Recent Project Announcements

Bloc Digital Inc., a leading 3D content, data visualization and alternative reality solutions company, is pleased to announce its expansion into Wichita. The United Kingdom-founded company, with its U.S. HQ in Mentor, Ohio, has signed a lease with Ruffin Properties, LLC for approximately 3,400 square feet in the Epic Center, based in the heart of downtown Wichita.

JTM Foods, LLC, the home of JJ's Snack Pies, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Wichita manufacturing facility on Aug. 29, 2023. Located in a 195,000-square-foot warehouse in the ICT21 Industrial Park, the company's $40 million investment project is expected to employ 150 people within the next two years, with up to 200 associates by the third year of operation. 

Quickstep, Australia’s largest independent aerospace composite manufacturer, has selected the Wichita region as its preferred location for its first United States engineering and manufacturing facility, strengthening its global commitment to building and delivering comprehensive aerospace and defense solutions.

Charlotte Pipe and Foundry Company, the nation’s top manufacturer of cast iron and plastic pipe and fittings, announced its expansion and purchase of 80 acres of land in Maize, Kan. to build a new $80 million manufacturing facility. The expansion, which received local, county and state government support, is expected to create 50 new full-time positions.

February 2, 2023 – The Kansas State Finance Council’s vote secures APEX funding, paving the way for a transformative economic expansion in the Wichita region. The Partnership has been honored to support Wichita’s Integra Technologies who is the largest provider of back-end semiconductor services in the country. The vote opens the door for a project to expand Integra’s footprint in the Wichita region with a one million square foot headquarters and production facility and could add at least 2,000 employees and $1.8 billion in capital investment in the Wichita region contingent on receiving federal CHIPS for America funding.

Our Talent Roadmap and collective efforts ensure our region has the talent infrastructure and partnerships to grow and recruit the workforce. Partnership’s leadership joined the governor, South-Central legislative leadership, State of Kansas Commerce and others for the vote. Integra, the Partnership, and our region are appreciative of this vote which allows the process to move next steps, including local support for Integra’s application for funding from the bi-partisan U.S. CHIPS and Science Act funding, designed to increase our national security and technology innovation.

Read the full press release.

April 6, 2022 – Marlowe Companies, Inc. (MCI), an Iowa-based holding company for a diverse group of tech-enabled business services operating companies and customer experience cloud and software assets, will open a new location in Wichita for its Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) subsidiary.

This expansion will create up to 300 full-time-equivalent jobs in the first year of operation with potential for 200 more the following year. MCI BPO will be locating in a nearly 35,000 square-foot space at Towne West Square, bringing $1.5 million in net new capital investment to the region.

Read the full press release.

March 15, 2022 – National supplier of compound sterile preparations, Fagron US, announced plans to expand their current northeast Wichita facility, Fagron Sterile Services U.S. (FSS US), potentially creating over 150 new jobs and $20 million in capital investment over the next three years.

FSS US is one of five specialized business units in the United States within Fagron, a leading FDA Registered 503B Outsourcing Facility and a national supplier of compound sterile preparations. Serving all 50 states in America and over 35 countries, the company has extensive global reach and is headquartered in Belgium.

Read the full press release.

October 14, 2021 – Local full-service maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) company Mid-Continent Aviation Services (MCAS) announced plans today to double their workforce and expand their current footprint at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport with the construction of a new hangar.

Read the full press release.

MCAS made the announcement from the Air Capital of the World booth at the National Business Aviation Association Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

September 14, 2021 – Headquartered in Wichita for over 40 years, Sharpline Converting Inc. plans to expand its current operations with a $4M expansion. Sharpline designs and manufactures decorative graphics for companies worldwide, including global brands Winnebago, Chrysler, Malibu Boats and Love's Travel Stops.

Plans include the renovation of 13,600 square feet of its existing facilities and the addition of 26,000 square feet of new manufacturing space. The project will create 15 new jobs over the next five years, totaling company employment over 300.

