Ingram's March 2023

With billions of investment dollars and tens of thousands of potential jobs, major projects add new depth to the state’s advanced-manufacturing sector. ‘Made in Kansas’ Label Means Even More Today

by Matt Smithmier

F lat, farms, flyover country. Pro ducer of wheat, cattle, and corn. And wind. Lots of wind. Common perceptions for Kansas, yet they fail to tell the whole story. So, how do you begin to change minds? “How do we do it? We just keep talking about it. We just keep showing up.” So says Tiffany Stovall, CEO of Kansas Manufacturing Solutions, an affiliate of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Manufac turing Extension Partnership program. Her organization is on a mission to not only deliver consulting and sol- utions to manufacturers in the state, but to spread the word about the grow- ing role of manufacturing in Kansas. “There’s quite a bit of manufac- turing happening in Kansas—much more manufacturing than agriculture, surprisingly,” she said. “I think the good numbers speak for themselves. …

When you can start to talk about what it really is here, there are some ‘a-ha’ moments.” Those numbers she mentioned: $17.5 billion in annual farm and ranch cash receipts compared to $27.5 billion in manufacturing. “I use that number quite a bit be cause companies are surprised, like, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t realize there was any manufacturing happening in Kansas,’” she said. At least outside of aviation, of co- urse. Kansas is well-known for its avia tion aircraft prowess, contributing $2.25 billion in aerospace exports ev ery year and boasting the third-high- est concentration of aviation workers in the U.S., according to the Kansas Department of Commerce. Wichita is still widely considered the Air Cap- ital of the World and is home to two premier light aircraft manufactur- ers (Bombardier Learjet and Textron

Aviation’s Beechcraft and Cessna) as well as Spirit AeroSystems, the largest tier-one aerostructures manufacturer in the world, and primary source for fuselages for Boeing’s 737 passenger-jet series. Yet, even with the state’s dominance of the air, a lot is nevertheless hap pening on the ground, strengthening the state’s foothold in manufacturing. In fact, approximately 2,700 different manufacturers are located across Kan sas, ranging from just one employee to nearly 20,000, adding up to more than 160,000 residents employed in the manufacturing sector. While aerospace and food manu facturing continue to do well, advanced manufacturing in the high-tech sector is generating much of the current ex- citement, Stovall said, especially in the past year. “It can’t be understated what’s hap pening right now,” she says.

KC Street Car

81

9.4

16.3 2,500+

Percentage of Kansas’ yearly exports that are manufactured goods (USA Trade 2020)

Billions of dollars’ worth of manufactured goods exported to other countries (USA Trade 2020)

Percentage of the Kansas GDP from manufacturing (KSA 2018)

Number of manufacturing firms operating in Kansas

36

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