Manufacturing is a critical component of Missouri’s economy, contributing approximately $50 billion to the state’s GDP each year. The sector accounts for 11.6% of Missouri’s private-sector employment, with more than 280,000 people employed across 7,600 industrial companies. Let’s explore Missouri manufacturing through the centuries and profile some of the leading industries and companies operating there today. Missouri is Creating a Roadmap for Manufacturing.
History of Missouri Manufacturing
Missouri is exceptionally rich in natural minerals, with the state boasting 36 of the 60 minerals classified as critical to the US economy and its national security. This includes minerals such as cobalt, nickel, iron ore, zinc, barite, limestone, and lead.
Early Missouri manufacturing focused largely on the extraction of these resources, with a formal lead mining industry taking shape from the early 1700s. To this day, Missouri is the nation’s leading lead producer and holds one of the world’s largest known concentrations of galena (lead ore).
In the 1760s, French-Canadian fur traders founded St. Louis as a trading post on the Mississippi River. Here, they traded the pelts of beavers, otters, foxes, and deer, as more intensive and organized trapping emerged over the course of the century.
The Mississippi River was at the center of Missouri’s industrial and commerce activities well into the 19th century. Serving as the main transportation artery, it facilitated the trade of various agricultural outputs, including flour, grain, hemp, and tobacco, and supported the growth of the state’s lumber, heavy machinery, and iron industries.
Gateway to the West
Missouri was admitted as a state in 1821, further solidifying its position as a major hub of commerce and transportation. As the first state located entirely to the west of the Mississippi River, it served as the “Gateway to the West” for the settlers, explorers, fur traders, and skilled craftsmen heading towards Oregon and California. After the Civil War, new railroad networks saw Kansas City become an additional industrial hub, with leading industries including flour milling and meatpacking.
Over the next few decades, Missouri became a major industrial powerhouse, with notable industries including beer brewing, food processing, fire brick manufacturing, mining, and shoe and garment production.
The automotive manufacturing sector took shape in 1898 with the founding of the St. Louis Motor Company, and Ford began producing the iconic Model T in Kansas City in 1912. During World War II, the state became a major center for aircraft engineering and started producing an extensive range of munitions and military supplies. The St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant, for example, became the world’s largest small-arms ammunition manufacturer.
Manufacturing output declined towards the end of the 20th century as service industries like medicine and tourism grew, but the sector remains an important contributor to Missouri’s economy.
Missouri Manufacturing Today
Thanks to its highly competitive corporate tax structure, robust logistics networks, and a statewide commitment to attracting companies and investments, Missouri is now a top manufacturing state, with leading industries including food processing, transportation equipment, aerospace and automotive, fabricated metals, and industrial machinery.
Food processing is ranked as the state’s fastest-growing industry, with 500 companies and 85,000 farms producing everything from soybeans and corn to cotton and sorghum. Missouri is also the global leader in agtech, with manufacturers across the state developing a range of innovative technologies to improve efficiency, reduce waste, and increase yields.
The state is also a powerhouse for automotive and aerospace manufacturing. Since 2010, automotive companies have invested over $4 billion in Missouri, and the state produces around 674,000 vehicles annually. Its major automotive facilities are operated by Ford, General Motors, and Toyota. Meanwhile, the state is home to more than 100 aerospace manufacturing companies, including Boeing, Gulfstream Aerospace, and Orizon Aerostructures.
More recently, the Show-Me State became a key player in the renewable energy sector, driven by massive utility-scale investments and a budding clean energy workforce. Manufacturers in this sector are advancing renewable energy, power storage, and battery technology. Notably, the state is home to one of the largest cobalt reserves in North America, which supports the large-scale production of high-energy, high-performance batteries. As such, Missouri is currently the number one state for battery manufacturing revenue and the number two state for battery manufacturing employment.
Missouri’s Leading Manufacturing Companies
Boeing
Founded in 1916 in Seattle, Washington, Boeing is a leading global aerospace company that manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems. The company employs more than 182,000 people and serves customers in 150 countries. Its revenue for the year ending March 2026 was $92 billion.
Boeing operates major manufacturing facilities in Washington, South Carolina, Arizona, and Missouri. Earlier this year, it named the St. Louis, Missouri, site as the new headquarters for Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS). The complex employs over 18,000 people and produces vital defense and space products and capabilities for a global customer base. It also supports Boeing Global Services, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and enterprise functions.
