Missouri Market Development Program: Fiscal Year 2006 Technical Assistance Projects

During Fiscal Year 2006, the Missouri Market Development Program completed 17 technical assistance projects in the Missouri manufacturing community through our partner, Missour Enterprise. These projects assisted small and mid-sized manufacturers through customized programs tailored to the company's individual needs. Positive results were reductions in cost expenditures, diverted waste streams, job creation and returning resources to Missouri markets.

Award Source (St. James) was awarded $4,000 towards an $8,000 project that would explore the feasibility of establishing a wood pellet manufacturing plant. With the cost of conventional fuel high, Award Source believes the clean burning and easily stored and transported pellets made from waste wood could be a viable addition to its print shop/trophy making business. The project proposes to investigate market potential and determine the necessary capital cost outlay.

DuCo, Inc. (Ava) was awarded $5,550 towards an $11,050 project to conduct an end market and equipment review for a possible wood mulch business. DuCo is a sheltered workshop that manufactures goods and processes recyclable materials. The workshop agreed to accept wood dunnage from Copeland Manufacturing to use as a fuel source for heating, but has found that the approximate one and a half tons of waste they receive each day exceeds its fuel needs. DuCo would like to explore the possibility of shredding the excess material into wood mulch. The project intends to review end markets, identify necessary equipment and review the facility setup to incorporate a new processing line.
Integrity Recyclers, LLC (St. Louis) was awarded $6,000 towards a $12,000 project to conduct a feasibility and marketing study on collecting, processing and using post-consumer waste carpet. Integrity Recyclers is a consultant and merchant of scrap metal and other recyclable materials and has conducted some initial research into possible uses for recovered carpet. Currently, more than 4.7 billion pounds of carpet goes into U.S. landfills each year and although some successes have been achieved in its recovery, there are limited efforts in Missouri.

Reglass, LLC (St. Joseph) was awarded $4,810 towards a $9,620 project to explore the feasibility of establishing a glass recycling business. Reglass is a newly formed company looking to turn waste glass into a variety of products including landscaping material, filter media and glassphalt. The owner of the new company was intrigued by a glass landscaping product and has conducted extensive research into making the product. This project intends to explore end markets, research feedstock availability and help define a business structure.

Hammons Products Co. (Stockton) was awarded $4,000 towards a project costing $7,500 that would provide a feasibility study for the byproduct produced in its walnut processing operation. Hammons Products annually processes over 35 million pounds of wild black walnuts, resulting in 5,000 to 20,000 pounds of shell fragments and hull material that contains no nutritional value or other current use. This project intends to investigate potential markets for the waste material and investigate value-added products that could utilize the byproducts.
Delta Fibers. LLC (Caruthersville) was awarded $3,125 towards a project costing $9,000 that would evaluate the potential of producing animal feed from cotton re-gin waste. Delta Fibers is both a cotton producer and a cotton re-ginning company. Re-ginned cotton is used in certain yarn applications. The byproduct of re-ginned cotton motes can include cotton burr, bark leaf matter, twigs, crushed seeds and even grass and weed seeds. This project intends to evaluate potential markets from animal feed and investigate additional potential markets from the gin waste.
Plant Peddlers (Willow Springs) was awarded $2,250 towards a $9,500 project to explore the feasibility of manufacturing shelving from wood waste. Plant Peddlers is currently contracted to maintain shelving for greenhouses statewide. The company retrieves approximately 1,000 shelving units at the end of the plant-selling season and refurbishes them. The company is interested in determining whether wood from scrap pallets can be used to replace the wooden shelving. This project intends to review costs associated with the collection of scrap pallets and evaluate additional end markets for scrap wood that cannot be used for shelving.
HTR-Group (Kaiser) requested $2,000 towards a $7,000 project to identify additional markets for phosphorous powder generated in their fluorescent lamp recycling business. HTR-Group is a certified resource recovery facility for mercury containing lamps. The company would like to enable recovery of all of the byproducts associated with mercury recovery at its facility as it has adopted a "zero landfill" policy.

