Business News

Numerous companies announce plans to move to, or expand in, Missouri

In a busy two weeks for economic development companies from around the world choose Missouri as a home for their business.

It’s been a busy two weeks for economic development in Missouri. Numerous companies have announced plans to move to, or expand in, Missouri including one ultra-popular fast food chain.

Yes that’s right, Shake Shack, the world famous fast food joint, is finally finding a home in Missouri with its first location set to open in the Central West End neighborhood in St. Louis next year, right next door to the growing Cortex Innovation Community and Washington University.

Shake Shack hasn’t been the only company to announce plans to set up shop in Missouri in recent days as the San Francisco-based tech firm Pramata announced its plans to expand its operations to Kansas City, Mo. The project is scheduled to create 15 new jobs in the sector, and will help bring credibility to the state, paving the way for more Bay-area companies to set up shop here.

On the expansion front, Germany-based advanced manufacturer Multivac, a global leader in packaging solutions for food, medical, consumer and industrial products, announced its plans to undergo a $6.9 million expansion of its U.S. headquarters in Kansas City where it expects to create up to 50 new jobs. The expansion comes after Multivac experienced steady growth in its Kansas City factory, which has been manufacturing food-packaging equipment for the past 25 years.

Another company expanding their operations in Missouri is High Tech Solutions LLC.  The company will undergo a $14.4 million headquarters relocation and expansion project in Lee’s Summit, and is expected to add 46 new jobs while tripling its footprint within five years.

The final big move of the past two weeks came as AAIPharma Services Corp./Cambridge Major Laboratories, Inc., (AAI/CML) announced it will invest $10.7 million in area operations to move its St. Louis headquarters to a new location in the Cortex Innovation Community and add 30 jobs in the next five years.

AAI/CML joins a long list of more than 160 resident companies that are part of the Cortex Innovation Community, a vibrant innovation hub and technology district that has led to $350 million in investment and generated 2,500 technology-related jobs since its inception in 2002.

All of these companies are joining the already growing list of businesses choosing Missouri as the best home for their operations since the start of the 2016. Economic development agencies around the state are committed to increasing that number even further by continuing to attract more world-class companies to Missouri as the year goes on.