When the iron mines west of Cedar City closed in the early 1980s, things looked bleak for the community and surrounding Iron County because of the large number of workers left without jobs.
Some experts believe that if it hadn't been for Southern Utah University, Cedar City may have become just another dying community that couldn't survive because it wasn't along the heavily populated Wasatch Front.Today, however, a drive down I-15 through Cedar City leaves people acquainted with the area amazed. Evidence of the rapid growth includes houses on the hill west of town and the businesses springing up in the industrial area.
Claiming to have Utah's second largest municipal airport, which makes it possible to connect with Salt Lake International Airport and other airports, Cedar City also boasts a rail line that has been a major factor in attracting more than 30 businesses to the area since 1988.
The city is attractive for business development because of the trucking route on I-15. Coupled with the Utah Shakespearean Festival, the Utah Summer Games, the American Folk Ballet and nearby Brian Head Ski Resort, it's easy to see why Iron County's population increased from 17,349 in 1980 to 32,100 in 1995, and gross taxable sales increased from $99 million in 1980 to $241.8 million in 1995.
Iron County Commissioner Tom Cardon is pleased the county is in a 5-6 percent annual population growth and companies are moving into the area. LaRee Garfield, president of the Cedar City Chamber of Commerce, said that 15 years ago she used to send 75business relocation packets out annually, and now she mails 150 per month.
Brent E. Drew, economic development director for the city and county, said Cedar City's 50-acre industrial park is full and more land is needed. Because the city's unemployment rate is 2.4 percent, Drew said businesses inquiring about relocating are concerned about getting enough employees.
At an elevation of 5,820 feet, Drew said Cedar City's attraction is different than that of St. George, primarily a retirement community where people want a warmer climate. He predicts that Cedar City will become one of Utah's major manufacturing areas in a few years.
A good barometer of Cedar City's growth is O'Sullivan Industries, headquartered in LaMar, Mo., which built a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing and packaging facility one year ago. O'Sullivan builds ready-to-assemble furniture such as credenzas, book shelves, computer desks, stereo cabinets and desks.
General manager George Haag said the Cedar City plant has 200 employees, and the company's goal is 500 employees within two years. The company spent $27 million on the building and equipment, which includes computerized saws and an assembly line that automatically puts small screw and glue containers into a package for insertion into the larger packages.
In addition to obtaining supplies from Washington and Oregon, O'Sul-livan purchases packing boxes from Longview Fiber, a com-pany that started in Cedar City to take advantage of the large number of cardboard boxes needed for shipping.
Haag said establishing the plant in Cedar City was a good move because of the good employees he has hired. In addition to the items manufactured in Cedar City, the massive building serves as a West Coast warehouse for the ready-to-assemble furniture and chairs manufactured by the company else-where.
Another newcomer to Cedar City is Genpak, a New York company that has six plants in the United States producing polystyrene containers and other plastic items such as plates.
Carl Franke, plant manager, a transplanted New Yorker who now lives in St. George, said Genpak officials decided California was too expensive, so they opened a 92,000-square-foot plant in Cedar City last April.
Franke said the company needed a location near the West Coast and Cedar City is ideal because of the rail line and interstate highway. He said the company plans to build a 56,000- square-foot addition in March to accommodate the booming business.
At Genpak, raw materials are purchased from Huntsman Chemical Corp. and other companies and heated to 600 degrees. A 4-foot-wide sheet of white polystyrene is then made into heavy rolls. When orders for the containers are received, the rolls are put on a punching machine and the boxes punched into the desired shapes and sizes.
Using boxes obtained from Long-view Fiber, Genpack produces 1,200 cases of containers per day, each containing 200 boxes. Genpack runs three shifts per day and ships its products daily.
Another standout company in Cedar City is Metalcraft Technologies Inc., which producs precision sheet metal products for military and commercial aircraft. David A. Grant, former director of the Utah Division of Business and Economic Development, is president and chief executive officer.
Although Metalcraft has been in Cedar for 23 years, it changed hands in 1989 and since then has experienced 35 percent annual growth. Chuck Taylor, marketing director, said the company has 154 employees, most of whom are Cedar City natives.
The company recently completed a 20,000-square-foot expansion and is planning a 10,000- square-foot expansion this year.
Taylor said even though the aerospace industry has declined somewhat in recent years, Metal-craft has managed to capture a larger share of the market. The company has 15,000 separate parts in inventory and sells about 35,000 parts per month to Boeing, McDonnell Douglas and Northrup Grumman.
Boasting the largest flatbed press in Utah, Metalcraft stretches metal that will be the skin for the outside of airplanes. It has its own plating plant where paint is applied to metal and assembly lines.
Taylor said SUU has been instrumental in providing training for his employees.
Now close to retirement, SUU President Gerald R. Sherratt believes the school is an integral part of the economic development in Iron County, providing training in firefighting, computers and computer-aided design. Because most of the students are from rural areas, Sherratt said the university's purpose is to serve those areas.
With the university growing by 300 students per year, student housing is a problem, but new units are being added. Also, because people are moving in for jobs at the new companies, houses are being built, some of the luxury variety.
In some promotional material, Iron County is billing itself as the new corporate frontier with these words, "In Iron County, Utah, the traffic only stops to let children or deer cross the road; a half-hour commute is by choice, and dark clouds mean rain. If you want access to all of the major markets but don't want the hassle of living in them, Cedar City and Iron County can offer a quality location in a pristine mountain setting."