When travelers board a flight in the not-so-distant future, there’s a good chance the technology helping guide that plane safely through the skies will have been built right here in Olathe.
Indra Group is a global leader in air traffic management, mobility and defense technology based in Madrid, Spain. They’re rapidly expanding their U.S. manufacturing operations with a new 118,000-sq.-ft. facility right here in Olathe.
The investment marks a significant milestone for the company as it ramps up production of critical infrastructure for the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Air Force and public transit systems across the country.
Indra’s new facility represents far more than a relocation. It positions Olathe as a key manufacturing hub for technologies that will modernize America’s air traffic control system while creating hundreds of high-tech jobs in the region – nearly 150 this year alone.
“Our relocation is driven by incredible momentum across all our business sectors and an immediate need to significantly expand our domestic manufacturing capabilities,” Bill Colligan, CEO of Indra Air Traffic, said. “When you combine these key domestic air traffic control projects with our growing international air traffic control sales and our expanding U.S. mobility portfolio, it became clear that we had completely outgrown our previous facility.”
The company’s growth has been fueled by several federal contracts, including a landmark FAA program to replace aging air traffic control radars nationwide.
Indra was one of two companies selected to manufacture the next generation of radar systems, earning a contract for 185 radars as part of the FAA’s broader effort to ultimately replace more than 600 systems across the country.
“The scale is frankly enormous,” Colligan said. “Before this award, there hadn’t been an air traffic control radar for civilian use manufactured in the United States in well over a decade.”
To meet demand, Indra is completing the move into Olathe in three phases.
The first phase is already operational, producing next-generation air-to-ground radios that allow air traffic controllers and pilots to communicate throughout the nation’s en route airspace. Those radios are replacing equipment that has been in service for more than two decades.
The second phase, scheduled to begin later this summer, will transition additional manufacturing operations from their current Overland Park facility to Olathe, including navigation systems and mobility products.
The third phase will establish the company’s radar manufacturing operation. Production is expected to begin later this year.
“We’re currently building that section of the factory out now,” Colligan added. “In the third and fourth quarter, we’ll start producing radars for the FAA there.”
While aviation technology is driving the expansion, the Olathe facility will support several business sectors. In addition to air traffic management products, the company will manufacture ticketing terminals for transit systems in St. Louis and Washington, D.C., while continuing to support defense-related manufacturing.
Ultimately, Colligan said, the company’s products help keep people moving safely.
“Whether we are modernizing air traffic control, equipping our armed forces or streamlining public transit, our work provides the essential infrastructure needed to ensure safe, continuous and efficient travel across the nation,” he said.
The expansion is also creating significant opportunities for the local workforce.
Indra has added more than 70 employees since the beginning of the year and expects to hire another 70 before year’s end, followed by more than 100 additional employees in 2027. The company expects roughly 80 percent of its Kansas City area workforce to be based in Olathe, with local employment eventually reaching approximately 300 people.
For Colligan, the growth isn’t simply about adding jobs. It’s about creating long-term careers from within their current organization.
“There’s been a great opportunity for career advancement for many of our employees,” he said. “If you don’t grow a company, you lose your best talent because they want to advance their own careers. Growth within is absolutely critical.”
Preparing employees for highly specialized manufacturing has required a substantial investment in training. Because radar systems of this type haven’t been manufactured domestically in years, experienced workers are scarce.
Recently, 30 technicians spent more than three months training at Indra’s radar manufacturing facility in Madrid, learning to build and test the same radar systems that will soon roll off the production line in Olathe.
“Finding skilled people is extremely challenging because there hasn’t been radar manufacturing in the U.S. for civilian air traffic control purposes in over a decade,” Colligan said. “So, we’ve invested significantly in training our workforce.”
The company has also invested approximately $50 million to transform the building into a highly specialized manufacturing and testing facility. Since signing the original lease, Indra has already expanded its footprint twice to accommodate future growth.
Colligan credits much of the project’s success to the collaboration between local partners, including the State of Kansas, Olathe Chamber of Commerce, City of Olathe, JLL, Evardy Construction, GastingerWalker and Lankford, Fendler & Associates.
“We’re very grateful for the confidence the U.S. government, the U.S. Air Force, the FAA and the Navy continue to place in Indra,” Colligan said. “We work really hard to make sure we fully meet their expectations.”
As production ramps up, the impact of the company’s investment will extend well beyond Olathe and the surrounding area.
The FAA’s current radar network averages roughly 30 years in age and supports one of the world’s largest and most complex air traffic control systems, covering more than 5 million square miles of airspace here in the U.S.
By manufacturing the next generation of those systems in Olathe, local employees will play a direct role in improving the reliability and resilience of America’s aviation infrastructure.
“We’re incredibly proud of the impact the work done in Olathe will have on Americans every day,” Colligan said. “Our local workforce is directly contributing to increasing the resiliency of our national airspace system, reducing outages and ultimately making the skies safer for everyone.”