MANUFACTURER WILL ADD HUNDREDS OF JOBS IN STAGES
A business moving to Platte City and expected to create more than 300 new jobs started from humble beginnings in the corner of a truck repair shop, a company spokesperson said.
Central Power Systems & Services, which manufactures power generators used in industry, began as a sidelight in a truck repair shop, said Paige Roberts, director of marketing for the firm.
The company’s pending move to Platte City was first reported in last week’s Landmark.
The company has been located in the Kansas City area under current ownership and moved to Riverside about five years ago, Roberts said.
“Riverside has really been the true start of it,” she said of the company, which is a Midwest-based manufacturer of generators. Plans are to move into the Platte City location sometime in January, she said.
“They’re very anxious to move in and …get products out to customers” said Tom Cole, city administrator for Platte City.
“No matter the situation, we have solutions for power generation, power distribution, industrial engines, construction and agricultural equipment, custom manufactured projects and on-highway transportation service,” according to the Central Power website.
”We’re excited to get started and looking forward to bringing jobs into the Northland,” Roberts said. The company, which will bring about 60 employees from the Riverside location, expects to bring on 70 new hires in the beginning but will continue to grow to an expected total of around 305 employees.
“We’ve kind of got to do that in stages,” Roberts said.
Annual wage for the jobs will be about $63,000 with annual total payroll for the company at about $15 million, officials said.
The Platte City Board of Aldermen unanimously approved personal property tax abatement and the use of $40 million in industrial development revenue bonds at a recent meeting.
The business will be the first tenant in the Platte International Commerce Center, east of I-29 and north of Hwy. 92 and will occupy 750,000 square foot space. Van Trust Real Estate developed the commerce center, which will have space for other businesses.
Mayor Steve Hoeger called the business “a great anchor tenant” for the industrial complex and should help spur more businesses to move into the complex. The tax abatement will not exempt the Northland Regional Ambulance District and Central Platte Fire District from receiving personal property taxes, officials said at the board of aldermen meeting.
Cole said the project is “the biggest economic development project” in the city’s history, “so this is exciting,” he said, adding that new developments in that area pair nicely with the new terminal at Kansas City International Airport, located in Platte County.
He said available land for large developments is becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially with close highway access, as is the case with the Van Trust site.
He said he expects the area east of I-29 “will ultimately be fully developed.” Therefore, the developer has an “if you build it, they will come” type philosophy.
Tina Chace, executive director of the Platte County Economic Development Council, said in an emailed statement that the community is “thrilled to welcome Central Power Systems & Services to Platte County. It has been a pleasure collaborating with them and Van Trust Real Estate to maintain Central Power’s strong presence in the Northland.”
Chace said the move sends a powerful message about officials’ “confidence in our region as a thriving hub for business growth…We look forward to celebrating Central Power’s success in their new home.”
Platte City Mayor Steve Hoeger said the company began in Wichita during the 1950s before being bought out and moving to the Kansas City area, where they have had locations in Liberty and Riverside.
Company officials and those with the Platte County School District are working to develop a program at the district’s vocational technical facility to train a future workforce, Hoeger said. In fact, future plans are to have a Central Power employee located at the district’s Northland Career Center to train students for company work. The Northland Career Center accepts students from 13 surrounding school districts.
School district officials are in the midst of a capital campaign to raise matching funds as required by a $30 million state grant awarded by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, said Laura Hulett, director of communications for the Platte County School District. The grant would fund the creation of a new, state of the art career center to be built on a 19-acre site near the Clay-Platte county line north of Hwy. 152 and Platte Purchase Road, according to the district website.
Hulett said the current center, built during the late 1970s, is outdated and at capacity and turning away students due to a lack of space. The new facility would allow 300 adults to enroll in “afternoon and evening courses for college credit and/or advanced certificates,” according to the district’s website.
Hulett said officials are “receiving generous donations, (about $6 million) but still have a way to go.”
Hulett said although she was not yet aware of the partnership, career center officials have worked with Central Power in the past to place students in internships and jobs. “We look forward to a more robust relationship,” she said.
The utilization of the chapter 100 personal property tax abatement “allows the development to attain its first tenant to fully occupy the first building,” said Cole, who added that the current value of the personal property (machinery, equipment, fixtures, etc.) is roughly $40 million.
“The influx/retention of 305 manufacturing jobs to the area will be beneficial to our housing and retain demand,” Cole said, who also expects the company to positively impact other revenue streams within the community.
