ST. JOSEPH, MO — Nor-Am Ice and Cold Storage, LLC, a leading public refrigerated warehouse is expanding. The family-operated business will add 72,000 square feet and 10 new, full-time jobs at its Stockyards Expressway location, totaling an $8.5 million investment in its facility.
“This expansion presents a great opportunity for our current employees to advance in their careers, as well as a chance for us to welcome new employees to the Nor-Am family, while continuing to offer best-in-class service to our existing and potential customers,” said Scott Albers, Vice President of Operations at Nor-Am.
“One of the most exciting pieces of this expansion is that we are able to use a local contractor, Al J. Mueller Construction, and a majority of local sub-contractors on the project,” Albers said. “With those dollars staying in the local market, the economic impact to St. Joseph will be greater than our $8.5 million dollar investment.”
The City of St. Joseph and Buchanan County worked to help this expansion project occur. Buchanan County provided an interest-free, forgivable loan for new employee training and in-kind assistance at the Nor-Am property. The city is expected to adopt an Enhanced Enterprise Zone resolution for real property tax abatement on Sept. 2. KCP&L and the State of Missouri, Missouri Works program also assisted with incentives.
“St. Joseph has battled through the recession with continued success of low unemployment rates and local company expansions” said R. Patt Lilly, President and CEO for the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce. “Through a continued partnership with our local governments and the business community, expansions and job additions like those at Nor-Am will help keep our economy strong.”
The Conference of Mayors’ economic report listed St. Joseph as the seventh fastest-growing economy in 2013. St. Joseph is ranked fourth in the nation in real gross domestic product growth, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and was ranked by the Milken Institute as 29th among the country’s best performing small cities in 2012.
For more information on Nor-Am, please call Ashley Albers at (816) 749-4373 or visit 2700 Stockyards Expressway.
