Recruitment Success

CVS Health
CVS Pharmacy, America’s leading retail pharmacy, will build a 762,000-sq.-ft. distribution center at KC’s Skyport Industrial Park. The new distribution center is expected to create more than 360 new jobs, as well as up to 100 additional jobs that will be outsourced to local businesses. “The key combination of a high-quality workforce and a centralized location will support the growing needs of our customers throughout the Midwest and beyond,” said Kevin Hourican, Executive Vice President, Pharmacy Services & Supply Chain, CVS Health. “As a result of our new Midwest distribution center, our delivery drivers will drive hundreds of thousands fewer miles each year to deliver product to our stores, significantly reducing carbon emissions and improving highway safety.” The new distribution center, expected to begin operations in 2018, will support the service and fulfillment needs of more than 370 CVS Pharmacy stores throughout the Midwest. Read more.

TQL
Total Quality Logistics announced its newest sales office in Kansas City, Missouri. The new location will be TQL’s 57th office nationwide and the second to open in Missouri. The new office will open with a founding team of five current TQL employees, as well as several more from its first hiring class prior to opening. TQL plans to bring 50 to 75 new jobs to the city over the next three years. TQL connects customers needing to move truckload freight with quality carriers who have the capacity to move it. “Opening a new location in Kansas City helps us to build on the success we’ve had in Missouri the last two years with our St. Louis office,” said TQL president Kerry Byrne. “Our expansion plan is aggressive as we strive to offer more opportunities to be a world-class customer service provider in the logistics industry.” Read more.

Deutz Corporation 
Deutz Corporation is opening a new facility (DEUTZ Power Centers) in North Kansas City, Missouri. Supported by a staff of 17, Deutz Power Center Midwest is the first of its kind for the company, providing application engineering and technical sales resources closer to smaller and mid-sized machinery manufacturers that utilize Deutz products. “The decision to locate Deutz Power Center Midwest in North Kansas City was a simple one due to its central location in the territory, as well as its pro-business environment,” said Robert Mann, president and CEO of Deutz Corp. DEUTZ Power Centers will design, engineer and manufacture DEUTZ-branded power packages, in addition to providing regularly scheduled maintenance and emergency service of DEUTZ engines at our shop location or at the customer's site via traveling service technicians and service trucks. Read more.

Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc.announced it will open a new fulfillment center in Kansas City, Kansas. The new facility, the second large-sized fulfillment center Amazon has announced within a span of four months, will create over 1,000 full-time roles. In addition to the new fulfillment center in Wyandotte County and the upcoming facility in Edgerton, Amazon has existing Kansas facilities in Lenexa. “We are thrilled to continue investing in Kansas, proud of our ability to create great jobs, and most importantly, excited to better serve our customers throughout the Midwest,” said Akash Chauhan, Amazon’s vice president of North American operations. “Together with the addition of the Kansas City and the Edgerton fulfillment centers, there will be 2,000 new Amazon jobs in Kansas and none of this would be have been possible without the support we’ve received from state and community leaders.” Read more. 

Amazon.com
Amazon announced it will locate a 822,000-sq.ft. bulk product shipping facility in Edgerton, Kansas at Logistics Park Kansas City, creating 1,000 new jobs. Joe Accurso, Principal at Cushman & Wakefield, managed the project and lease. "We're excited to bring 1,000 great full-time jobs with benefits to the Kansas City region and proud to further invest in the state with this new fulfillment center," said Akash Chauhan, Amazon's vice president of North American operations. "We are grateful for the enthusiasm of our many state and local partners who have supported Amazon in bringing a new fulfillment center to Kansas. This has been a true team effort." Read more.

S&S Activewear
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.  “The additional Midwest warehouse puts us over 1.5 million sq. ft. of inventory, with a big portion of that inventory in the most accessible region of the country. It will give our customers a larger overnight delivery area with later cut-off times,” said Margaret Crow, director of marketing at S&S Activewear. The company will occupy a 473,000 sq. ft. shipping and receiving facility at I-35 Logistics Park. Dan Jensen, principal with Kessinger/Hunter & Co., LC, negotiated the lease. This new location will expand the company’s 1-day ground shipping transit area to include Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Texas and part of Colorado. Read more.

