Other Business Resources

The Meramec Region has a wide variety of business assistance programs that can help you get started or expand. Whether financial counseling, process troubleshooting or training that you need, the resources can be found in the Meramec Region.

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Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC)
4 Industrial Dr., St. James, Mo. 65559
Phone: 573-265-2993, Fax: 573-265-3550,
E-mail: bprigge@meramecregion.org
This council of local governments assists business in a variety of ways. Services include business loans, census and employment data, community and economic development specialists, grant writing and grant administration.

Local Economic Developers
Several economic developers serve the Meramec Region, and they can provide a wealth of information about industrial parks, housing, infrastructure, and available buildings as well as special incentives a particular community may offer. Click here to see a list of Economic Developers.

Local Chambers of Commerce
Many cities in the region have active chambers of commerce that can answer questions about their community and put you in touch with local people that can accommodate your needs. Click here to see a list of Chambers of Commerce.

Meramec Regional Development Corporation Revolving Loan Fund
c/o MRPC, 4 Industrial Dr., St. James, Mo. 65559
Phone: 573-265-2993, Fax: 573-265-3550,
E-mail: mbancroft@meramecregion.org
This fund provides low-interest loans to help finance industrial start-ups, expansions, or retentions when the full amount of financing is not available from private lenders.

Missouri Enterprise Assistance Center
1706 E. Tenth Street, Rolla, Missouri 65401
Phone: 573-341-0117
Established in 1987, Missouri Enterprise is a not-for-profit business assistance center offering business planning and assessment, product development and market research.

Central Ozark Private Industry Council
1202 Forum Drive (In the Forum Plaza), Rolla, Missouri 65401
573-364-7030, cstroburg@copic.ext.missouri.edu
COPIC oversees job-training programs sponsored by the Workforce Investment Act.

Rolla Regional Economic Commission
900 Innovation Drive, Suite 208
573-201-3772, rollaecondev@gmail.com
The RREC strives to bring business and industry into the Rolla area.

Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood Region
197 Replacement Ave., Fort Leonard Wood, MO 65473
573-329-8505, rselfors@missourienterprise.org
MFLWR was founded in 1995 to help local Pulaski County cities and schools prepare for the population increase that would come with the move of the Army’s Chemical and Military Police Schools from Fort McClellan to Fort Leonard Wood. Since the move, MFLWR has expanded to become a multi-county organization focused on economic growth of the entire Fort Leonard Wood region. MFLWR is a not-for-profit organization which gets its funding from its member cities, co-ops, school districts and private business.

Missouri Business Assistance Center—Missouri Department of Economic Development
P.O. Box 118, 301 W. High St., Room 720, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102
Phone: 1-888-751-2863, E-mail: businesscenter@ded.mo.gov
This division of state government directs business-assistance programs for firms of all sizes. It has published the Starting a New Business in Missouri as a thorough guide for firms wanting to expand in the state. MBAC serves as a centralized point of contact for state requirements to do business in Missouri. Informational packets can be customized to meet your particular business needs.

Energy Research and Development Center – Missouri University of Science and Technology
110 ERL, 500 West 16th Street, Rolla, MO 65409
573-341-4192, E-mail: erdc@mst.edu
The Energy Research and Development Center (ERDC) serves as a focal point for Research, Development and Deployment activities related to energy-related technologies and energy security. ERDC researchers focus on educating students to analyze and solve issues related to environmental and economic sustainability of energy systems that improve rural economies and expand resource diversity. The center fosters close collaboration between Missouri S&T and other research centers in industry, national labs, and other universities. Work conducted through the ERDC is aimed at benefiting the university, the state of Missouri and the nation.

Center for Entrepreneurial Outreach – Missouri University of Science and Technology
Keith Strassner, Executive Director, 900 Innovation Drive, #145, Rolla, MO 65401
Phone: (573) 341-4690, fax: (573) 341-6579
This center specializes in helping small business access current information on technologies and markets. The staff can assist bsinesses with market-rlated issues, industry needs, technological problems, also patent and trademark questions.

University Outreach and Extension
The mission of University Outreach and Extension – in partnership with the University of Missouri campuses, Lincoln University, the people of Missouri through county extension councils, and the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – is to serve Missouri by extending the research-based knowledge and problem-solving resources of the University of Missouri and Lincoln University to focus on high-priority needs of people throughout the state. This effort is integral to the land-grant university mission. An office is located in each county of Missouri.

U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC)
8235 Forsyth Blvd., Suite 520, St. Louis, Mo. 63105
Phone: 314-425-3302 Fax: 314-425-3381
USEACs are one-stop shops that provide small and medium-sized businesses with hands-on export marketing and trade finance support, working closely with state, federal and local public and private organizations to provide the highest level of service possible to help American businesses compete in the global market place. USEACs are a partnership of the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Small Business Administration

St. Louis District (SBA), 1222 Spruce Street, Suite 10.103, St. Louis Mo, 63101
Phone: 314-539-6600
Thomas Daiber, Lead Lender Relations Specialist, Email: Thomas.Daiber@sba.gov

Eight counties | 36 cities | one region

a voluntary council of local governments
serving the missouri meramec area.

The Meramec Region has a wide variety of business assistance programs that can help you get started or expand. Whether financial counseling, process troubleshooting or training that you need, the resources can be found in the Meramec Region.