Orizon Aerostructures purchases Opus building, will anchor 56 Commerce Center
Orizon Aerostructures, a Kansas City-based aerospace and defense manufacturing, processing and assembly company, is headed to Olathe.
The company has purchased the 205,000-square-foot facility on 15 acres in the 56 Commerce Center Industrial Park at Old 56 Highway and Lone Elm Road. The facility was built by the Opus Group and will house the aerostructures manufacturer and its current 65 employees with room enough to accommodate more than 300 new employees over the course of the next few years.
“We are looking forward to relocating our current operations in North Kansas City to a much larger facility in Olathe,” Orizon President Henry Newell said. “We’ve recently been awarded several large, complex aerospace and defense assemblies and our current 70,000-square-foot facility isn’t large enough to accommodate the new machinery and number of people we need to hire.
“The larger Olathe location (205,000-square-feet) is strategically located much closer to our 174,000-square-foot campus in Chanute, Kan. where we perform non-destructive testing, metal processing, paint and assemble of the manufactured parts produced in the Olathe.
Thanks to the City of Olathe, the Olathe Chamber of Commerce and the State of Kansas Department of Commerce, the commercial, military and general aviation company becomes the anchor tenant of the 56 Commerce Industrial Park that will continue to grow.
“We are thrilled that Orizon has chosen Olathe to relocate its manufacturing facilities,” Chamber CEO Tim McKee said. “It’s the culmination of a great partnership between the city and the state to bring such a prominent and growing company into a burgeoning industrial area and into a great Opus building.”
The purchase brings to a close, a nearly six-month process by Olathe leaders to bring the company from North Kansas City.
“This is a great day for Olathe,” Olathe Mayor Michael Copeland said. “We are so happy to be involved in this project and partnering with such a great company.”
About Orizon Aerostructures
Orizon Aerostructures manufactures and supplies complex structural components and major sub-assemblies for leading airframe manufacturers in the commercial aerospace, military and defense, and general aviation industries. Orizon currently has facilities in Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. More information can be found here.
About the Olathe Chamber of Commerce
The Olathe Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber in Johnson County and the second largest chamber in the Kansas City metropolitan region. It has received Five-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – a designation obtained by only 1 percent of the nation’s chambers. Its vison is to be the voice of business that advances the economic well-being and quality of life in Olathe. Its mission is to foster a progressive community through inspired leadership, balanced economic growth, highest educational opportunities and responsive government to ensure a quality family business environment. Follow us on Twitter @OlatheChamber and like us on Facebook at facebook.com/OlatheChamber.