August 5, 2021 – Brek Manufacturing, a California-based aerospace manufacturer has selected Wichita to expand its national footprint. The company’s President & CEO, Marwan Hammouri – a former Wichita aviation executive – stated that they are recommending the Wichita region due to its aerospace and aviation ecosystem and highly-skilled workforce.

The potential $4.5 million investment includes the purchase of two buildings and would create 75 new jobs. Learn more about Brek's expansion in a press release from Governor Laura Kelly.

June 2, 2021 – Advanced manufacturer Airxcel, Inc. celebrated exponential growth, doubling its workforce to over 700 total employees and investing $4 million into their Wichita facility. Airxcel is the largest privately held designer, manufacturer and distributor of branded products for the recreation vehicle and specialty HVAC markets. The company also celebrated their 30th year in business in Wichita and the monumental milestone of delivering its 8 millionth recreational vehicle air conditioner.

Read the full press release.

March 12, 2021
Millennium Corporation, a defense contractor and cybersecurity company to the Department of Defense (DoD) and other federal agencies including McConnell’s 177th Squadron “Red Team,” has chosen Wichita to establish a new regional office focused on serving commercial aerospace companies.

Millennium’s regional presence will provide opportunities to diversify our economy with high-tech jobs, as well as opportunities to retain and grow cybersecurity talent.

Learn more in a recent Wichita Business Journal article (paywall removed).

March 10, 2021
Local calibration business Alltite saw an opportunity to accelerate a new wind energy solution. This innovation will more than double their workforce to nearly 100 employees in less than one year and has spurred a $2.1M investment.

Learn more in a Wichita Business Journal article (paywall removed).

February 25, 2021
Cybersecurity company Novacoast is opening a new Security Operations Center (SOC) in Wichita with plans to initially hire 60 employees with plans for continued growth. Beyond the 24-7 Security Operations Center, the Wichita office will include sales, software development and cyber engineering.

The company was planning an expansion in another area of the country when the Greater Wichita Partnership proactively asked about its business needs. Novacoast CEO Paul Anderson said based on that outreach, he was intrigued about the Wichita region and asked to learn more.

Novacoast will locate in the Epic Center, and Anderson said that they were impressed with the investment in downtown.

The privately held company has more than 350 employees at its headquarters in Santa Barbara, Calif. and four existing Security Operation Centers in California, Michigan, Manchester, United Kingdom and Guatemala City, Guatemala plus other global offices. The 24-year-old company has a global customer base of highly regulated global firms such as banks, healthcare, and energy companies.

Cybersecurity and IT Systems & Support are identified as target industries for growth in the Regional Growth Plan. The sector is also in the State of Kansas’ Framework for Growth, created through the Kansas Department of Commerce.

October 16, 2020
Amazon announced the location of two facilities in the Greater Wichita region, creating hundreds of jobs and bringing economic opportunities and growth to the region.

• A new one million square-foot fulfillment center at 7130 North Broadway Avenue in Park City is anticipated to open in 2021.
• The delivery station at 4044 North Toben is expected to open this year.

Amazon joined State of Kansas' Governor Laura Kelly and Secretary of Commerce David Toland, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, Sedgwick County Chairman Pete Meitzner, Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple and Park City Mayor Ray Mann in a virtual news conference announcing the two facilities in the Greater Wichita region and a third in the Kansas City region.

According to the news release, Amazon has an industry-leading minimum starting wage from $15 an hour and offers full-time employees comprehensive benefits and access to training and education.

Elected leaders and Greater Wichita Partnership President Jeff Fluhr discussed the significant announcement and benefits in a Greater Wichita Partnership news release. The Partnership will share the announcement with other potential prospects in the transportation and logistics sector, one of the key target sectors in the Regional Growth Plan.

September 10, 2020
Fortune 50 company Deloitte is joining forces with Wichita State University to launch a new Industry 4.0 immersive experience and facility, The Smart Factory @ Wichita. The new partnership will bring together the digital, physical and experimental to show how Industry 4.0 spurs innovation.

More information about The Smart Factory @ Wichita can be found in the Deloitte and Wichita State news release.

