Kansas

Sectors it is courting

• Aerospace and Defense
• Food and Beverage
• Automotive
• Energy
• Agribusiness
• Industrial Materials
• Information and Communication Technology
• Safety and Security
• Cleantech/Clean Energy
• Distribution and Logistics
• Equipment and Machinery
• Business and Professional Services
• Design and Construction

Investment it is seeking from

• Japan
• Germany
• France
• South Korea
• Canada
• Netherlands
• Italy
• Spain
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• Israel
• Taiwan

Supply-chain projects it is looking for

Biotechnology, Electric Vehicles (EVs), Large Capacity Batteries, Semiconductor Manufacturing and Advanced Packaging

Site-selection services it offers

At the Kansas Department of Commerce, we work with you on a confidential basis to identify useful partnerships and available state and local resources, including available buildings and sites, labor data, training resources and infrastructure. We also work with you to determine which Kansas communities hold the greatest potential for your project, formulate your site visit agenda, connect you with the local economic development representatives, provide customized information on incentives available to support your project, ensure that all your questions have been answered and provide a soft landing.

Incentive programmes

• Grant

  The Small Cities Community Development Block Grant – Economic Development (CDBG-ED) program is a source of financing for companies that are expanding an existing facility or starting a new operation in a non-metropolitan area of Kansas. The maximum amount of funds available is $750,000 per project. The two parts of the program are business finance and infrastructure.

• Tax Credit

  The High Performance Incentive Program (HPIP) offers a 10% corporate income tax credit on the qualified capital investment of an eligible company. Investment can include purchase or lease of facility or equipment, remodeling or build-out costs, fixtures, machinery, furniture and business equipment. Equipment transferred into Kansas is also credited at the original acquisition cost. The Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit program offers Kansas income tax credits to individuals who provide seed-capital financing for emerging Kansas businesses engaged in development, implementation and commercialization of innovative technologies, products and services.

• Tax Refund or Rebate

  Promoting Employment Across Kansas (PEAK) offers qualified companies the ability to retain 95% of their payroll withholding tax for five to ten years. The number of years that the withholding tax can be retained depends on the aggregate median wage of all PEAK jobs/employees as compared to the relevant county median wage. PEAK is available for new, relocated and expanded operations in Kansas.

• Loan/Loan Participation

  Select Kansas communities offer local revolving loan programs. For example, NetWork Kansas’s matching loan programs are designed to support private capital by providing matching funds to assist startups and existing businesses that are expanding. A variety of loan programs are offered based on geography, matching loan amounts, and project need. Matching loan programs to consider include the Startup Kansas Loan, E-Community Partnership Loan, Minority & Women Business Multiplier Loan and the Kansas Capital Multiplier Loan.

• Other

  The Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) program is direct financial assistance for the training of net new jobs to Kansas. The program can be structured as pre-employment, classroom, on-the-job or a combination of the three. The program can pay the negotiated costs for instructors’ salaries, video development, textbooks and training manuals, supplies and materials and curriculum planning and development. The Kansas Industrial Retraining (KIR) program is a job retention tool that helps employees of restructuring companies who are likely to be displaced because of obsolete or inadequate job skills and knowledge.

Shovel-ready sites

• Logistics Park KC (LPKC) is the only full-service facility in the western two-thirds of the United States offering the combination of domestic intermodal service, international intermodal service, and direct-rail/carload service. The LPKC advanced infrastructure consists of 443 acres, 750,000+ annual unit capacity, eight wide-span all-electric cranes, 4,300 container stacking spots, 1,810 paved parking spaces and 64,000 feet of track (eight 8,000-foot strip tracks.)

  Site details

• The Kansas Enterprise Industrial Park (KEIP) is owned by the City of Hutchinson and located on the southeast side of Hutchinson and is home to Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. In September 2013, KEIP fulfilled the “Shovel-Ready” Site Designation Program for the General Manufacturing Industry through the Austin Consulting Group from Cleveland, Ohio. The certification is performed through a comprehensive review of items including ownership, property, transportation, utility, community and environment. With 100 acres of rail served, contiguous acres available, this would be the perfect location for a new company looking to start building right away with the peace of mind that the due diligence has already been provided.

