Here's a look at the exciting developments taking place in Hutchinson/Reno County. For more information or to report news, please contact Dana Regehr at 620.662.3391or danar@hutchchamber.com.

2008 Reno County Job Fair Attracted Many Job Seekers

Hutchinson, KS (March 31, 2008) Around 250 job seekers attended the 2008 Reno County Job Fair, held Saturday, March 29 at the Hutchinson Mall. They visited with 36 employers including manufacturers, healthcare providers, and retailers. Companies at the Fair were hiring for all types of positions including registered nurses, forklift operators, and financial advisors. Sponsored by the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, Hutchinson Community College, and KANSASWorks –  Hutchinson Workforce Development Center, the event attracted job seekers from all over Reno County and from surrounding counties.

“The venue was good and the traffic appeared to be excellent. Hopefully we can hired some of the applicants,” said Terry White, Director of Human Resources at Krause Corp.

The first county-wide job fair was held in 2007 at Hutchinson Community College. “In an effort to improve the event this year, we experimented with the day and location, moving the event to a Saturday out at the Mall. We think the changes were quite successful, and the employers seemed pleased,” said Dana Regehr, Director of Economic Development at the Chamber.

Parked in the Hobby Lobby parking lot during the event was the KANSASWorks Mobile Unit, a 38-foot retrofitted RV equipped with 11 computer stations connected to Internet. Launched in mid-2007, the Mobile Unit has spent time in Greensburg and traveled around the State to various job fairs. Kansas Department of Commerce staff working in the Mobile Unit assisted over 65 individuals who applied for jobs online and needed job seeker services.

Sunflower Wind Locates Manufacturing Operations in Reno County

Hutchinson, KS (December 20, 2007) – The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to welcome Sunflower Wind, LLC to the local manufacturing community. Today Sunflower Wind, a start-up company based in Goodland, Kansas, signed a contract which will lead to ownership of the east portion of the Eaton complex of buildings on East 4th Avenue. Although the building is in excellent condition, it was scheduled to be demolished as part of the 2006 effort to retain Eaton’s hydraulics plant.

 This deal is a true win for the entire community. Not only were we able to retain 300 jobs at Eaton, but also we have saved 260,000 square feet of prime manufacturing space as an economic development tool to create new jobs,” said Dave Kerr, Chamber President. Since May 2007, the Chamber has been coordinating efforts between Eaton, the City of Hutchinson, Reno County, and Sunflower Wind to complete the deal.  

On Tuesday, December 18, both the City Council and County Commission voted to convert funds that were originally paid as an incentive to keep the downsized Eaton operation in Hutchinson to a purchase of excess space. Growth, Inc., a development corporation of the Chamber, has taken ownership of the property until renovations are complete. The renovations include separating the building from Eaton’s remaining building and restoring utility systems to make the buildings independent of one another. This work will be completed by Sunflower Wind and Eaton. After those improvements are complete, Sunflower Wind will take ownership of the property.

Sunflower Wind intends to build wind generation equipment including turbine blades up to 180 feet long. By the end of 2010, the company plans to be in full operation with as many as 250 employees. 

The availability of an appropriate building, the close proximity to the wind market, and Hutchinson Community College’s training programs were factors assisting in bringing the project to Reno County. Composites are a key component for manufacturing wind generation equipment, and the strides Hutchinson Community College and training entities in Wichita have made in composites training were attractive to Sunflower Wind.

“We looked in Wichita and other areas of Kansas but did not find another property like this one. The building is long, narrow and fits what we need to produce the long blades. In addition, Hutchinson puts us in a great location for transporting the turbines to 90% of the US wind industry,” said Dan Rasure, managing director.

“We are pleased we could save a significant portion of Reno County’s manufacturing base, and we look forward to seeing Sunflower’s progress in an exciting industry,” Kerr concluded.

Daymon Worldwide Selects Hutchinson as

Location for New Business Support Center

November 19, 2007 - The Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce economic development department is pleased to announce that officials at Daymon Worldwide, Inc. have chosen Hutchinson as the location for a new centralized Business Support Center. This new venture will create 30 new jobs in Hutchinson with excellent compensation. Daymon Worldwide has been in Hutchinson, on a much smaller scale, since 1987. They will invest approximately $300,000 to refurbish their new location at 1302 N. Grand Ave.

