Kansas

During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $1,905,975 in nine projects in the State of Kansas. These projects are expected to create or retain 35 jobs and leverage $100,000 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. EDA’s investments help Kansas communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.

EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.

Investment Spotlight: Bulk Solids Innovation Center

Unlike liquids and gases, the science of dry bulk solids is still not thoroughly understood. Though bulk solids— dry commodities such as sugar, starch, minerals, chemicals, and recycled plastics— comprise a very large portion of world-wide commerce and are the components of almost all manufactured goods, very little research has been conducted on the most efficient methods of handling, storing and dispensing these goods. By gaining a better understanding of bulk solid science, companies across a wide-breadth of industries could achieve significant cost savings and productivity increases, providing the potential for substantial increases in competitiveness.

In 2013, EDA invested over $1 million to support construction of the Bulk Solids Innovation Center in Salina.  This facility, the first of its kind in North America, will provide space for multiple small and medium-sized research projects to advance the storage and transportation of bulk solid materials. This project represents a strong private-public-education partnership between Kansas State University, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, the city of Salina, and a number of private companies.