  Site details

• Nestled in the Flint Hills of South-Central, Kansas and 20 minutes from Wichita, El Dorado – an individual community of 13,000 – is an ideal location for companies seeking a reliable, resilient industrial water source and access to efficient transportation, plentiful land and technically-skilled talent. Properties are easily accessible from east/west and north/south highways within two miles, are near BNSF Railway’s main line and Union Pacific’s lead line and are located within five miles of a transload facility. More than 321,000 people in the workforce live within a 60-mile radius of El Dorado, Kansas.

  Site details

Technology-sector sub-sectors sought

AgTech (including FoodTech), CleanTech, eCommerce & Retail Tech, FinTech, HealthTech (including MedTech), ICT (including Software / Cybersecurity / AI)

Programmes for international technology startups

a. Kansas Angels: The Kansas Angel Investor Tax Credit (KAITC) Program is administered by the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDC) and designed to bring together accredited angel investors with qualified Kansas companies seeking early-stage investment. The “Kansas Angels” program helps provide access to capital for Kansas start-ups. b. Proof of Concept Fund: The Kansas Information and Technology Enterprise (KITE)’s Proof of Concept (POC) fund is designed to fill a need for support where typical funding mechanisms are not available, acting as a bridge between federal funding for basic research and commercial seed funding by angel or venture investors. POC funding will not be awarded when other sources of funding are timely available. The POC program will aim to assist the establishment of promising new technology-based entrepreneurial ventures in the state as well as the commercialization of inventions resulting from research conducted at Kansas public universities. c. Plug and Play Topeka: Topeka and Shawnee County are the nation's fastest-growing areas for the health sciences. Companies located within this region represent 67% of the total animal health, diagnostics, and pet food sold in the US. Plug and Play is building a world-class animal health ecosystem by pairing Silicon Valley technology with the Kansas region's state-of-the-art industry

Programmes for international clean-energy projects

As a leader in renewable energy, Kansas offers an immediate advantage to companies committed to meeting corporate sustainability goals from renewable sources. Kansas is committed to the continued growth of the clean energy sector by developing additional wind farms and solar energy, as well as biofuels, hydrogen and other next generation technology. Incentives include property tax exemptions for equipment used to generate electricity from renewable sources, as well as biomass to energy operations.

Incubators and accelerators

• University of Kansas (KU) Innovation Park

  KU Innovation Park is an independent, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to transforming the regional economic landscape through the support of innovation, entrepreneurship, and the commercialization of new technologies. More than a physical location, the Park is a regional ecosystem of facilities, services, people, and partners dedicated to creating a more diverse, resilient and equitable Kansas economy. With the support of its underlying coalition of public and private stakeholders, and alongside its vast network of community, industry and government partners, the Park seeks to leverage the region’s existing strengths and assets to build the high-growth, innovation-focused industry clusters that will drive Kansas’ long-term economic growth, sustainability and prosperity for decades to come.

• Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus

  Situated on 120 acres, Wichita State University’s Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings where organizations establish operations and reap the rewards of the university’s vast resources: laboratories that give students access to real-world applications and the training needed to effortlessly assimilate into the workforce, a community makerspace that gives both students and nonstudents alike access to the technology and services that help facilitate product development and mixed-use areas that provide everyone with a place to eat, sleep, play, shop and share.

• ASTRA Innovation Center and District

  Topeka and Shawnee County are the nation's fastest-growing areas for the health sciences. Companies located within this region represent 67% of the total animal health, diagnostics, and pet food sold in the US, totaling $21.5 billion in sales. Plug and Play is building a world-class animal health ecosystem by pairing Silicon Valley technology with the Kansas region's state-of-the-art industry R&D, workforces, and animal health companies. Topeka and Shawnee County helped build what is now known as the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor. More than 300 animal health companies are located between Manhattan, Kansas, and Columbia, Missouri, including four of the top 10 animal health companies in the world.

