26 July & August 2017
Emporia Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau
RDA Happenings
The RDA office continuously updates the Emporia, Kansas & Lyon County data book.
Some of the data is obtained from primary sources, such as surveys the RDA conducts, for
instance the local major manufacturers and employers survey on total number of full-time
employees. Many secondary sources are utilized such as the Kansas Statistical Abstract,
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kansas Departments of Labor, Agriculture, Commerce, and
Revenue to name a few.
When the facts are charted over a time period, a day, week, month, quarter, or year, five
Kent Heermann
President, Regional
Development Association
of East Central Kansas
years, ten years, etc., while analyzing the facts, the length of time has to be correct in order
to determine a meaning trend. For instance, if you measure the growth of a tree, you would
probably measure the caliper on an annual basis. If it was measured on a daily basis you
would not be pleased with the results.
Primarily new business considering Emporia as a location utilize this data, however,
some of our existing businesses utilize the data in their growth, and expansion plans.
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOC. of EAST CENTRAL KANSAS
The Regional Development
Association of East Central
Kansas (RDA) is the lead
economic development
organization for Lyon
County and the Emporia
area. The four members
of the RDA are the
Emporia Area Chamber
of Commerce, Emporia
Enterprises, the City
of Emporia, and Lyon
County. The RDA is located
with the Emporia Area
Chamber of Commerce
and the Convention and
Visitors Bureau at the
Trusler Business Center,
719 Commercial, Emporia,
KS 66801. Kent Heerman
RDA President, can be
contacted at 620-342-1600
ext. 16, or kheermann@
emporiarda.org.
For the moment, let’s consider the facts with regard to industrial real estate in and
around Emporia and Lyon County. The RDA was created in 1993, so from 1994 to the
present, 354 acres of industrial land has been acquired by new, and existing businesses to
grow, and expand their operations.
Of those 354 acres, 42% or 148 acres have, or could have rail access. Those businesses
with rail access are – Norfolk Iron & Metal (NIM), Renewable Energy Group (REG), and
Hill’s Pet Nutrition, which are 24, 43, and 81 acres respectively.
Some of you may not know about REG, which is a bio-diesel plant east of the NIM tract
that began construction in 2007. They halted construction in the second quarter of 2008.
Over 360 acres have been added to the inventory, of that, the majority has been
developed with businesses. Today the amount of available industrial land is 163 acres.
An important fact about the real estate, is that land is in various sizes and shapes, and is
not like bushels of corn.
Of the eleven businesses developed from 1994 to today, two were larger than 80 acre
sites. Those sites being Simmons Pet Food, with a total of 81 acres, and are considering a 17
acre tract, and a 64 acre tract, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition is an 81 acre tract.
REG, NIM, and CAMSO are 43, 34, and 24 acres respectively. CAMSO also leased the
former Lenze site, which is 10 acres.
Detroit Reman, EVCO, H.J. Baker, (which is on hold), Emporia Kenworth, formerly
Martin Tractor, and Fanestil are on sites varying from 13 to 18 acres.
We currently, have no rail served sites available for development. There is one 100 acre