Location Profile: Missouri's West Central Region
Oct/Nov 08
The world's most advanced aircraft - and the world's most advanced dog. No place in the world but West Central Missouri can lay claim to both. Sam Van Arsdale who ran the Hotel Ruff in Marshall, Missouri during the 1920s and 30s was the proud owner of Jim the Wonder Dog, a Llewellyn setter who, it is claimed, could pick out a car by its license plate or identify a person by his occupation.
That was then. But today, the thriving region west and south of Kansas City is home to Whiteman Air Force Base, where the nation's fleet of B-2 Stealth aircraft is based and where 7,500 military and civilian personnel are employed. The base adds more than $529 million to the local economy and is a magnet for many companies in the area.
Among the major employers in the four county region are EnerSys Power Products in Warrensburg, the company that makes the batteries that power the nation's nuclear sub fleet. Also in the power sector is Pro Energy Service in Sedalia, a maker of gas-fired and bio energy power plants.
Sedalia, home to the Missouri State Fair, is well-situated on US 50 and US 65, just south of I-70. Over a quarter of the community's economy revolves around manufacturing with companies like Waterloo Industries making tool boxes for Sears and Lowe's, Duke Manufacturing producing stainless steel restaurant fixtures and WireCo WorldGroup making steel cables, including those that hold up the Golden Gate Bridge.
The University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, State Fair Community College in Sedalia and Missouri Valley College in Marshall provide ample higher education opportunities for the region's 147,000 residents.
Central MO Economic Development Alliance
Tracy Brantner, CEcD
300 N. Holden Street, Suite 301
Warrensburg, MO 64093
660.747.0244
www.choosecentralmo.com