BURLINGTON, Kan. (KSNW) — Coffey County will soon host a new $1.9 billion computer chip manufacturing facility.
Gov. Laura Kelly announced that EMP Shield plans to build a computer chip manufacturing facility in Burlington. The governor says the facility will create more than 1,200 jobs averaging $66,000 annually.
EMP Shield manufactures devices that protect other electronic devices from destructive magnetic pulses. The company will build its facility on 300 acres on a secure campus located at Silicon Prairie Industrial Park.
They will be joined by six out-of-state suppliers, which are expected to create an additional 1,000 jobs in Coffey County. Once completed, the 235,000-square-foot facility is expected to produce thousands of chips per week.
“Bringing economic prosperity to every corner of the state, especially rural Kansas, has been a priority since my first day in office,” Governor Kelly said in a news release. “We do just that with this project, creating thousands of high-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year college degree and demonstrating that every Kansas community is ripe for investment and growth.”
EMP Shield will apply for CHIPS Act funding to complete the project. Bipartisan legislation required every aspect of computer chip manufacturing to be reported to the United States, particularly in rural areas of the Midwest, along with stipulations including public-private partnerships and the involvement of higher education institutions.
EMP Shield is working with area partners such as Coffey County; Flint Hills Technical College; Allen County Community College; Pittsburg State University; the University of Kansas; Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce; Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Unified School Districts 243, 244 and 245.
For more information on EMP Shield, click here.