August 6, 2020
Bell announced plans today to locate a facility in Wichita to support multiple programs and business areas, including engineering, supply chain, professional manufacturing and corporate services such as human resources.

Bell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Textron Inc., is headquartered in Fort Worth and has 80 years of history in aviation innovation. Bell has reimagined flight with breakthrough innovations like the first certified commercial helicopter and the first aircraft to break the sound barrier – the Bell X-1. As an industry leader in vertical lift aircraft, Bell currently supports the U.S. Army and the United States Special Operations Command, focusing on solutions to stay ahead of America’s future threats.

Bell provides continued diversification within the aerospace industry which is one of seven key industries identified in the Regional Growth Plan, our region’s collective strategy to grow the economy, attract new businesses and expand existing industries.

July 30, 2020
Keycentrix announced plans to grow its national headquarters in northeast Wichita, adding 16 new jobs to its current employment of 50 – a growth of 32 percent. Keycentrix offers world-class software solutions to the pharmacy and healthcare industries with customers across the nation.

Keycentrix will fill the 16 much-needed software development positions in the coming months. The Partnership team worked with the Kansas Department of Commerce and the City of Wichita on the project. Keycentrix announced the expansion at its headquarters in northeast Wichita, hosting the City of Wichita's weekly media briefing.

Healthcare and IT systems and support are two of the seven target industry sectors identified in the Regional Growth Plan.

July 9, 2020
AgEagle Aerial Systems announced today that it will relocate its manufacturing facilities and expand them to Wichita. The company provides technologically advanced drones and aerial imagery-based data collection and analytics solutions.

AgEagle chose Wichita in a competitive process between Wichita and a Colorado city. The Partnership team worked with the AgEagle team and the Kansas Department of Commerce with efforts supported by the City of Wichita, Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and the National Center for Aviation Training (NCAT) at WSU Tech.

Identified in the Regional Growth Plan, aerospace and agriculture are included in the key industries to grow our regional economy, attract new businesses and expand existing industries.

July 8, 2020
Hawaii-based Navatek will open a new engineering and research office on the Wichita State University campus this fall. Navatek is a contractor focused on technology research for U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Defense and NASA. The company and Wichita State have signed an 8-year memorandum of understanding outlining their research and recruitment partnership.

Navatek plans to expand staffing to 20 engineers and scientists within the next 24 months and additional applied learning positions for students. In addition to work already funded, Navatek, WSU and WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) partnership have multiple joint research proposals to government agencies for additional funding.

The Partnership team worked with Wichita State University and the Kansas Department of Commerce on the effort.

May 27, 2020
Advance Catastrophe Technologies, Inc. (ACT) announced proposed plans to build a new $2.89 million - 20,000 square-foot corporate headquarters in Wichita that will include a national training facility. The company has identified the Hoover Industrial Park at the southeast corner of Hoover Road and K-96 as the proposed site.

According to ACT President and CEO Christian Wiley, the company started planning an expansion and new headquarters due to the significant growth it has seen over the last couple of years. The Greater Wichita Partnership team began working with the company as they explored future expansion plans.

The company provides planning, recovery and restoration services to more than 6,000 customers nationwide and in Canada in hospitality, senior care, student housing, healthcare and more. ACT is unable to expand at its current location in Bel Aire and as the company considered its options, company leadership expressed the desire to be near an airport as they bring in national customers and staff.

Part of the company’s plans include a national training facility that will bring employees to Wichita to train in an onsite simulation center on disaster situations like flooding, smoke damage and mold remediation to learn the latest mitigation and response methods hands-on. The company also plans to bring national customers to Wichita to view the latest in emergency response techniques.

ACT is targeting to begin construction this summer and would add 10 full-time employees over the next five years to its existing headquarter employment of about 20. ACT employs more than 20 additional full-time employees around the country, not including its emergency response teams.

The Greater Wichita Partnership worked with ACT and a number of partners, including the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County and the Kansas Department of Commerce on the proposed project. The City Council will be reviewing a proposal for the new headquarters at its meeting on Tuesday, June 2.

