I bet the majority of people who read this blog have driven north on 18th Street Expressway between Kansas Avenue and I-70 and have not given much thought to the interesting tangle of buildings, pipes and machinery on the east side of the street.
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| This is the view of the PQ plant as you drive north on 18th Street. The plant is east of 18th Street and just north of Kansas Avenue. The large building at the left of the picture was built by the company as part of a recent plant expansion project that was completed in 2011. (click to enlarge) |
I know I had...but after what I learned on May 16 of this year, I'll never look at this area the same way.
The land and the buildings I'm talking about belong to a company called PQ Corporation (or more simply "PQ").
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| With an official address of 1700 Kansas Avenue, PQ Corporation is easily visible from 18th Street Expressway. (click the map to enlarge) |
On May 16, I was fortunate to be able to join a diverse group of people at PQ as the company broke ground for what will be a $128 million expansion of their facility that will feature state of the art buildings, cutting edge technology and up to 50 new jobs. Executives from PQ Corporation joined Greg Kindle from the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, Bridget Koan from the KCK Chamber of Commerce and Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to celebrate this tremendous occasion.
Partners on the project included the Kansas Department of Commerce, Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities, and Burns & McDonnell.
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| Now *that's* a construction crew...er, well maybe not. Bonus points if you can find me and my non-calloused hands in the photo! |
PQ Corporation is a leading global producer of specialty inorganic performance chemicals and catalysts. Their annual sales revenues top $1 billion.
The PQ Corporation had its start in Pennsylvania in the mid-1800's and came to this location in Kansas City, Kansas in 1914. Since that time, they have been continually working to grow their business, improve their property and put Kansas City residents to work in cutting edge technology jobs.
PQ's many products all help create a cleaner and safer environment both here and abroad. Their products are used in a variety of applications in a diverse range of industrial, consumer and governmental end-markets worldwide. With its two principle divisions (PQ Corporation plus Zeolyst International), PQ operates over 40 manufacturing sites in 21 countries on five continents. They have one of the most comprehensive global manufacturing and distribution networks and they serve countless customers in the company’s many end markets.
There are currently about 100 employees at the PQ plant in Kansas City, Kansas. The newly announced expansion will add up to 50 new jobs when it is completed in late 2014. Although they have a global distribution network, PQ executives stressed to me that they are committed to keeping productive manufacturing jobs on United States soil and not simply "outsource" them to other locations around the world.
PQ hosted a picnic lunch for employees and guests after the groundbreaking concluded. As he spoke to the group, PQ Chairman and CEO Mike Boyce said, “The new capacity (from the planned expansion) will help PQ meet the growing worldwide demand for specialty catalysts. We believe this investment demonstrates our strong commitment to the state of Kansas, Wyandotte County and the Kansas City local community and builds on the past success of our Kansas City plant and our highly motivated and productive team of employees.”
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| After the groundbreaking, PQ treated employees and guests to a delicious picnic lunch on the plant grounds. |
Even as they broke ground on this completely impressive project, company executives were already excited about future improvements on the plant grounds. Among other things, they look forward to beautifying the entrance to the plant at 1700 Kansas Avenue and to making it safer for trucks to enter and leave the plant at that spot.
In addition to being a top notch employer, PQ has also been a long time supporter of both the Armourdale Renewal Association and the Armourdale Optimist Club. Thanks to everyone at PQ Corporation for a century of commitment to District 2 and all of Kansas City, Kansas. We look forward to having you around for at least another century.
In addition to being a top notch employer, PQ has also been a long time supporter of both the Armourdale Renewal Association and the Armourdale Optimist Club. Thanks to everyone at PQ Corporation for a century of commitment to District 2 and all of Kansas City, Kansas. We look forward to having you around for at least another century.
~ Brian
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