Columbia business leaders are praising Schneider Electric’s $73-million expansion at the plant on Route B. Columbia Chamber of Commerce president Matt McCormick notes Schneider considered other locations for the massive expansion:
“And kudos to REDI and their team for putting that together. I mean what you saw there was Schneider was looking at all their locations around the country, what they were going to do. They were wanting to do this expansion. They chose Columbia and they chose Boone County to do that,” Mr. McCormick says.
REDI stands for Columbia Regional Economic Development Incorporated. The expansion will create 241 new jobs which will pay about $50,000 annually. Mr. McCormick credits a a can-do attitude from the city, Boone County and state for landing the expansion project:
“They said the refreshing thing that came out of Columbia was how can we make this work, what can we do to make this work instead of oh these are all the things that we can’t do,” he says.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe says Schneider Electric’s expansion supports public safety, infrastructure, education and other things that keep our city strong. Boone County Presiding Commissioner Kip Kendrick is also thrilled:
“What it means is a significant investment in the plant, but 240 jobs. The investment in the people right, the employees, the workforce, the community, the county,” Commissioner Kendrick says.
Some of our listeners will remember that the plant was known for years as Square D, which was one of the first manufacturers on Route B.
