Is 'Newton Logistics Park' coming?

Newton is poised to use what built the town — the railroads — to create a new future.

Today, the Newton City and Harvey County commissions met to discuss inter-local agreements that would create the “Newton Logistics Park.”

In other words, it would be a shipping area dedicated to helping manufacturers transport their products via train and truck.

“We will transport things in and out,” said Mickey Fornaro-Dean, executive director of the Harvey County Economic Development Council. “We will be manufacturing things to ship out.”

Dean and the EDC have been working with prospective companies in the wind energy sector — the most promising lead wants to locate on Newton’s east side if the logistics park becomes a reality.

Job potential

The company isn’t small, either. The manufacturing location proposed for Newton would be between two and three times the size of AGCO, the county’s largest employer.

“We have eight prospects we have worked with in the last six months,” Dean said. “Four of those represent more than $727,640,000 of investment. These prospects would not have come to us without the prospect of this park.”

The city of Newton already purchased 59 acres of ground for the project and has options for nearly 275 more acres east and southeast of the current industrial park.

The logistics park would be east of Hillside, straddling the current rail line, which runs through the Newton Industrial Park.

Railroad access

Driving the discussion is Newton’s unique situation — access to not only two of the nation’s largest railroads but also the short-line K and O line owned by Watco and the convergence of U.S. Highway 50 and Interstate 135.

There also is access to large amounts of open and flat acreage.

“Because we are in the middle of the U.S., we can attract manufacturers,” Dean said.

Right now, that means companies making wind turbines for the generation of electricity.

The market for wind energy is growing, with Kansas ranking third nationally for wind energy potential.

The Kansas wind

But, the struggle for manufacturers of wind turbines is getting them from the factory to the wind farms.

The location of the Newton logistics park would allow for easier parts shipping within a 500-mile radius, which includes one of the nation’s best sources of wind potential — Western Kansas.

That area also includes parts of Texas, ranked first; all of Nebraska, ranked sixth; and all of Oklahoma, ranked eighth for wind generation potential by the Pacific Northwest Laboratory.

If Kansas were to harness the wind to the state’s full potential, wind turbines could generate more than 12 times the needed amount of electricity on the state’s highest demand day of the year, according to a study funded by the 3Tier group.

“Kansas could become a major exporter of electricity,” said Troy Carlson, president of Initiatives Inc. and a partner to the Harvey County EDC for this project. “We have an upcoming wind rush. It is coming. The federal government is making it very attractive for companies to invest in wind energy.”

Carlson said Kansas offers a unique atmosphere for the development of wind energy technology and companies — in addition to the availability of land and wind, there is a workforce here prepared to help manufacture wind turbines and parts.

“Wind turbines and aircraft go hand in hand,” Carlson said. “The skill sets are similar.”

Carlson said being on the front edge of this growth industry would help Harvey County and the state of Kansas rebound from the economic downturn of 2008-09.

“If we get the manufacturing base here, you will have a bigger impact economically,” Carlson said."

The logistics park is in need of a sewer line from the city, and a paved road from the county.

If those things are put in place, the park can move forward.

Watco already is on board, wanting to use the park as a place to bring shipments from the Port of Catoosa — one of the largest, most inland river ports in the United States.

The wind energy companies would be “low-hanging fruit” to attract manufacturing tenants to the park — but not the only type of company that would benefit from being located near two major rail carriers, a short line and two major highways in the center of the country.

“Wind can get this started,” Carlson said. “What you have is a long- term economic development model to last beyond all of our lifetimes.”

Dean said once inter-local agreements are signed, the project could move forward within 90 to 120 days.

And she can’t mask her excitement about the possibilities of attracting large manufacturers to Harvey County.

“There have been more than 500 layoffs in this county,” Dean said. “If we had this kind of engine behind us, those persons may have been reemployed already.”