State leaders want to make Kansas a reshoring hub – Wichita Business Journal (blog)

Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George

Daniel McCoy

Reporter- Wichita Business Journal

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More and more U.S. companies are bringing back stateside work they once sent to other countries, and Kansas leaders want those companies to know that the Sunflower State is a great place for them to “reshore” that work.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the Kansas Department of Commerce will hold a reshoring conference in Wichita on Thursday beginning at 8 a.m. at Wichita State University’s Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

Joining the governor will be Harry Moser, founder of the Reshoring Initiative, several local business leaders and WSU’s John Tomblin.

Pat George, Kansas Commerce Secretary, told me this week that the goal of the conference — which will include some outside entities that are looking at expansion opportunities — is to highlight what Kansas has to offer as a possible reshoring hub.

“We want to highlight the advantages we have and tell them why we want them to come here,” George said. “We want to link our resources to these companies.”

According to a recent report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, ( PDF download) based off a survey from the Boston Consulting Group, more than half of U.S.-based manufacturers with sales greater than $1 billion are considering reshoring.

And, according to the same report, the Midwest is the place to be, with 70 companies already reshoring in the region.

George said Kansas has already seen some of its own aviation and agricultural manufacturers reshore, but the mix of advanced manufacturing skill, a business-friendly tax policy and central geography make the state a prime location for even more reshoring activity.

That activity would fit with what George said is the governor’s goal of “creating the best business environment in the nation” and growing trade by attracting global manufacturers.

Daniel McCoy covers aviation, manufacturing and automotive.