“The site has a rich history designing and manufacturing some of the world’s most innovative spacecraft and most advanced and innovative tactical aircraft,” said Boeing.
“By aligning leadership with the workforce and investing in state-of-the-art facilities, Boeing is poised to strengthen its core business and drive innovation in defense solutions for the US military and global allies.”
Ford
Founded in 1903 in Detroit, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company is a multinational automobile manufacturer that produces cars, trucks, SUVs, and electric vehicles (EVs). The company employs more than 88,000 people, works with 5000 suppliers, and operates 3000 dealerships. Every year, it manufactures and sells roughly 4.4 million vehicles.
More than 75% of the products Ford sells in the US are assembled on home soil. The company operates manufacturing facilities in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. The Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri opened in 1951 for military production and was later converted for mass-market automotive assembly.
Today, the Missouri site is the nation’s largest car manufacturing center by units produced, spanning over 4.7 million square feet and employing thousands of people. It manufactures Ford’s flagship pickup truck, the Ford F-150, as well as Ford Transit vans.
Honeywell
Founded in 1906 as the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company, Honeywell is a US technology company that manufactures solutions focused on automation, aerospace, energy transition, and building control. The company currently employs 99,000 people and operates in 80 countries across 750 sites. Its 2025 revenue exceeded $37 billion.
In Missouri, Honeywell operates the Kansas City National Security Campus (KCNSC), which produces about 85% of the non-nuclear mechanical, electronic, and engineered components used in national defense systems. The site employs around 7,000 people and supports national laboratories, universities, and US industry.
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Founded in 1852 in St. Louis, Missouri, Anheuser-Busch was the nation’s largest brewing company, known for producing flagship brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, and Busch. In 2008, it was acquired by the Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev for $52 million, forming Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), which consolidated InBev’s position as the largest brewing company in the world.
Today, the company employs more than 150,000 people, runs around 170 breweries, and has a presence in over 50 countries. Its product portfolio includes 400 beer brands, as well as a range of non-alcoholic beverages, hard seltzers, and canned cocktails.
AB InBev maintains 100 facilities across the US. In June, it announced a $20 million investment in its flagship St. Louis brewery and Arnold can manufacturing plant. The investment will focus on upgrading brewery and packaging equipment to fuel production of Michelob ULTRA, the nation’s top-selling and fastest-growing beer, as well as funding a new technical skills training center in St. Louis to support the next generation of manufacturing professionals.
“We’ve proudly called St. Louis and the state of Missouri home for more than 165 years, and our commitment to strengthening this community and making a positive impact across the state has never been stronger,” said CEO Brendan Whitworth.
Triumph Foods
Founded in 2003 by a group of five independent pork producers, Triumph Foods is a farmer-owned pork processing company based in St. Joseph, Missouri.
The company’s St Joseph site is one of the most technologically advanced pork processing facilities in the country. Spanning one million square feet, it has an annual processing capacity of six million hogs, which equates to more than 1.4 billion pounds of pork products, including loins, ribs, and roasts.
Earlier this year, the company announced a $30 million expansion that will increase the facility’s current cold storage and shipping capacity and set the stage for increased production. “We are proud of the work we do every day to feed the world, and this expansion is the next step in that commitment,” said Matt England, President and CEO at Triumph Foods. “Investing in this expansion means investing in our team members and the community that has supported us throughout our 20 years in operations.”
Future of Missouri Manufacturing
Missouri’s roots in natural resource mining and bustling river trade set it up for long-term industrial success. Today, the state is a vibrant hub for manufacturing activity and continues to attract new businesses across a broad range of sectors.
Thanks to major efforts from Missouri’s industry players, the sector is poised for exponential growth in the coming years. The Making Missouri a Manufacturing Powerhouse report, for example, is part of the Missouri Chamber Foundation’s overarching Missouri 2030 strategic plan to build on the state’s manufacturing momentum and reposition it as a global economic leader.
“In a time of great opportunity but also great competition, Missouri must establish a goal of moving from good to great,” said Kara Corches, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “This report should serve as a roadmap for employers, educators, policymakers and economic development leaders to build on our state’s strengths and improve on its weaknesses. By working together, we can establish Missouri as one of the country’s true manufacturing powerhouses.”
Source: Missouri is Creating a Roadmap for Manufacturing
https://www.techedmagazine.com/category/industries/manufacturing/
