Kansas Department of Commerce

Area Development, a leading publication covering site selection and facility planning, has announced its 2015 Gold and Silver Shovel Awards, naming Kansas a Silver Shovel recipient. The award recognizes a significant number of high-value-added new jobs and investment in the state in 2014.

“Area Development has once again recognized Kansas as a leader in economic development,” Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George said in a news release. “With a great business environment, world class workforce and outstanding infrastructure, our state is an ideal place to invest and create jobs, and we will continue to work with businesses to help them grow and expand in Kansas.”

In 2014, the Department helped facilitate 177 projects that created or retained more than 11,000 jobs and resulted in $1.2 billion in capital investment. Those results helped Kansas win its ninth Shovel Award in the past 10 years.

The annual Shovel Awards recognize states for their achievements in attracting high value investment projects that will create a significant number of new jobs in their communities.

Area Development collected information from all 50 states about their top-10 job creation and investment projects. Only those projects that began to materialize in 2014 were considered. The Shovel Awards were given to the states with the highest weighted scores based on factors including the number of new jobs created relative to a state’s population, the combined dollar amount of the investments, the number of new facilities and the diversity of industries represented.

For more information about Area Development’s Shovel Awards, visit www.areadevelopment.com/awards.