Silicon Prairie On the Rise? Kansas Attracts Another Billion-Dollar Plant

The state of Kansas scored again in business development arena with the recent news that it would be home to a $1.9-billion semiconductor factory. Over the past year, two other manufacturers announced that they would be building billion-dollar factories in the Sunflower State. Integra Technologies is building a $1.8-billion chip plant in Wichita, KS, and Panasonic is building a $4-billion lithium-ion battery factory in De Soto, KS.

Governor Laura Kelly announced on Feb. 20 that MP Shield, a manufacturer of commercial and residential devices that protect against high-altitude electromagnetic pulses (EMP's), will build the chip manufacturing facility in Burlington, KS.

Kelly’s office said that the four-production-line plant would eventually be able to produce thousands of chips a week and create 1,200 jobs with an average annual wage of $66,000. EMP Shield will build the 235,000-sq-ft factory complex on 300 acres in the new Silicon Prairie Industrial Park and said six of its out-of-state suppliers will also set up shop there, producing additional components and getting the chips ready for final delivery.

Earlier this month, Kelly said that the state of Kansas approved $304 million of incentives through its Attracting Powerful Economic Expansion (APEX) program for Integra Technologies' new headquarters and semiconductor plant in Wichita. This state funding is also part of Integra's application for federal funding through the CHIPS Act.

Panasonic Energy Co. Ltd. is also a beneficiary of Kansas' APEX program – $830 million related to the construction and operation of the company's $4-billion lithium-ion battery factory in De Soto, KS.