kc smartport blog

Excelligence Learning Corp broke ground on its new 646,000-sq.-ft. Gardner facility in December.

Industrial firms hired 31,000 people in November, which is the second biggest increase in four years. Only a 44,000 person gain in August was bigger.

With two intermodal facilities, two major automotive plants, and many more assets, Kansas City has seen a boom of industrial real estate development. From 2011 to 2014 nearly 8.9 million square feet of space was built because of tax abatements, a decrease in construction costs, and Kansas City's optimal location. Today, landlords are doing more to make their space the most attractive while communities on both sides of the state line continue to offer incentives in order to attract business.

After three months of slow performance, the North American freight market showed an increase in June. Shipment volumes in June 2016 increased 1.7 percent from May and expenditures rose 3.9 percent according to the latest Cass Freight Index Report.

KC SmartPort hosted more than 550 attendees at its fifth annual industry briefing on April 6, 2016. Leading up to and throughout the event, the audience was encouraged to use #KCDisrupt to join in the social media conversation.

S&S Activewear, a national promotional apparel wholesaler, announced it will locate a new distribution center in Olathe, Kansas, creating 200 jobs in the region. S&S Activewear will occupy a 473,000-sq.-ft. shipping and receiving facility at I-35 Logistics Park.

Through its business attraction partnership with the Kansas City Area Development Council and regional economic development organizations, Kansas City SmartPort successfully attracted 12 freight-based projects to the Kansas City area in 2015.

Focus Workforces is Kansas City’s leading provider of light industrial staffing and workforce management solutions.

Logistics is defined as the things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people, while supply chain is defined as the sequence of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity.

Excel Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of turf care products, has chosen to expand operations in the KC region, creating 200 jobs.