Kansas Department of Commerce Earns 11th Silver Shovel Award for Economic Development Wins

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Commerce has again been recognized by Area Development magazine with one of its Silver Shovel awards. The Silver Shovel award honors state economic development agencies that drive significant job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes, and promotions that attract new employers and investments in new and expanded facilities.

This year’s award marks the eleventh year the Kansas Department of Commerce has been recognized with a Silver Shovel Award. The agency has also earned a Gold Shovel award, presented annually to the states that have achieved the most success in terms of new job creation and company investment, in 2013.

“Smart companies from very diverse industries continue to discover Kansas as an excellent place to locate and expand their operations,” said Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer, M.D. “We are honored to once again be recognized by Area Development magazine with a Silver Shovel award for our achievements in economic development, and we will continue pressing forward with pro-growth policies that make Kansas the best choice for business.”

For this year’s award, the Kansas Department of Commerce was recognized for the scope and breadth of its Top 10 Projects which resulted in significant job creation and investment within the state. Based on the number of high-quality jobs per capita, amount of investment, number of new facilities, and industry diversity of the 10 submitted projects, Kansas qualified for a Silver Shovel award in the “Fewer than 3 Million Population” category.

Economic development projects submitted to the magazine for consideration included:

Company

City/County

New / Exp.

#Jobs

Investment Amt.

Industry

Nueterra Holdings, LLC

Leawood/Johnson

New

389

$17.9M

Healthcare Facilities Mgmt

Spectrum Brands

Edgerton/Johnson

New

511

$50.9 M

Logistics/Distribution

CrossFirst Bank

Leawood/Johnson

New

173

$46M

Banking

Multi-Service Technology Solutions

Overland Park/Johnson

New

116

$13.7M

Logistics/Distribution

Kiewit Corp.

Lenexa/Johnson

Exp
268

$130M

Construction/Engineering

Simmons Pet Food, KS
Emporia/Lyon

Exp

131

$101.3M

Pet Foods

Horizon Global

Edgerton/Johnson
New

122

$30M

Logistics/Distribution

Himoinsa Power

Olathe/Johnson

New

75

$38M

Portable Generators

Viega, LLC

McPherson/McPherson

Exp

150

$73M

Piping

Dold Foods

Wichita

New

384

$151M

Food Products

“Kansas has long been a transportation/logistics hub, so it’s no surprise that three of the big projects that earned Kansas a 2018 Silver Shovel award fall into this category,” said Geraldine Gambale, editor of Area Development. “Hundreds of other new jobs in the healthcare facilities and food products sectors also contributed to the state’s recognition by Area Development.”

A report on the 2018 Shovel Award winners is published in the Q2/2018 issue of Area Development and posted online at www.areadevelopment.com/shovels.