Southwest Area Manufacturers Association (Springfield) was awarded $1,000 to fund a survey of its members to determine interest in participating in a waste exchange. SAMA was founded in 1993 and represents all segments of manufacturing in Southwest Missouri. SAMA is interested in facilitating the use of waste materials as manufacturing feedstocks and believes this can be done through the establishment of a materials exchange website.

Hogenmiller Appliance and Electronics Recycling Company (Barnhart) was awarded $4,200 towards an $8,700 project to identify ways to improve efficiency and increase capacity for the company's electronics recovery operation. Hogenmiller Appliance and Electronics Recycling Company currently sells new and used appliances and electronics and also operates an appliance recycling center. This project intends to review other existing electronics recovery operations and developing an efficient facility layout.
Macon Diversified Ind. (Macon) was awarded $3,000 towards a $6,000 project to explore the feasibility of implementing recycling related expansions that could prove viable. Macon Diversified is a sheltered workshop that employs 25-32 disabled people. The sheltered workshop currently serves as a recycling center for aluminum and cardboard and accepts clothing for resale. Macon Diversified has recently lost some of its outsourced work and is looking to restructure operations to increase revenue.

MarChem Coated Fabrics, Inc. (New Haven) was awarded $4,500 towards a $9,000 project to identify potential markets for remnant coated textile scrap. MarChem Coated Fabrics coats, laminates, slits and rewinds fabrics for a number of different industries and is the leading domestic manufacturer of coated fabrics. The materials are used for automotive and boat covers, tents and building awnings. In cutting materials to size, the company currently produces a large volume of scrap material that might be suitable for braiding into animal leashes or some other new product. This project intends to help the company identify the market potential for secondary use of the material and investigate methods of capturing and processing the material in a form that is most valuable to the requirements of the top potential aftermarket uses.

Bay Creek Manufacturing (Mountain View) was awarded $4,000 towards a $8,000 project to conduct a market review of converting fabric waste into new products. Bay Creek is a family owned and operated business since 1991, employing 120 people. The company is currently contracted as a cut and sew operation by Varsity and produces about 8,550 pounds of textile scrap each year. The company believes this is sufficient material to make doll clothing, quilting blocks or other items. This project intends to review and evaluate the feasibility of making new products from the scrap and determine the financial requirements of developing new markets.
In-Sight Color Coded Recycling Systems LLC (Fenton) was awarded $5,000 towards a $9,030 project to identify usable manufacturing plastic waste streams in the St. Louis metro area. In-Sight is a start up company, specializing in the recovery of Post-Industrial Plastic Waste (PIPW). The company has invented and patented a process that provides a simple, accurate and inexpensive system for use in manufacturing facilities to separate PIPW into groupings based on a selected coding system. This system should eliminate labor-intensive sorting and expensive automation systems, providing a customer company with a low-cost, high volume recycled plastic with a strong profit margin. This project intends to help In-Sight identify manufacturers interesting in implementing the system.
Coon Manufacturing, Inc. (Spickard) was awarded $3,000 towards a $9,932 project to conduct a market feasibility study for a pre-fabricated styrene structure, the smallest of which can be assembled within 90 minutes. Because the buildings are insulated, potential uses include dog kennels, emergency shelters, or ice fishing houses. Coon Manufacturing produces a variety of rotationally molded plastic products from recovered plastics and is developing a polystyrene recovery process. This project intends to analyze target markets for the insulated mini-structure.
Terrene (St. Louis) was awarded $5,590 towards a $10,590 second phase of a cooperative restaurant composting feasibility study. Previously awarded technical assistance evaluated composting technique and equipment for the proposed concept. The chef and partner in Terrene is in the process of coordinating St. Louis restaurants with vegetable and herb growers in the area and this project intends to assist in the evaluation and recruitment of restaurants interested in setting up a city wide composting program for restaurant food waste.
Rustique Enterprise, Inc. (St. Charles) was awarded $3,500 towards a project costing $16,000 to assist in product testing needed to obtain certification that their product meets HUD and FHA requirements. Rustique has received financial assistance from the Program to make the product, a flat panel vinyl skirting system used to create an attractive and beneficial foundation for manufactured homes. The product is made from recovered plastics and Rustique projects that with the appropriate certification, they will increase sales by four or five times during the first production year.