Governor Blunt Celebrates La-Z-y Boy Midwest's Commitment to Missouri's Working Men and Women

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

June 25, 2008

Contact: Jessica Robinson, 573-751-0290


NEOSHO  Gov. Blunt today visited Neosho to celebrate La-Z-y Boy Midwests entrepreneurship and growth.

"I applaud the vision of La-Z-y Boy Midwest and their workforce for their commitment to this project," Gov. Blunt said. "For a new approach such as lean cellular manufacturing to work, it requires everyone to buy in and commit themselves. With the help of companies like La-Z-y Boy Midwest, and the pro-jobs, pro-growth initiatives we have enacted, we are making Missouri a better place to live, work, and raise a family."

Rather than cutting costs by moving jobs out of state or overseas, La-Z-y Boy Midwest took a careful look at their operations and determined that they could find a better solution. La-Z-y Boy Midwest moved to lean cellular manufacturing, this approach means each piece of furniture will be built by a team within a cell, instead of separately along an assembly line. This innovative strategy, three years in the making, dramatically cuts down on the amount of time to create a chair from two and a half days to only three hours. This will allow for increased production and ensure an even higher quality of product.

This year Gov. Blunt signed legislation to support responsible economic development in Missouri and ensure the state remains competitive in the global marketplace. The legislation provides tax credits for companies that implement mega projects in Missouri.

Also this year the governor signed legislation, which contained several major provisions to build on strong economic growth and development in Missouri. The legislation increases the annual cap on the governors successful Quality Jobs Tax Credit Program from $40 million to $60 million and among other things increases the amount of tax credits the Missouri Department of Economic Development may authorize for the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Program from $14 million to $24 million.

Economic development legislation passed this year builds on the unparalleled reforms enacted under Gov. Blunts leadership. Comprehensive litigation reform drove the state to a ten spot jump in a Leading National Watch Groups ranking. The states jump in rank is indicative of the many success stories resulting from Blunts pro-family, pro-jobs initiatives.

In addition, Gov. Matt Blunts workers compensation reform measures enacted in 2005 are helping to decrease workers compensation rates in the state. The law restored fairness to Missouris workers compensation system by protecting rights of injured workers without threatening Missouri jobs.

Gov. Blunt has successfully restored order to a broken state budget without raising taxes. He inherited a devastated state economy in January 2005 that was $1.1 billion in the red and had lost 34,000 jobs in the previous four years. Overall, Gov. Blunts pro-jobs, pro-growth initiatives have helped Missourians create more than 80,000 new jobs since January 2005.