KC SmartPort Blog

Olathe Advanced Technical Center (OATC) is a two-year career and technical program in Olathe, Kansas that trains junior and senior high school students for today’s high-demand career fields.

The Greater Kansas City Foreign-Trade Zone and the World Trade Center-KC hosted an FTZ 101 seminar on April 23. Attendees heard first-hand from local FTZ operators about the benefits, activation steps and operational processes of a Foreign-Trade Zone.

KC SmartPort’s 2019 Annual Industry Briefing: FLEX, delivered an expert panel of leaders from Amazon, Cushman & Wakefield, BNSF Railway and Heitman Architects. The panel addressed a crowd of more than 550 logistics, real estate and economic development professionals on April 4 in Kansas City.

With e-commerce redefining the retail logistics landscape, the last mile is becoming an even more important point of discussion, especially since it makes up the largest percent of shipping costs.

The Honeywell Aerospace facility in Olathe is expected to gain several hundred new employees over the next year to 18 months.

Metropolitan Community College (MCC) has five campuses that serve more than 37,000 students across the KC region, creating a unique pipeline of highly skilled talent.

Once referred to by developers as a “well-kept secret,” the Kansas City metro area is quickly developing a global reputation for skilled workforce, strong infrastructure, affordable housing and competitive overhead costs like transportation and utilities.

Kansas City’s geography is central to its success, but its location on the transportation map is no longer the only reason development is on the move.

KC SmartPort has elected officers for their 2019 Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will provide guidance and oversight to KC SmartPort as the non-profit economic development organization continues to elevate the Kansas City region as a leading supply chain hub.

KCVC serves as a centralized hub for KC area corporations to capture highly trained and experienced Veterans transitioning out of the military. With a regional Veteran population over 140,000 and roughly 5,600 annual separations, KCVC’s mission is offering businesses the opportunity to attract thousands of highly-skilled workers right here at home.