JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — More than 400 high-paying jobs could soon be coming to north St. Louis County.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson made the announcement Monday as part of a multi-million-dollar incentives package.
Despite adding 31,000 jobs in the Show Me State in 2023, Parson said the St. Louis region continues to lag behind the rest of the state.
“For the state to do well St. Louis needs to do well,” Parson said. “Let’s just be honest about it.”
While many major employers have shied away from St. Louis, Bob Clark, executive chairman and founder of Clayco, Inc., is looking to buck the trend.
“We love Missouri,” Clark said. “We started our company in Missouri 39 years ago. It’s just been a tremendous place to grow our business.”
That’s why Clayco is investing $ 50 million ($17 million of which will come from state incentives) to renovate the old Express Scripts building in Berkeley, Missouri.
“Our employees want to be here,” Clark said. “They want to stay here. We've had terrific success recruiting people to the state of Missouri. It has a diverse economy. It's a welcoming community. We couldn't be more excited.”
In order to maximize the $17 million incentive package, Clayco has to add 400 jobs over the next six years.
“We’re adding about 40 people per month right now,” Clark said. “We bring them to St. Louis. We train them in St. Louis. About half of them stay here. These are engineering jobs. Our average payroll is $121,000 per person.”
Clark said the plan is to move all 600 Clayco employees into the new corporate headquarters by October 2024.
“St. Louis is our home,” Clark said.