Commonwealth, Inc. 
Commonwealth, Inc., a full-service third party logistics (3PL) company specializing in providing public warehousing and contract warehousing solutions, announced today it will open a new operation in the KC region, investing $3.5 million in a 101,567-sq.-ft. facility. “When the opportunity arose to come to Kansas City I immediately jumped on it. Kansas City has always had a strong logistics sector and I was eager to be a part of it. After touring the area I am very encouraged by the growth potential I see in Kansas City,” said Brent Collins, president and CEO of Commonwealth, Inc.  Commonwealth’s new facility will be located in the Three Trails Industrial Park at 71 Highway and 87th St. in Kansas City, Missouri. Whitney Kerr Jr, managing director with Cushman & Wakefield, negotiated the lease on behalf of Commonwealth. Read more.

Menard, Inc./Midwest Manufacturing
Midwest Manufacturing, a division of Menard, Inc., will locate in Lawrence VenturePark, creating 100 jobs. Menard, Inc. is a family-owned home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Clair, Wisconsin. It manufactures various building materials to support its retail store network and industrial campuses throughout the Midwest under its Midwest Manufacturing division. Midwest Manufacturing operations include truss, concrete block, countertop, steel siding and roofing, and door manufacturing. The company will create 100 jobs and invest $25 million in this 90 acre project site. Read more.

Excel Industries Inc.  
Excel Industries Inc., a leading manufacturer of turf care products, has chosen to expand operations in the KC region creating 200 jobs. Excel evaluated Nashville, Indianapolis and Oklahoma City before selecting a 765,000-sq.-ft building in Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC) in Edgerton, KS as its primary distribution center. The Edgerton facility will also be used as warehousing space, and eventually manufacture an existing product line.Excel was founded in Hesston, Kansas in 1960 and is a third generation family-owned business. It is one of the leading manufacturers of consumer, professional and golf course mowing equipment, exporting its products to more than 30 countries. In 2013, Excel won the Kansas Governor’s Exporter of the Year award. Read more.

US Farathane
US Farathane LLC, a leading source of plastics manufacturing announced it will locate its newest manufacturing operation in Riverside, Missouri. The company will hire 267 over the next three years, and will invest $51.6 million. “Riverside is right in the heart of the action—it’s close to OEMs, it has an experienced workforce, and a business-friendly environment. Expanding to the KC region puts US Farathane in a great position to better serve our customers and expand our presence in the automotive industry. We’re very excited about the opportunities available for us here,” said Andy Greenlee, president of US Farathane. US Farathane evaluated sites in five states before selecting a 220,000-sq.-ft. spec building in the Horizons Business Park in Riverside. The Riverside facility will primarily supply the GM Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas. Read more.

Ceva Animal Health

Ceva Animal Health, LLC, a veterinary pharmaceutical company with its North American headquarters in Lenexa, KS, has signed a five-year lease to occupy 72,000 sq. ft. of warehousing and distribution space in Hunt Midwest SubTropolis, the world’s largest underground business complex. Ceva’s decision to locate within SubTropolis was driven by the desire to relocate the company’s primary warehousing operations closer to the company’s North American headquarters in Lenexa. “Relocating our warehouse from Memphis to SubTropolis has been a good move for Ceva and has created efficiency for our company. The consistent conditions and ability to easily expand warehouse space as our portfolio expands made SubTropolis a great fit to meet our needs today and in the future,” said Craig Wallace, CEO and North America/Pacific Zone Director at Ceva Animal Health.  Read more.

Daily's Premium Meats

ReallyGoodStuff.com will locate its new e-commerce fulfillment center in Kansas City, Missouri. The expansion project is expected to create 44 new jobs and include a $3.36 million capital investment. "We're delighted to be setting up a major distribution center in the CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Kansas City. For over twenty years we've served elementary schools in every state and in almost every community. Now we're much closer to many of our beloved teachers." said Jon Sonneborn, executive VP of ReallyGoodStuff.com. Read more.

