Category: Business

Kansas governor announces food company’s $110 million investment in Olathe warehouse

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Gov. Laura Kelly touted Tuesday a food company’s $110 million investment for an automated distribution center in Olathe that could create more than 125 new jobs.

The distribution complex for Smithfield Foods, a “vertically integrated” food company and the world’s largest pork producer, will span near 20 million cubic feet. The facility modification will decrease costs and increase reliability for the company to handle and transport goods.

The governor said the project represents a win for the whole state.

“Lineage Logistics’ decision to build the Smithfield Foods distribution center in Kansas is confirmation that our central location, strong infrastructure and world-class workforce are exactly what companies need to expand business operations,” Kelly said. “Their investment helps solidify our role as a 21st century hub for transportation, logistics and distribution.”

Lineage designed the warehouse to be state of the art, including 18 automated cranes, the largest temperature-controlled layer-picking systems in the world and more, to decrease the cost of operation.

“This advanced, state-of-the-art, fully-automated new facility speaks volumes to the innovation we are excited to have in the state, said Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland. “Both Lineage and Smithfield exemplify the type of businesses we are working to attract and retain, and we are excited about their new investment in Kansas.”

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
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Congresswoman sponsors legislation to focus on supply issue

by Murrel Bland

Congress is working on legislation that addresses the national supply chain issue.

That was the message from U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., who was the keynote speaker Friday, April 15, at the Congressional Forum.

The forum is a function of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce. About 60 persons attended the luncheon meeting at Children’s Mercy Park.

Rep. Davids said Republicans and Democrats have come together to help solve the supply issue. She said that shortage is particularly acute when it comes to microchips.

The legislation has passed the House; a conference committee is working on the differences in the U.S. Senate bill. She said that the shortage has caused manufacturers such as General Motors with an assembly plant in Fairfax to shut down production for certain periods. She and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, are among those sponsoring this legislation.

Rep. Davids also addressed the workforce issue. She commended Johnson County Community College for its commercial truck driving school and Kansas City, Kansas, Community College for its technical education courses providing hands-on training for such jobs as machinist.

Rep. Davids said that the economy is getting back to “near normal.” Last year, 6 million new jobs, a record, were created, she said. During the height of the Covid pandemic, many small businesses were helped with the federal Paycheck Protection Program, she said.

Rep. Davids is serving her second term in Congress. She is expected to seek a third term.

Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is an advisory director of Business West.

Kansas lands deal for construction of $650 million, 500-job biomanufacturing facility

Gov. Kelly views economic development project as game changer

by Tim Carpenter, Kansas Reflector

Manhattan, Kansas — Gov. Laura Kelly spearheaded the announcement Monday of an agreement for construction of a $650 million, 500-employee manufacturing facility supporting development of vaccines to counter global biological threats.

The 500,000-square-foot Scorpion Biological Services facility in proximity to Kansas State University and the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility represented significant expansion of biopharmaceutical operations through parent company Heat Biologics of Morrisville, North Carolina. Manhattan and Kansas State beat out the other prominent bidder for the commercial plant — Iowa City and the University of Iowa.

“There is a strong demand for world-class biomanufacturing, which we expect will continue well into the future,” said David Halverson, president of Scorpion Biological. “Powered by an excellent Kansas workforce, we’re looking forward to rapidly growing and expanding Scorpion.”

Scorpion Biological, based in San Antonio, Texas, is expected to grow employment at the Manhattan facility to 500 within seven years. The company is finishing construction of a smaller clinical scale biologic manufacturing facility in San Antonio.

Gov. Kelly, who has touted her record in office in terms of economic development, said the Scorpion Biological project was a “game-changing facility that will have a massive positive impact in our state.”

“Being in the center of the country with quick access to either coast, there is no better state for Scorpion to locate in order to address potential threats to public health,” the governor said.

Scorpion Biological supports drug development from conception through clinical trials and commercial production in an effort to bring products to market faster and more reliably. A point of emphasis at Scorpion Biological is expanding reach of precision medicine for untreatable or treatment-resistant ailments.

The Kansas Department of Commerce said Scorpion Biological qualified for a package of state economic development incentives used to attract large employers the state.

“It’s absolutely critical that we, as a nation, increase our capacity for domestic production of these types of vaccines and we are extremely proud to see this work happen here in Kansas,” said David Toland, secretary of the Department of Commerce and the state’s lieutenant governor.

The project was a partnership with K-State, Kansas State University Innovation Partners, the city of Manhattan, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Pottawatomie County and the county’s economic development arm, Manhattan Area Technical College and several private companies.

The combination of a public research university and private-sector partners was important to the site selection decision, officials said.

“This facility represents the next stage in our evolution, enabling us to combine speed and agility with the full integration of discovery, development and manufacturing,” said Jeff Wolf, founder and chief executive officer of Heat Biologics.

Wolf also founded Seed-One Ventures, a firm focused on the formation and management of new biomedical companies; co-founder of Avigen, a NASDAQ-listed gene therapy company; co-founder of TyRx Pharma, focused on the development of biocompatible polymers; and co-founder of EluSys Therapeutics, a biodefense company concentrating on a medical countermeasure to anthrax exposure after a natural incident or intentional attack.

Kansas Reflector stories, www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2022/04/18/kansas-lands-deal-for-construction-of-650-million-500-job-biomanufacturing-facility/