The company announced Friday it is relocating $10 million of machinery and equipment from its locations throughout North America to Wichita. Nex-Tech also has facilities in Texas, Mexico and Missouri.
As part of the restructuring, the company will invest more than $2.3 million in relocation costs, training and building improvements at its Wichita site, located at 4201 S. 119th St. W.
The changes are expected to create more than 75 new jobs over the next three years, as well as sustain those of the existing 150 employees.
“When the economy began to decline, we looked at a number of options to capitalize on the market conditions and optimize our asset base to the new realities. This scenario allows us to modify the current mix of business at each facility and create a new footprint that will serve all of our customers better while strengthening our overall performance.” Michael Kuzdzal, Vice President of Operations for Nex-Tech, said in a written statement.
“We expect to be moving the equipment the first week of June,” he says.
Kuzdzal believes the new machinery will give Nex-Tech “a better mix” of manufacturing capabilities in Wichita, which he says will make the company less dependant on general aviation.
The company says the Kansas Department of Commerce and GWEDC, working closely with the city of Wichita and Sedgwick County, negotiated a package of incentives to secure the capital investment and jobs.
The Wichita City Council and Board of County Commissioners will be voting on the incentive package next week.
The incentives include tax credits and state IMPACT funds, which help fund training and capital requirements of major business expansions in the state.
IMPACT costs are financed through tax-exempt, public bonds issued by the Kansas Development Finance Authority.
Glenn Steele, Nex-Tech’s Chief of Business Development, said the work of these government entities helped make the entire project happen.
“Living in the community and seeing the effort that the GWEDC and the Kansas Department of Commerce put forth in bringing this together to ultimately help the Wichita community in these economic times is very gratifying,” he said.