Kubota Tractor Corportation
Kubota Tractor Corporation, the U.S. marketer and distributor of Kubota-engineered and manufactured machinery and equipment, will open a nearly 450,000 sq. ft. parts distribution center at Logistics Park Kansas City in Edgerton, Kansas. The Edgerton, Kansas site for the new facility was a strategic decision by Kubota management, given its central location within the U.S. “This new distribution center will enable us to manage our stream of parts more effectively and improve parts delivery time, including an expanded geographical area to which we can deliver parts within 24 hours,” said Earl Johnson, parts director for Kubota. Read more. 

XPO Logistics
XPO Logistics, a third-party logistics firm based in Greenwich, Conn., will add 125 new jobs in Kansas City, Missouri. The location will be XPO's first freight brokerage location in Missouri. One of the fastest-growing 3PLs in North America, XPO Logistics' Kansas City facility will enable the company to better serve its existing customer base, as well as accommodate anticipated growth, it said in a release. Read more. 


Neovio Logistics
Neovia Logistics, based in Irving, Texas, will operate the 55,950 sq. ft. facility at CenterPoint-KCS Intermodal Center in south Kansas City, Missouri. The new facility will create 63 jobs. The terminal is being erected at CenterPoint-KCS intermodal Center which is part of the redevelopment of the form Richards-Gebaur Air Force base.  Read more.

Amazon
Amazon.com, the nation's dominant U.S. online retailer, has leased all 260,700 sq. ft. of the speculative building at Lenexa Logistics Centre in Lenexa, Kan. The e-commerce company will employ 150. Read more. 

Flexsteel Industries, Inc.
Flexsteel Industries, Inc., one of the oldest and largest furniture manufacturing companies in the U.S., announced it will locate a new facility in Edgerton, Kansas, bringing 141 jobs to the region. Flexsteel will make a capital investment of $35 million, and generate $4.5 million in new payroll. The KC region was selected due to its central location, specifically the proximity to BNSF Railway’s newest intermodal facility, and a workforce with the right skill set for this facility. Read more.

MobilityWorks
MobilityWorks, an outfitter converting full-size vans, such as the Ford Transit, to be wheelchair-accessible, will locate its second location in Kansas City, Missouri. Because of MobilityWorks’ close proximity to Ford’s plant in Kansas City, the company, a certified Ford outfitter, has been granted use of Ford’s ship-through freight system. Read more. 

Food Service Warehouse
FoodServiceWarehouse.com, an e-commerce structured foodservice provider, will lease a 475,200 sq. ft. space in the Hunt Midwest SubTropolis. They provide intuitive assistance in searching, selecting and purchasing foodservice products. This investment will create approximately 40 new jobs for the KC area. The KC region was selected due to its central location and the ability to efficiently and effectively serve customers nationwide.  “An internal analysis revealed Kansas City as the most economical and efficient location for our central fulfillment center,” said Madhu Natarajan, CEO of FSW. “When we toured SubTropolis, we immediately saw the opportunity it held for our company. The logistics alone are impressive, but the potential to grow our footprint within the underground and the access to high-speed connectivity helped us make our final decision to move here.”  Read more. 

Martinrea
Martinrea has invested in a 275,560-sq.-ft. full-service manufacturing facility in Riverside, Missouri.  Martinrea is an international company based in Ontario, Canada and will supply to the GM assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas. The Riverside location will perform four main tasks: stamping, welding, e-coat and modular assembly. This will create up to 290 new jobs in the metro area. “We are pleased to open our first facility in Missouri, in order to better serve our customers,” said Rocco Marinaccio, director of modular assembly. “We have received a warm reception from everyone, and we look forward to becoming a contributing member of the local community.” Read more.

LMV Automotive Systems
Automotive parts supplier LMV Automotive Systems will add 256,000 sq. ft. to its current facility in Liberty, Mo.’s Heartland Meadows Industrial Park, creating 166 new jobs. The initial capital investment is estimated at $49.7 million. “Less than two years after breaking ground for a 213,000-sq.-ft. facility in Liberty, LMV Automotive is proving that Liberty is an ideal and welcoming community for businesses with this expansion announcement,” said Liberty, Missouri Mayor Lyndell Brenton. “We continue to gain significant momentum in economic development and job creation in Liberty.”    


