By: NICOLAS FIERRO
Salina Post
The Salina Community Economic Development Organization (SCEDO) celebrated its 10th anniversary of establishment on Thursday at the Salina Country Club.
SCEDO provides economic development for Salina with the intention of bringing in new jobs, housing and residents from all over the state to live in Salina. The organization is known to have paved the way of establishing major projects, structures and partnerships for businesses in Salina such as, Schwan's, Amazon, SkyWest, Lee Lofts, Beck's Hybrids and much more.
Executive Director Mitch Robinson told Salina Post how the organization is able to provide these types of service from a financial and business partnership standpoint.
He stated they have developed a close working relationship with sponsors including the City of Salina, Saline County, Salina Airport Authority, the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce, banks, realtors and area utility companies.
Moreover, the Kansas Department of Commerce (KDOC) has helped SCEDO with numerous funding sources made available for projects.
Robinson also touched on the different types of projects that have impacted the community.
"Every job created and every dollar invested in our community makes a positive impact on the economy of the community," he said. "From a transportation aspect the recent announcement of SkyWest locating a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at the Salina Airport creates good paying jobs which will bring people to Salina but will also keep current flights operated by SkyWest under the United Airlines brand helps to lock those flights into serving the Salina community and may lead to more flights in the future."
He continued by explaining how Schwan's and Kubota has made their impact in Salina.
"The project that has the biggest direct impact would have to be the investment that Schwan’s made in Salina. With an existing workforce of approximately 1,200 employees at the time having the company invest close to $600 million in a new pizza production facility creating over 225 new jobs, which are higher paying due to the automation required in the plant, but it also helped to keep Schwan’s here in the community for another 50 years. So, both new jobs and retained jobs happened with this project. When Kubota purchased Great Plains it opened doors for many new investments to be made in Salina and that occurred with the construction equipment line brought from Japan to Salina. The company has made major investments in the former Philips Lighting plant creating a world brand to be located here in our community."
Looking ahead economically
The future economically looks bright for Salina.
During the anniversary luncheon, Pure Imagination CEO Joshua Wexler spoke as the guest speaker. Wexler presented the company from Los Angeles, CA and how they will be establishing the new K-AIRES facility with the help of SCEDO in partnership with K-State Salina, late 2026.