Can-do Attitude & Location Key to Hard-Working Town
By CHRIS BARBEE

There's no lazy river running through El Campo, or hills to admire. There's no county courthouse or community college campus, but El Campo has the largest population in Wharton County, and residents with a strong work ethic and can-do attitude.

And ... location. State Highway 71 and U.S. Highway 59 intersect in El Campo. In addition, the Kansas City Southern Railways is re-establishing the old Tex-Mex/Southern Pacific route along U.S. 59 between Victoria and Rosenberg, a project that could be complete sometime in 2009.

El Campo and the immediate area have plenty of good-quality groundwater, fertile soil, an industrial park, medical clinics, a hospital with 24-hour emergency room and quality public and private schools.

Higher education opportunities are also available at Wharton County Junior College, or classes offered by the University of Houston-Victoria. Continuing education classes are also offered in El Campo.

To help current industry expand, or to explain to prospects what this city offers, is the City Development Corporation (Chandra Spenrath, executive director, 979-578-0066), the University of Houston/Coastal Plains Small Business Development Center (Kyle Smith, executive director, 979-244-8466) and the El Campo Chamber of Commerce (Becca Socha, president, 979-543-2713) also offer expertise in this area.

By bringing all of these groups together, companies already here, and those considering coming, will be offered invaluable assistance in expanding or locating.

El Campo is home to three employers with a workforce of 200 or more employees.

The El Campo Independent School District, which includes Class 4A El Campo High School, writes paychecks to some 520 employees, 270 of which are teachers.

Greenleaf Nursery Company, one of North America's largest wholesale nursery growers, is the second largest employer. The company employs some 1,350 people at four facilities in three states. The El Campo location, which has 420 acres in production, employs approximately 400.

Super Wal-Mart, which opened March 17, 2004, employs 225. The retailer opened its first store in El Campo Oct. 21, 1974.

A number of businesses and industries employ 75 or more.

El Campo Memorial Hospital and its affiliated clinic, Mid Coast Medical Clinic, have 173 employees.

The local H-E-B grocery, No. 584, has 147 Partners working in the 70,000 square foot store opened Nov. 1, 2004.

Cardell Cabinetry's El Campo plant currently has 140 employees. The company has several lines of kitchen cabinetry and doors.

New ICM, L.P., with 105 on the payroll, manufactures quality children's sleepwear, christening designs, slips, underwear and playwear for specialty retailers and department stores. The company, which manufactures more than 600 different garments, is the 2007 Ernie Award Winner for "Sleepwear Excellence in Design."

El Campo is home to many agriculture related businesses. Among the largest is Farmers Co-op of El Campo. FCEC has 70 employees, and more than 130 during peak periods. FCEC operates two cotton gins, four cotton warehouses and three grain elevators.

The co-op is partnering with GeoGreen Fuels to build a 5- million-gallon per year biodiesel plant near Hillje.

Garden Villa Health Care Center, a skilled nursing facility licensed for 150 residents, has a staff of 118.

WinCup Inc.'s El Campo location, one of 10 globally, employs 100. The local plant manufactures foam disposable cups, bowls and containers, and is capable of printing on those items.

Mark's Machine Co., which covers the full spectrum of machining and fabrication requirments, along with its Tough Country retail store, employs 80.