Jurox
Jurox Pty Ltd is an Australian-based veterinary pharmaceutical company with over 120 proprietary animal health products. They have selected Kansas City, Missouri to be their United States headquarters creating 13 jobs in Kansas City. “Kansas City is the obvious best location to launch Jurox’s U.S. operations,” said John O’Brien, managing director for Jurox. “The region offers a broad portfolio of animal health companies, a first-rate talent pool, and a superior transportation network that connects us to clientele around the country and globe. Kansas City’s reputation and resources in animal sciences provides advantages you can’t find elsewhere.” Read more. 

Leggett & Platt
Leggett & Platt Commercial Vehicle Products (CVP), an Atlanta-based Qualified Vehicle Modifier, announced a new facility in Kansas City, Missouri. This facility will largely be used to upfit the Ford Transit and Ford F-150 vehicle platforms for commercial customers.  “Our fleet customers are very excited about the new Ford Transit and have begun placing orders for ship-thru at our new Kansas City facility, which will be ready and open for business shortly,” states John Forest, CVP’s vice president of install operations.  Read more. 


Inergy
Plastic Omnium, through its Auto Inergy division, is the leading global tier one supplier of complete plastic fuel systems and emission reduction related fluids systems to car manufacturers. Inergy Automotive Systems announced in January 2014 that it would set up a 70,000 sq. ft. shop in Kansas City, Kan., to produce plastic fuel systems for GM, employing 65 with a $3.2 million payroll. 

Janesville Acoustics

Grupo Antolin North America
Grupo Antolin is a major automotive parts supplier based in Spain. The company leased a 148,800-sq.-ft. manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Missouri. to supply the interior overhead systems to the new Ford Transit van. "Kansas City represents enormous opportunities for Grupo Antolin," said Max Rogers, president of Grupo Antolin North America. "Missouri's friendly corporate climate and close proximity to major automakers put us in a position to better serve our clients and continue to grow." Read more. 

Exel Logistics
Exel Logistics, one of the top contract logistics providers in the world, has entered the Kansas City market with a 158,000 sq. ft. facility to distribute parts for Ford Motor Company. 

Bender Group
Bender Group, a third party logistics (3PL) company headquartered in Reno, Nevada, recently leased a 50,296 sq.ft. building in Kansas City, Kansas. "Adding Kansas City to our existing fulfillment DC network bolsters our ability to ship to over 98 percent of the entire U.S. population within two days,” Bender Group's Jared Lindwall said in a statement. “This will provide a competitive advantage for our clients looking to get their product to the market faster, whether it is a traditional retail or direct-to-consumer order." Read more. 

IBC North America/Clean Tide Container
IBC North America and Clean Tide Container will open a 50,000 sq. ft. facility to manufacture and refurbish intermediate bulk containers, investing around $5.8 million, and creating 87 new jobs in Chillicothe, Missouri. "Finding good employees is very important and one of the reasons we picked Chillicothe to come to, and the state of Missouri," said president and chief executive officer, Dick Harding. Read more. 

Adrian Steel
In April 2013, Adrian Steel announced that they would be locating to a new 32,000-sq.-ft. van and truck equipment manufacturing plant in Kansas City, Missouri. The company, based out of Michigan, invested $4.7 million and created 39 new jobs in the metro area. In a statement, Bob Browns, general manager for the company, said that “the Kansas City region proved to be an ideal location due to the ongoing partnership between Adrian and Ford Motor Company.” The new Adrian plant will be a major supplier to Ford’s nearby Claycomo plant. Read more.

E.C. Manufacturing
In January 2013, E.C. Manufacturing opened a high tech consumer goods product manufacturing facility manufacturing in Shawnee, Kansas. The company is expected to create 252 new jobs over the next three years and make an estimated capital investment of more than $6 million. The company will produce advanced, small electrical components. E.C. Manufacturing is affiliated with Heatron, a Leavenworth based company specializing in thermal management and heating element design and solutions, as well as LED Integration. Read more. 

Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim Systems
Yanfeng USA Automotive Trim Systems invested $45 million in a new facility in Riverside, Missouri. The 260,000 sq. ft. plant created 263 jobs, and will produce interior components for General Motors Co. plants in Kansas City, Kansas, and Wentzville, Missouri. “Missouri offers Yanfeng USA an excellent business climate from which to serve our automotive customers, and we are excited to join the state’s strong community of automotive companies,” said David Wang, President of Yanfeng USA. Read more.

