Seeking a Great Place to Do Business? Put Shawnee On Your List

iStock.com/Neustockimages

Industry-leading manufacturers are choosing Shawnee as the place to grow. Plus, they are recommending the city to companies looking for a business-friendly location with a full talent pipeline and an unmatched quality of life. 

“I would highly recommend Shawnee to other businesses looking for a conducive environment to thrive and grow. Shawnee stands out for its unwavering support of development and growth initiatives, creating an atmosphere where businesses can flourish,” says Mark Frohardt, vice president and site director for TriRx. 

At its FDA-approved and GMP-compliant (Good Manufacturing Practices) Shawnee facility, TriRx offers animal health and human health product manufacturing and packaging services of parenteral, sterile and nonsterile liquids, oral solid dose and topicals. 

Other Shawnee businesses and manufacturers say their decision to open facilities in the city has added to their success, as well. 

“Aside from basic ‘must haves,’ Shawnee is extremely business-friendly,” says Luke Ismert, CEO of Schier, the leading brand of commercial grease interceptors in the U.S. 

Obvious Choice for Shawnee Businesses

“When doing our due diligence as we looked to move our headquarters, we looked at nearly every municipality on both sides of the state line. Shawnee distinguished itself early by making us feel wanted,” Ismert says. 

When PBI-Gordon was considering a site for its headquarters, Shawnee was the obvious choice. 

“The Shawnee Chamber of Commerce and city were extremely helpful during our period of acquiring the property and relocating our headquarters to Shawnee,” says Don Chew, executive chairman of PBI-Gordon, a national leader in the professional turf and ornamental industry that also serves the consumer lawn and garden market and the farm store and ranch markets. 

“Our criteria for a new office location included nearby amenities such as restaurants as well as a growing area with easy access to interstates and the airport,” Chew says. 

Shawnee Businesses Planning for Growth 

PBI-Gordon, Schier and TriRx all have long-term plans for growth and job creation in Shawnee. Schier and PBI-Gordon are owned by their employees through employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs. 

“Last fall, we were very excited to convert to a 100% ESOP, aiding in our hope of someday being a 100-year-old company and still anchoring our corner of Shawnee,” Ismert says. 

PBI-Gordon has more than 500 “employee owners.” About 100 of them are based at the Shawnee headquarters, Chew says. 

TriRx plans to double its production volume in the next two years in Shawnee, where the company enjoys advantages like ease of logistics, a location in the heart of the country and access to a skilled workforce, Frohardt says. 

“Moreover, Shawnee’s status as a growing community, coupled with the ongoing revitalization of its downtown area, signals a positive trajectory for the region,” he says. 

Shawnee’s quality of life and location, which is close but not too close to Kansas City, help businesses attract and retain talented employees. “Shawnee is a growing KC suburb, which has maintained the feel of a family-friendly, smaller community that has easy access to all areas of the metropolitan area,” Chew says. 

Put another way, it’s the perfect place to live and conduct business. “I can’t recommend Shawnee highly enough, and often do,” Ismert says.