Daymon Worldwide will establish the new Business Support Center to serve their customers and suppliers nationwide, providing facilitation of areas such as shipping, order fulfillment, and billing. “We are proud to work with some of the leading retail, wholesale and food services companies across the U.S. and 19 other countries. Our customers include supermarket and drug chains, mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, food service, buying cooperatives and wholesale distributors – and many of these banners serve the Hutchinson marketplace,” said Paul Osinski, Daymon Worldwide Senior Vice President.

The Business Support Center staff will be skilled customer service representatives who will handle transactions between manufacturers of private label products and their customers. “Our employees are our most valuable asset, and we count on their experience and professionalism. We provide a highly competitive benefits package and train our employees extensively. We look forward to making our new hires in the Hutchinson area,” said Osinski.

The Chamber began working with Daymon Worldwide in August, 2007, eventually facilitating an incentive package from the State, City of Hutchinson, and Reno County. State incentives include a forgivable loan from the Kansas Economic Opportunity Initiative (KEOIF), Kansas Industrial Training (KIT) funds, and Enterprise Zone benefits. Proposed local incentives for this project include Economic Opportunity Funds from the City, County and Chamber totaling $70,000.

“We are very pleased that Hutchinson was given an opportunity to become the home of Daymon Worldwide’s new business model for customer service. Their desire to employ quality, well-trained people in jobs that include a nice set of benefits and bonuses fits perfectly with our community goals,” said Dave Kerr, President of the Chamber.

 Daymon Worldwide is currently hiring for positions at the Business Support Center. Interested individuals should send their resumes to PO Box 1226, Hutchinson, KS 67504-1226.

Collins Bus Corporation Announces Expansion

Collins Industries, Inc. a leading manufacturer of specialty vehicles in the United States, has announced the acquisition of select assets of Les Entreprises Michel Corbeil Inc., a Canadian competitor. Production of the Corbeil product line will be moved to Collins Bus Corporation in South Hutchinson, Kansas. In addition, they will move the Mid Bus, Inc. production facility from Bluffton, Ohio to South Hutchinson. Through these events, Collins Bus Corporation will create more than 100 new jobs, $2.8 million in new payroll and generate approximately $2 million in capital investment.

“After these changes are fully integrated, we will have the ability to produce more than half of the Type ‘A’ small school buses made in North America here in South Hutchinson,” stated Kent Tyler, President of Collins Bus Corporation. “We are making a substantial investment in our Kansas operation, which will allow us to increase our production capacity at the Collins Bus Corporation facility to over 4,000 units annually and expand our market share and customer base in the coming years.”

The expansion at Collins Bus Corporation will have a major impact on South Hutchinson, Hutchinson and Reno County. In addition to good production jobs, higher-paying management and executive level jobs will be added. According to the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University, the expansion will create and support a total of 270 jobs in the community and put more than $6.2 million back into the local economy. These numbers are derived from multipliers that represent the spending and re-spending by the company and its employees.

“Working closely with the Cities of South Hutchinson and Hutchinson, Reno County and the Kansas Department of Commerce we were able to propose an aggressive package of incentives,” said Dave Kerr, President of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. “Every community wants quality production jobs, but they also want a mix of management and executive positions as well. With this announcement, we get all three,” he continued.

Collins Bus Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Collins Industries, Inc., North America's largest producer of Type "A" small school buses, the nation's second largest manufacturer of terminal trucks, a leading manufacturer of ambulances, and producer of road construction and industrial sweeping equipment. The Company sells its products throughout the United States and abroad.

Wage & Benefit Survey Now Available Online

The Chamber is pleased to release the 2007 Reno County Wage & Benefit Survey Report. Produced by the Chamber as a business resource, the Wage & Benefit Survey was conducted online via surveymonkey.com during June and July 2007. A survey link was emailed to 762 Reno County businesses, and the survey was accessible via the Chamber’s web sites, hutchchamber.com and hutchecodevo.com.

The updated survey creates comparative data to share with Reno County businesses and prospective companies. It also provides a prevailing wage guide for employers and job seekers and provides data on the benefit packages area businesses are offering.

The study includes data from 149 Reno County businesses representing all sectors and over 9,000 employees. Of the participating companies 90 were small businesses (0-25 employees), 30 were medium-sized businesses (26-75 employees), and 29 were from large businesses (76+ employees).