LMV Auto/Magna Group
LMV Automotive and its primary investor Magna Group invested $42 million in a 212,550-sq.-ft. auto parts assembly plant to supply the Ford plant and created 156 jobs in Liberty, Missouri. The plant manufactures parts for the new Ford Transit van. LMV Automotive is a subsidiary of Cosma International; the parent company of Cosma is Magna, the world's fourth-largest supplier of auto parts. Cosma President Tom Skudutis said state and local officials "helped make it possible for us to invest and create jobs in this area, and we are excited about the opportunity to support our customers from this location."  Read more. 

Murphy Warehouse
Murphy Warehouse Company, which handles supply-chain logistics for a variety of companies, leased a 50,000-sq.-ft. distribution center in North Kansas City creating 27 new jobs. This was the company’s first facility outside of their hometown of Minneapolis. Read more. 

Zumiez
Zumiez, a company who specializes in sports related apparel and equipment, opened a 153,000-sq.-ft. e-commerce fulfillment center in Edwardsville, Kansas that created 100 new jobs for the metro area. The company cited its growing online business and the importance of increasing speed of product deliveries to online customers as rationale for the move. Zumiez assessed multiple cities across the U.S. before selecting the Kansas City area, including Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville. "As a company, we continually evaluate opportunities to increase the speed of delivering products to our customers while also improving our costs. The move to Kansas means that, across the continental U.S., our customers should receive their Zumiez order in three days or less," said Marc Stolzman, Zumiez CFO. Read more. 

Logoplaste
Logoplaste, a multinational manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging, is opening a new manufacturing facility in Kansas City, Missouri. The Portuguese industrial company plans to invest $31.5 million in a 200,000 sq. ft. facility that will yield 80 jobs locally. Read more.

Horizon Global

Horizon Global, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of branded towing and trailering equipment, announced it is nearing completion on a new 512,000-square-foot distribution facility in Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC) in Edgerton, Kansas, that is expected to create more than 120 new jobs. “When the Edgerton facility begins shipping to Horizon Global customers by the end of the year, it will provide improved delivery times and service levels for our aftermarket and retail customers, while also providing savings to the Company through a more efficient distribution platform,” said Ron Dill, Director of Operations and Logistics. Read more.

Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree announced it will invest approximately $110 million to build a 1.2 million square foot distribution facility in Warrensburg, Mo. Dollar Tree expects to create 375 new jobs within three years, and the facility will support Dollar Tree’s retail store network in the Midwestern U.S. The facility will see 150-200 inbound/outbound trucks per day. “Dollar Tree is a large and growing organization,” said Dollar Tree Chief Executive Officer Bob Sasser. “We have been very impressed with the business-friendly approach that the State of Missouri, Johnson County and the City of Warrensburg have provided. This project demonstrates our commitment to western Missouri by creating hundreds of jobs in the region. We are proud to become a bigger part of the local community.” Read more.

Hy-Vee Aisles
Hy-Vee Inc. began work in south Kansas City industrial park, Three Trails, on an e-commerce fulfillment center and central kitchen for its Kansas City-area stores. Hy-Vee officials said its dual-purpose operation will occupy nearly 137,000 square feet in Three Trails Building III. The fulfillment center will support the Hy-Vee Aisles Online order and delivery program. The kitchen facility will prepare food to be distributed to the grocer’s area stores. Hy-Vee said it expects to employ about 127 people at the outset and more than 200 eventually. Read more.

Spectrum Brands
The Kansas Department of Commerce recently announced that Spectrum Brands Hardware and Home Improvement (HHI) will open a new 927,112-sq.-ft. distribution facility at Logistics Park Kansas City (LPKC), creating 315 jobs. This move will centralize its current operations from two distribution facilities in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Mira Loma, California, to LPKC in Edgerton, Kansas."After completing our analysis, we determined that centralizing distribution operations in Edgerton will enable Spectrum Brands HHI to more efficiently serve our customers with lower inventory levels while establishing a platform for future growth.” said Sr. Vice President and General Manager of Hardware and Home Improvement Phil Szuba. Read