Governor Laura Kelly Announces $2 Billion in New Capital Investment in 2020

TOPEKA – Governor Laura Kelly today announced that the State of Kansas has officially surpassed $2 billion in new capital investment in 2020. This investment is brought by new economic development projects driven by Governor Kelly’s administration and the Kansas Department of Commerce.

“The arrival of COVID-19 threatened to undermine the significant progress my administration has made to rebuild Kansas’ economic development recruitment efforts,” Governor Kelly said. “But with the assistance of Secretary David Toland and the dedicated team at the Department of Commerce, we have continued to bring in new projects or grow existing businesses. This significant milestone in investment illustrates our strong momentum, which will allow us to continue creating jobs and strengthening our state’s economic foundation.”

As of Tuesday, Governor Kelly’s administration has closed 86 projects in 2020, worth nearly $2.15 billion in capital investment and creating more than 8,100 jobs. Since Governor Kelly has been in office, her administration has closed 179 projects worth more than $3.47 billion in capital investment and which promise to create nearly 19,000 jobs.

“This achievement would have been impossible without the hard work and dedication of our team at the Department of Commerce,” Secretary Toland said. “We have the best economic development team in the country thanks to Governor Kelly’s commitment to rebuilding this agency and her belief in smart, transparent economic development. Expect much more from Commerce – we’re not slowing down.”

To celebrate the investment numbers, Governor Kelly and Secretary Toland today visited and toured Plastikon Healthcare in Lawrence.

The company, a plastic and contract manufacturer, recently expanded its facility to produce test tubes for COVID-19 testing. The expansion will bring nearly $6 million in capital investment to Kansas and create about 40 jobs.

“Plastikon is an innovative, forward-thinking company with a strong record of responding quickly and efficiently to pressing health care needs,” Governor Kelly said. “Its ability to incorporate new technologies will aid the state in the production of much-needed testing supplies to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and keep our businesses and schools open. I thank them for their dedication to our state.”

Capital Investment Highlights:

The Plastikon expansion joins the ranks of approximately 86 new economic development projects completed across the state this year, including:

• Urban Outfitters, Inc., whose new 880,000-square-foot omnichannel distribution center in Wyandotte County will create up to 2,000 new jobs and invest over $400 million in Kansas over the next several years;
• Amazon’s two new fulfillment centers in Kansas City, Kansas, and Park City, which will create more than 1,000 full-time jobs;
• Great Plains Manufacturing’s new manufacturing facility in Salina, which will result in more than $43 million in capital investment and create 130 full-time jobs;
• The new Nor-Am Cold Storage facility in Dodge City, which will bring 90 new full-time jobs and $30 million in capital investment;
• And the new Peerless Products production facility in Iola, which will create up to 120 new full-time jobs with a capital investment of $10.35 million

A full list of Commerce business successes can be found here.