Platte County EDC held its first member quarterly luncheon of 2018 on Friday, March 2nd at the Hilton KCI.
The luncheon featured a panel of Platte County business leaders who shared their experiences and successes in the Platte County business community.
Following recognition of elected officials, board members, high-level investors and economic development partners, PCEDC Chairman Aaron Schmidt moderated a panel, which featured:
- Ryan Fischer, Vice President of Business Development at Tiffany Springs Rehabilitation & Health Care Center. Ryan leads managed care contracts, as well as assists with staff recruitment and development, corporate compliance and government relations. An 18-year veteran of the healthcare and senior living industries, Ryan previously served as Tutera’s Director of Managed Care & Business Development and has been with the company for seven years.
- James Hall, Senior Director of Logistics Operations at CVS Health. James has been in his role with CVS Health for three years. Previously, Jim worked in Logistics for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Sears Holdings Corporation and Target Corporation and prior to that he was a US Marine for 20 years. He moved from a CVS facility in Pennsylvania to Platte County last year and says he is loving it here.
- Keith Kargol, General Manager at US Farathane. Keith has been with US Farathane for over 8 years, starting as a Shift Supervisor at the Merrill plant in Michigan. He was promoted as the General Manager of the Kansas City plant in 2016, and relocated his family here with him. Keith has more than 20 years of manufacturing experience, and leads a 24/5 operation at the Kansas City plant. The Kansas City US Farathane plant currently employs 250 hourly and 27 salaried staff, and opened in June 2015.
The panelists discussed why they chose Platte County and their workforce challenges. Hall gave three reasons CVS Health chose its new Midwest Distribution Center location in Platte County: high quality, affordable labor; access to key highways, and a positive business environment with strong leadership. Kargol noted expansion opportunities and access to talent as key reasons US Farathane chose Riverside, while Fischer said Tutera was looking for a Northland presence.
The new CVS Midwest Distribution Center will first ship to stores on October 1st, and US Farathane will add around 150 jobs in 2019 as the company continues to grow.
The next Platte County EDC member luncheon will be 11.30am-1pm on Friday, June 8th at the Marriott KCI, and it will be a celebration of the organization’s 30th anniversary.