Key Findings include:

• The average wage increase in 2007 from the prior year was 4.6%.
• Sixty-one percent of respondents expect to add 1-2 new jobs in the coming year. An additional 27.4% expect to add 3-5 jobs.
• Seventy-two and a half percent of responding companies offer health insurance to full-time employees. Of those, 47.3% state that they pay 80% or more of employees' health insurance premiums.

The survey was initiated by the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, and Chamber staff tabulated and analyzed the data results. Questions may be directed to the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce, 620-662-3391. To access the report, please log on to hutchchamber.com or hutchecodevo.com and click on the Wage and Benefit Survey button.

Good News from KDOT on Extension of Highway 96

 In a meeting with Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) officials held at Sterling College on July 12th, Hutchinson and Reno County representatives were surprised and pleased to learn of plans to put a high priority on the improvement of Highway K 96 to the Northwest.  While the meeting was intended to gather community comment and opinion on the importance of major improvements starting at the north end of the Senator Bob Dole Bypass to a point north of Sterling, it soon became clear that KDOT intends to start engineering studies of alignment alternatives (routes). 

“The more we heard the more excited we became,” said Dave Kerr, President of the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce. “Based on a number of factors including the several unsafe corners in this stretch of highway, KDOT has identified it as a high priority for major improvements.” 

In the past, Rice County interests in Sterling and Lyons have not supported a routing that would pass between those two towns.  However, because of the new chemical and ethanol plants being built three miles south of Lyons, that concern seems to have diminished.  Officials there appear to see the benefits of bypassing the towns.

During the meeting, KDOT officials indicated that this project would be more of a “major modification,” a designation which means it would be a part of the basic highway improvement plan and not subject to competition among communities. Many people may recall the intense competition for projects created by the 1999 Comprehensive Transportation Plan which eventually resulted in the soon-to-be-started K-61 enhancements between Hutchinson and McPherson.

Frank Stuckey who attended the meeting along with Hutchinson City Manager John Deardoff and County Commissioner Larry Sharp said, “This was great news.  We appear to be in position to get these important improvements some time in the next few years and still work with other communities to support other projects that do not carry quite as much priority with KDOT.”

Kroger Chooses Hutchinson for New HR Division - December 2006

Tuesday (Dec. 19) Kroger Corporation corporate real estate manager Jeff Bieber announced to the Hutchinson City Council that Hutchinson has been selected as the location for Kroger's divisional headquarters for an Accounting/Human Resources Processing Center.

The new division, to be located at the Dillons Complex on East 4th St., will create 75 new FTE jobs in 2007, generating new payroll with an estimated value of $3 million. Kroger will invest approximately $1 million in renovating 17,000 sq. ft. of the Complex into office space and filling it with necessary office equipment. They will also spend an estimated $400,000 on training new employees.

Kroger Selects Hutchinson for Organic and Soy Milk Production Facility-

September 2006

 Today (Sept. 11) Jeff Bieber, Manager of Real Estate with The Kroger Company, notified the Spirit of Success office of the Chamber and Jackson's Dairy that Hutchinson has been officially selected as the site of the company's new organic and soy milk production facility!

In the coming months, Kroger will invest $14 million in new equipment and retrofitting a portion of Jackson's Dairy. The new product line will also create 16 direct new jobs and the potential for additional transportation positions.

Eaton Corporation Decides to Keep Hutchinson Plant Open - August 2006

Months of hard work by the Chamber/Spirit of Success and our partners at the city, county, state, and International Association of Machinists (IAM) have paid off with Eaton Corporation's decision to keep the Hutchinson plant open!

In a press conference Tuesday, August 22, Scott Krueger, vice president and general manager - Americas Region for Eaton's hydraulics business, announced that the facility would be kept open, contingent on the Kansas Legislature passing special legislation valued at $2 million early next year.

Over the next year, Eaton will demolish a portion of the facility and reinvest in the plant, focusing on making it a world-class machining operation. The test and assembly work will be moved to Reynosa, Mexico, honing the workforce from the current 453 to 300 for the long-term. Krueger noted that with the number of employees ready to retire and normal attrition rates, the layoffs will be minimized. He also praised the local workforce, acknowledging that Hutchinson has the skills base to be the best in Eaton's hydraulics business.