K.C. Area Anything But Plain

A trip across Missouri on I-70 is as good a method as any to witness how the national landscape subtly shifts from the river valley of the mighty Mississippi to the rolling hills and then endless plains of Kansas and its neighboring states. However people choose to divide the country into regions, there can be little doubt that the atmosphere gets decidedly Western in Kansas City, which has become a headquarters outpost in recent years.
        Among the newest on the block is Fidelity National Information Solutions, which will add 147 jobs to its current 83 in deciding to locate its divisional headquarters in 40,000 sq. ft. (3,716 sq. m.) of space here. The metro was chosen over sites in Minnesota, Michigan and California.
        "Kansas City was the only community under consideration that fit all of our location, transportation, quality of life and work force needs," said Mark Spraetz, seniro vice president of MLS Operations for the company.
        That same equation led to the decision by insurer Liberty Mutual to locate an $84-million, 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,290-sq.-m.) data center in K.C., to be staffed by 42 people. The operation will be based in an existing facility, but additional acreage has already been obtained in order to grow. The Boston-based company located a sales office in the city in 2001. Officials said K.C. won out over a Dallas location for the project, in part because it not only had a ready site, but space to accommodate long-term growth.
        "The support we have received from the city and other local government agencies and organizations will permit us to have the facility up and operational in record time," said Terry Conner, chief information officer for Liberty Mutual. The firm is just one of many insurance companies to call Kansas City home.
        Home is increasingly found in the second- and third-tire cities that lie just outside the Kansas City metro, on both sides of the state line. In St. Joseph, Mo., Concord, Canada-based automotive supplier Progressive Molded Products has begun operations in a new $10-million plant that will employ 200 by August 2003. Further south, Chillicothe has welcomed new operations from custom-logo apparel maker Gear for Sports (100 employees) and frozen food packaging firm Associated Packaging Enterprises, which will invest $18 million. By next year, the company hopes to nearly triple the size of its initial 51,600-sq.-ft. (4,794-sq.-m.) facility, and with it bring on 120 more people to add to its initial payroll of more than 100.
        Across the state line, the Bayer Corp.'s animal health care division, already a staunch presence in the area with over $600 million in assets, recently dedicated its $10-million, 51,000-sq.-ft. (4,738-sq.-m.) administration building in Shawnee, Kan. That building, which brings together personnel from several offices scattered across the metro, is just the latest step in the company's K.C. buildout, following on the 1998 completion of a $60-million veterinary pharmaceutical production plant.
        "We will continue to be a major player in the animal health marketplace," John Payne, senior vice president of the Animal Health division for Bayer, said in a statement. "Among the ways we intend to do this is by becoming even more efficient in operating our business. This new building is part of that strategy."
        There is no company more synonymous with Kansas City than Hallmark Cards. But even that stalwart, while maintaining its headquarters in the city, is moving its manufacturing operations to factories in Lawrence, Topeka and Leavenworth, shifting 340 jobs to those outlying and growing communities. But those operations are nothing new.
        "Our Topeka Production Center has 717,000 sq. ft [66,609 sq. m.], was built in 1943, and manufactures greeting cards, boxed cards, envelopes and stationery," says Greg Long, director of corporate real estate for Hallmark. "Our Lawrence Production Center has 643,000 sq. ft. [59,735 sq. m.], was built in 1958, and manufactures ribbons, bows, invitations and stickers as well as greeting cards. The Leavenworth Production Center has two facilities totaling one million square feet [92,900 sq. m.]. Operations began in Leavenworth in 1947 and today the two Leavenworth plants produce greeting cards, gift wrap, tissue paper, partyware, bags for retailers and date books."
        Much of the manufacturing space left in the center of Kansas City will be converted to office space, although some will initially be used for storage from some outlying leased facilities. Long declined to divulge the investment in the expansions, but said they are part of a 10-year transition plan for the company that has helped it achieve efficiencies through economies of scale. About 2,360 people work at the three outlying plants, with nearly double that figure employed at headquarters.
        Across the state line in Kansas City, Kansas, two major investments are underway. While General Motors will be closing its Fairfax plant for several months, the reason is its $500-million retooling investment, as the company shifts Grand Prix production to Canada and prepares to begin producing the Chevrolet Malibu this summer. Not far away, Frito-Lay is investing $7.3 million in a consolidation that will bring its regional office and two distribution centers to one facility in the new Sandifer Business Park.
        "This is a perfect example of a community and state successfully working together with industry," said Frito-Lay's Senior Director of Operations Adrian Bozarth. "Community and state leaders have worked tirelessly to help Frito-Lay consolidate its operations. In return, Frito-Lay is committed to stimulating the economic growth of the city and state as we continue to grow our business."
        Joining the host of animal health companies in the area, Intervet, a unit of Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel, is building a $40-million R&D, production and administrative center in DeSoto, Kan., which company documents say will significantly streamline U.S. operations.