Boone County’s presiding commissioner says Schneider Electric sees the need for a proposed $73-million expansion at their facility on Columbia’s Route B.
That used to be called Square D. Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick joined host Fred Parry in-studio Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” program:
“It is $20-million in additional warehouse space, roughly 58,000 square feet addition in warehouse. And that additional warehouse is going to allow them to move around a lot of their existing equipment,” Mr. Kendrick says.
Mr. Kendrick says Schneider Electric also plans to invest $53-million in manufacturing equipment, which would allow them to add a significant amount of manufacturing lines. He says the proposed expansion is expected to create 241 new jobs that would pay above Boone County’s average wage. That means the jobs will pay more than $48,000.
Boone County commissioners voted Thursday to approve the request for Chapter 100, and Mr. Kendrick says it now moves to the performance agreement/contract process. Schneider Electric has sought property tax abatement on the multi-million dollar expansion.
Many of our mid-Missouri listeners will remember that the facility was known for years as Square D, which was one of the first manufacturers on Route B. Presiding Commissioner Kendrick tells 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable” that there’s strong demand for products made in the plant:
“Making a lot of electrical equipment and things that are in high demand. And that we saw shortfalls on certainly during the pandemic and still really haven’t caught up to this point,” says Kendrick.
The city of Columbia has used Chapter 100 to help Kraft Heinz in 2015 and in 2024, and they’ve also used them with Swift Foods and with EquipmentShare.
You can listen to host Fred Parry’s full interview with Commissioner Kendrick here.
