A "boom" period for industry

A real period of industrial growth started in the early 1950's when an all-out effort was made by the business community to attract light industry. In the next 25 years such national firms as Lily Tulip Cup Corporation, Dayton Rubber Company, Royal Typewriter Company, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing and Zenith Radio Corporation had established plants here. .

These facilities, along with a more recent plant for the R.T. French Company, have added over 10,000 new jobs to the local economy.

Several of the plants were built with the help of local residents in the form of revenue bonds. In addition to these large firms, other smaller firms established operations here.

It was a boom period for the economy and the additions were such as not to hurt the exceptional environment of the area with Springfield ranked as one of the nation's seven cleanest areas. It is also ranked as having one of the lowest costs of living in the United States.

Today (in 1980) more than 200 manufacturing firms, large and small, give the city a strong industrial base, with about 18.5 percent of the work force involved in manufacturing.