2024 KANSAS: T HE NEW GOLD STANDARD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE2 KANSAS: THE NEW GOLD STANDARD 2024 Economic Development Guide THE NEW GOLD STANDARD 5 Interview with the Governor How do you follow up winning two consecutive Governor’s Cup awards? By pressing for more. 10 Business Climate Overview By various metrics, Kansas is excelling at economic development, job creation and talent attraction. 14 Interview with the Secretary of Commerce Lieutenant Governor David Toland leaves no stone unturned in his quest to build Kansas into a world- class economy. 18 Statistical Profile An overview of Kansas’ performance by the numbers. 22 Headquarters From Topeka to Lawrence to Wichita, companies increasingly are looking to make their home in Kansas. 24 Certified Site Development Shovel-ready sites are now available statewide for prospective investors and developers. 26 Workforce Development One of the most highly educated labor pools in America is ready to go to work for you. 32 Talent Recruitment From Kansas City to Dodge City, recruiting top- notch talent is job one. Here’s how Kansas is winning. 36 Higher Education and Community Colleges The many colleges and universities of Kansas serve as the No. 1 talent factory for expanding companies throughout the state. 40 Incubators and Accelerators From GROWKS to the Kansas Innovation & Technology Enterprise, Kansas knows how to fertilize and accelerate innovation. 42 Broadband Kansas is investing nearly half a billion dollars over five years to expand broadband connectivity to every pocket of the state. 82 Tourism What do spaceships and Dwight D. Eisenhower have in common? You can find monuments to both in Kansas. 86 Small Town Strength POLICOM and Site Selection magazine rankings reveal a hidden advantage in Kansas: its small towns. 88 Community Development Programs Building the best communities for residents and businesses alike is a primary goal of state and local leaders. 92 Art Havens and Creative Communities The creative instinct runs deep in Kansas. Art havens around the state are testament to that. 94 Quality of Life Kansas offers an affordable lifestyle with all the amenities your workforce will want. 98 Photo Gallery Fields of Dreams KANSAS: THE NEW GOLD STANDARD 3 44 Energy and Utilities Already a Top 5 state for wind power, Kansas has its sights set on creating even more jobs in clean energy. 48 EV Batteries and Microelectronics Panasonic, Integra and their many suppliers are building new plants in Kansas. The new Chip Rush Era is on. 51 Advanced Manufacturing Advanced manufacturing is alive and well in Kansas. 54 Aerospace and Defense Expansions abound in the aerospace sector in Kansas, with Wichita leading the way. 56 Animal Health The KC Animal Health Corridor continues to serve as a magnet for new business investment. 59 Biotech Life science investment is flowing into everything from biomarkers to cell culture media production in Kansas. 64 Distribution, Logistics and Transportation From Overland Park to Southwest Kansas, investment in new logistics facilities picks up. 68 Ag Tech New investments at K-State are extending the horizon of ag tech throughout the Sunflower State. 71 Agriculture and Food Processing From Schwan’s to Walmart, new food-processing jobs are popping up all over the Sunflower State. 74 Reshoring Kansas is setting all kinds of records in landing reshoring plants and jobs. 76 Professional and Technical Services TreviPay is expanding in Overland Park while Coffey County lands a new chip maker. 78 Innovative Technologies If you did not know of the many innovations springing from the Sunflower State, look again. INDUSTRY PROFILESQUALITY OF LIFE INVESTMENT PROFILES 20 Investment Profile: City of Russell 30 Investment Profile: McPherson 104 Ad IndexTAKE THIS GUIDE WITH YOU ENJOY Read the digital edition on your tablet and phone. Click on links within articles for even more information. SHARE Share the magazine on social media with your friends and community. LINK Feature the magazine on your blog, website or newsletters with a link or one of our easy-to-use tools. siteselection.com/cc/kansas The publishers believe that the information contained in this publication is accurate. However, the in formation is not war ranted, and neither Conway Data, Inc., nor the Kansas Department of Commerce, assumes any liability or responsibility for actual, consequential or incidental damages re sulting from inaccurate or erroneous information. 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LAURA KELLY KANSAS: THE NEW GOLD STANDARD 5 Meet the Leader The Kansas Banner Globally Who Carries by RON STARNER6 KANSAS: THE NEW GOLD STANDARD state does not win back-to-back Governor’s Cup awards from Site Selection magazine overnight. Competing at the highest level of economic development requires years of patience and groundwork involving legislation, trade missions, marketing and good old-fashioned shoe leather. No one understands this better than Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. When she picked up those two silver trophies from Site Selection, honoring Kansas for besting every other state in the nation in projects won per capita, she was collecting the rewards from many years of hard work and thoughtful planning by a lot of folks in the Sunflower State. In the following interview, Governor Kelly outlines her approach to economic development and trade and sheds further light on her plans for the future. You recently went on a trade mission to Germany along with a delegation from the Kansas City area. What did you learn while you were there, and how will Kansas benefit from this mission? GOV. KELLY: It was exciting to visit Germany and share our strengths when it comes to locating and growing a business in Kansas. It truly is a great time to invest in our state as we experience historic economic development and job growth. I found that companies in Germany know that logistically, Kansas is an ideal place to get products to market quickly and efficiently. Kansas is in the center of the United States, and Kansas City is the nation’s most centrally located major metropolitan area — with 55 million people within a day’s drive, and both coasts within a three-hour flight. I learned more about our fruitful relationship with Germany, a longstanding leader in international job growth in our state and one of our top three source countries for foreign direct investment. As of last year, Germany is our sixth-largest export market for goods produced in Kansas, with exports totaling $529 million. Several German companies have chosen Kansas. For example, Millipore Sigma, the American life science business of Merck KGaA, brought a $25 million expansion to Lenexa; Reifenhauser opened a new $20 million manufacturing plant in Maize to produce plastics manufacturing equipment and technology; and Deutsche Telekom is well established on T-Mobile’s campus, which employs thousands of people in the Kansas City area. While in Germany, I had the opportunity A Kansas Governor Laura Kelly told plenty of corporate leaders in Germany recently that the Sunflower State is wide open for business. Photo courtesy of Kansas Department of CommerceNext >