New manufacturer announced for Poplar Bluff

A new location for Empire Comfort Systems will serve as the first manufacturing facility to be built from the ground up in the Poplar Bluff Industrial Park in 30 years.

The Belleville, Illinois-based maker of heaters is expected to bring more than 150 new jobs to the community over time, according to announcements made today at the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce quarterly luncheon.

Company representatives hope to see the doors open by August.

A family-operated company, Empire Comfort Systems was started in 1932. It now produces a wide variety of heaters, including direct-vent, vent-free, outdoor and b-vent.

Members of the family were on hand for the luncheon and a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled to follow at the industrial park. Nick Bauer and sister, Jane Bauer Routh, represent the company’s fourth generation. Their father, Brian Bauer, and mother, Pamela Bauer, are also expected to attend the groundbreaking, along with 4-year-old Henry Routh.

The new $7 million facility is expected to top 100,000 square feet and will be constructed on approximately two acres on South 11th Street. The project will be completed with a team of local companies, said chamber President Steve Halter. This includes architects Dille and Traxel, engineers Smith & Company, Zoellner Construction and financing from First Midwest Bank.

Empire Vice President of Operations Jay Eaton has spent the last 10 months working with Poplar Bluff officials on this project, Halter said.

The land is part of Missouri’s first state certified industrial site. It was deemed shovel-ready in 2016 after a review of the site access, utility availability, site development costs and other criteria.

The certification offered Poplar Bluff Industries, the economic development division of the chamber, additional opportunities to market the property. PBI is financing the building construction under a lease with option to buy, Halter said. This is how other factories at the industrial park have also been completed, he explained.