Record Industrial Construction Activity Underway as Missouri Lines Up $3.6 Billion Construction Starts for 2008

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Just ask any industrial contracting or engineering firm in the U.S., and the answer is unanimous: Industrial construction is on the rise everywhere. A good example of what’s happening across the country can be found by looking at Missouri. Holcim, a cement manufacturing firm based in Switzerland, began building the world’s largest cement manufacturing plant near Bloomsdale, Missouri, in 2006. In earlier years, the $900 million project, which began construction in 2006 and isn’t scheduled for completion until 2009, would dwarf all other projects, but that’s not the case these days. The largest project under construction in the state is a $1.3 billion grassroot coal-fired power plant that Kansas City Power & Light Company (Kansas City, Missouri) is building in Weston, Missouri. Construction began in September 2006 and is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Including the Holcim and Kansas City Power projects, 38 major projects totaling $4.6 billion are under construction in Missouri. The amount of ongoing construction activity is pulling a lot of resources into the area and could lead to staffing and equipment delivery problems in 2008. The Power and Metals & Minerals industries account for the majority of the construction work underway, with a combined $3.8 billion total investment value (TIV).

Missouri is not alone in its heightened industrial construction activity, as 10 other states, including Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois and Louisiana have a greater amount of industrial construction underway based on TIV.

Although not at the level it was a few years ago when Holcim began constructing its massive $900 million cement plant in Saint Genevieve County, Missouri, the state continues to attract major industrial project construction. 2008 is shaping up to continue this trend. Industrial Info has identified 95 projects scheduled to begin construction in 2008 in Missouri. These projects have a TIV of about $3.6 billion.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of planned construction starts in 2008 for Missouri.

Like other parts of the Midwest, renewable energy and alternative fuels are at the top of the list. Six of the top 10 projects in the state ranked by TIV are large-scale wind power or ethanol plant projects. The two largest projects are windfarms, including a 400-megawatt project in Atchison County. Construction is scheduled to begin early next year for a $180 million grassroot ethanol plant in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Renewable Power of Cape Girardeau (Marshall, Missouri) hired Vogelbusch USA Incorporated (Katy, Texas) to provide engineering and Robinson Construction (Perryville, Missouri) as the general contractor for a plant that will process 35 million bushels per year of corn into 93 million gallons per year of ethanol.

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