate in the region (more than 46 percent). Out of this population comes a thriving labor pool that can staff even the largest companies. Within a 40-minute commute of Fulton is a civilian work force of over 185,000. The available labor pool is more than 92,000. Of that group, 94 percent have a high school diploma and more than two-thirds have at least some college. Callaway County offers numerous financial incentive programs to assist new or expanding businesses. The county is tied for the lowest aggregate property tax rate in the mid-Missouri area and boasts taxes that are among the most affordable in the state. In fact, the cost of living in the area is among the lowest anywhere especially when you consider the economic, social and institutional resources available in the immediate vicinity. Area leaders are committed to backing this attractive business environment with additional opportunities that can help businesses of all sizes. Fulton is one of only a few full-service cities in Missouri to have its own electric, gas, water and sewer utilities. This allows the city to offer utility rates that are among the lowest in the state. The city has an aggressive plan to upgrade its infrastructure without passing improve-ment costs on to consumers. Another factor in the region's abundant and affordable utility services is AmerenUE's $3 billion Callaway Nuclear Plant, which produces about a quarter of AmerenUE's power. The Callaway plant, which employs nearly 800, has consistently been an industry leader in both safety and performance. Since its startup in 1984, the plant has generated an average of 8.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which is equal to the average amount used annually by more than 750,000 households. The state-of-the-art facility features several safety features to protect the environment in the unlikely event of an accident as well as features to protect the reactor from external hazards, including tornados. The plant is situated 10 miles southeast of Fulton and five miles north of the Missouri River, on a plateau 300 feet above the river's normal level. AmerenUE owns 7,200 acres of land here, 6,300 of which are administered by the Missouri Department of Conservation as the Reform Conserva-tion Area. The company studied more than 70 locations in four states before the Callaway County site was selected.
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