The Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) celebrated its 2022 successes this past year at its annual meeting, themed “Level Up KC,” last week with nearly 2,000 corporate and civic partners in attendance.
“Six thousand jobs; $354 million in payroll; $5.6 billion in capital investment. That’s a record-breaking year for KCADC,” said Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO, Burns & McDonnell, and co-chair of KCADC.
In 2022, KCADC, with its partners from across the region, attracted 13 companies, expanding the region’s strengths in, among other industries, manufacturing and distribution, animal health, technology and data centers.
“This is our time. This is our moment. What we do today and tomorrow will shape KC’s future,” said Tim Cowden, KCADC’s president and CEO.
Executives from two of the companies bringing megaprojects, Meta and Panasonic Energy of North America, to the region shared their plans with the attendees.
This past March, Meta selected Kansas City as the site of its new $800 million hyperscale data center.
“Our data centers are the backbone of infrastructure across our platform of apps.... Our Kansas City data center cannot be understated,” said Katie Comer, Meta’s head of data center community development, North America.
Comer said that in approximately eight months, Meta has moved 2 million cubic yards of dirt, installed 42,000 linear feet of electrical cable and duct bank and will start construction on vertical steel this month. The data center is scheduled to begin operations in 2024.
Turner Construction Company is the general contractor for the project and Evergy is the energy provider.
“KCMO truly had it all, virtually every desirable factor we looked for. It had the right infrastructure, access to renewable energy... and we have a world-class workforce here to build and ultimately operate this data center and a high quality of life to attract and retain the best talent here in Kansas City for the long term,” said Matt Sexton, Meta’s community development manager.
“KC is recognized as an automotive logistics hub also. And robust engineering and technology and construction that we have helped us win another incredible, transformational mega project this year in our region,” said Kowalik.
Allan Swan, president, Panasonic, said the company looked at 12 states and more than 100 potential sites for its $4 billion investment in an electric-vehicle battery factory before selecting a site at Astra Enterprise Park in De Soto, Kansas, which formerly housed the Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant.
“It’s a brand new industry, and it’s only just started. It’s not just EVs for cars - it’s trains, buses, trucks, and it’s aerospace as well. That’s what makes this choice so exciting,” said Swan.
Swan said the plant is expected to have 4,000 employees, 800 to 1,000 of which will be predominantly engineers.
“There’s a real engineering opportunity to change the world with this product. CO2 emissions--0. You change the world. That’s what makes it so exciting. Then there are about 3,000 operators. . . . They’re the ones who make the battery product,” he said.
Swan said the plant will take approximately two years to complete. Kissick Construction Company, Inc. and Emery Sapp & Sons, Inc. have been awarded site preparation contracts.
Swan said the project fits perfectly into Panasonic’s growth strategy.
“We’ll add about another 60 percent capacity in DeSoto with the capacity that we’re putting in place. We will continue to be growing quite dramatically in the United States to satisfy the demand of the customers. When we announced Kansas back in July, we were inundated by other automakers wanting to know if they could get a bit of our capacity,” he said.
Both Meta and Panasonic will begin local hiring efforts in early to mid-2023.
Ora Reynolds, president and CEO, Hunt Midwest, and incoming co-chair of KCADC, announced that KCADC will be making a $10,000 contribution to the Parade of Hearts, which recently announced plans to continue in 2023.
Omar Johnson, marketing innovator and founder, ØPUS United, gave the keynote address. A first-time visitor to Kansas City, Johnson shared what he learned about Kansas City.
“The people I’ve met here are proud. Proud of the state, proud of the city, proud of everything that comes from here… It’s a community here… It both has some age, not just the people, but in its lifetime in being established as a city; but it also has its vibrancy, feeling young, feeling new, feeling exciting. It's a sports town… It’s inclusive… Lastly, it’s a home,” Johnson said.
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Above: Ray Kowalik, chairman and CEO, Burns & McDonnell, and co-chair of KCADC. and Tim Cowden, KCADC’s president and CEO, open up for KCADC's Annual event, "Level Up KC." Photo credit: Morgan Miller Photography.