ACT President and CEO Christian Wiley said, “We were especially pleased to find a location near the airport that could accommodate the travel of so many to our new facility. We like showing off Wichita and the vibe the city has going, to clients and employees alike. Even though many of our employees live throughout the country, Wichita is ACT’s home.”

Started in 2001, ACT has grown to become a premier nationwide company in the area of restoring properties and getting companies back in business after a disaster.

May 21, 2020
For the second time in a few weeks, the City of Clearwater is announcing a new business locating to Sedgwick County. The Greater Wichita Partnership team was pleased to support the City of Clearwater throughout the process, working closely with partners, including the Kansas Department of Commerce.

The manufacturing company Anderson & Forrester is relocating from the Denver metro area to the Clearwater Business Park. This follows the announcement of the Plains Cotton Cooperative Association’s new warehouse and distribution center in Clearwater.

Anderson & Forrester, a leader in orifice and conversion fitting needs, supplies parts to original equipment manufacturers in the natural gas and propane industry. The company will have about 10 full-time employees in a new 7,500 square-foot manufacturing facility being constructed by a local contractor.

Construction on the new building is expected to begin soon with the company relocating this summer. Plains Cotton Cooperative Association is also about to begin construction on its new 473,000 square-foot warehouse and distribution facility in the Clearwater Business Park.

Identified in the Regional Growth Plan, advanced manufacturing and oil & gas are included in the seven key industries to grow our regional economy, attract new businesses and expand existing industries.

February 18, 2020
Advanced manufacturing company Reiloy USA is expanding its capabilities and capacity at its current Maize location. The German-owned company has plans to invest more than $20 million in a new building, machinery and grow to more than 100 employees in the next few years.

Reiloy USA has a 54,000 square-foot facility at the Maize Industrial Park and currently employs 68 people. Based on initial plans, the new building will be located on 13 acres near Reiloy USA’s current building. The company plans to hire 39 people over the next five years, and will provide new employees with highly specialized training.

The Greater Wichita Partnership worked with Reiloy USA and a number of partners on the collaborative, regional effort to help the company with its expansion efforts, including the City of Maize, the Kansas Department of Commerce and Evergy.

Project Partners

January 21, 2020
A new $50M investment will move forward on Wichita State University’s (WSU) Innovation Campus to accommodate planned growth at NetApp, a Fortune 500 global IT company with over 600 employees locally in Wichita.

NetApp will not only keep its Wichita location through this investment but grow its existing employee base, adding 45 full-time jobs over the next five years and 70 over the next ten years. New positions include software and hardware engineers, customer support personnel, researchers and administrative support personnel. The estimated annual income for these new employees exceeds $100,000. The company will continue to employ WSU students in full-time, part-time and internship positions, building a direct pipeline of IT talent for our region through applied learning.

In order to support NetApp’s growth, WSU Innovation Campus developer MWCB, LLC will build a 168,000-square-foot Wichita headquarters for the company. Per City Council approval at today’s meeting, $33M of Industrial Revenue Bonds will finance the new 3-story, state-of-the-art Class A facility. NetApp estimates that it will invest an additional $17M in the facility for machinery, equipment and tenant related improvements. The Wichita City Council approved the use of Industrial Revenue Bonds, which do not provide public funding but a lower available interest rate, along with a sales tax exemption and property tax exemption.

NetApp, a Fortune 500 company, is a cloud data services and data management company, with global headquarters in Sunnyvale, CA with 500 full-time positions and 128 contract positions in Wichita. Their client list includes Cisco, Microsoft, IBM and Citrix. The company will join Airbus, Spirit AeroSystems and Textron Aviation on the Innovation Campus.

Identified in the Regional Growth Plan, IT Systems & Support is one of seven critical target sectors for growth and diversification. This project positions NetApp and the Innovation Campus for continued growth and business opportunities. In addition, this project aligns with the Economic Prosperity action plan of Project Wichita, which identifies growing technology-based talent within the region over the next ten years as a key priority.