University and workforce programmes

• The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University

  The National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) provides research, design, testing, certification and training for aviation and manufacturing technologies. Established in 1985, NIAR has a $70 million annual budget; a staff of 500; and 600,000 square feet of laboratory and office space in four locations across the city of Wichita, the Air Capital of the World. NIAR has laboratories for the following areas: Additive Manufacturing, Advanced Coatings, Advanced Manufacturing, Aging Aircraft/Sustainability, Ballistics and Impact Dynamics, CAD/CAM, Composites and Advanced Materials, Crash Dynamics, Emerging Technologies, Environmental and Electromagnetic Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Mechanical Test, Nondestructive Test/Oil Analysis, Reverse Engineering, Robotics and Automation, Virtual Engineering and Flight, Virtual Reality and Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel.

• The Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Optimization Center (BIO Center)

  The Biopharmaceutical Innovation and Optimization Center (BIO Center) provides drug delivery, solubilization and stabilization services to researchers. The center is closely aligned with the Institute for Advancing Medical Innovation (IAMI) and seeks to translate innovative research into new medical treatments and technologies. The BIO Center works with researchers at the University of Kansas and with experts around the world to transform new discoveries into products for patients. A large portion of the center’s research is conducted in partnership with the KU Cancer Center (KUCC). Drug development specializations include pre-formulation and formulation, analytical chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry and pharmacokinetics and pharmacology.

Additional services

Unlike most states, Kansas combines economic development and workforce services in its Department of Commerce. This combination creates a seamless experience for employers as employers seek assistance in addressing their employment needs. It also helps to ensure that workforce programs are demand-driven and focused on providing the skilled workforce sought by Kansas employers. A wide array of services and resources are available to decrease the stress of hiring through creative solutions and best practices. Our experienced international investment team can provide the information you need as you evaluate opportunities in the U.S. market. Kansas will assist in identifying the ideal location for your operations and will work to ensure a soft landing for your company. Making the decision to invest in Kansas is just the beginning of our relationship. Our team and the state of Kansas will continue to support your company's growth for years to come and ensure you have the tools and resources you need to thrive.

In its own words

Kansas leadership has a strong commitment to attracting additional foreign investment to Kansas, and our elected officials are directly involved in working with international companies such as Panasonic, which selected our state for a $4 billion EV battery production facility. Our strategy going forward includes a focus on supporting suppliers to the electric vehicle and semiconductor industry seeking US locations to serve key customers as these sectors continue to grow in the US market. Our core areas of strength in advanced manufacturing - including aerospace and automotive - bioscience, food processing, and logistics will remain a top priority as outlined in our Framework for Growth, the state's economic development strategic plan. We are expanding our international business recruitment efforts in key markets and seeking opportunities to build new partnerships across the globe.

Investor account, as submitted

“With the acquisition of this new facility, we are thrilled to have a unique opportunity to expand our creams business,” said Jim Breach, President of Flora Food Group’s North American business. “Building on the existing, state-of-the-art infrastructure and trained workforce residing in the local community, we look forward to bringing more folks into the Flora Food Group family as well as continuing to produce our kitchen and pantry staple items here in America’s heartland and across our broader Americas region.” (https://www.florafoodgroup.com/stories/press-and-media/flora-food-group-announces-acquisition-of-new-facility-in-southwestern-kansas)

Submitted by the economic development organisation, not independently verified.

Regional partner organisations

• Greater Wichita Partnershipandrew@greaterwichitapartnership.org(316) 500-6650
• Kansas City Area Development Councilcowden@thinkkc.com(816) 221-2121
• Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commercedebrat@hutchchamber.com(620) 662-3391

Who to contact

• Molly FloresInternational DivisionMolly.Flores@ks.gov(785) 845-0290
• Chang LuInternational Project Managerchang.lu@ks.gov(913) 505-8541

1000 SW Jackson Street, Suite 100, Topeka, KS 66612