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Kansas City Business Journal
McCownGordon: Work stays on schedule for giant Walmart plant in Olathe
Less than a year after announcing plans to build a manufacturing facility in Olathe, Walmart’s case-ready beef packaging and distribution center is starting to take shape. <\p> In January 2023, Walmart chose McCownGordon Construction to lead design and construction of the $257 million beef packaging facility, in partnership with Wisconsin-based ESI Design Services Inc.<\p>
KCBJ extends deadline for Best Places to Work Awards
Want to give your company some extra bragging rights and a recruitment tool? Nominate it for our Best Places to Work awards program.<\p> And there’s even better news: We’ve extended the nomination deadline by two weeks to June 14. <\p>
2024 Champions of Business Awards: Meet the honorees, judges
Since its inception in 2007, the Champions of Business program has recognized companies displaying excellence, from financial performance to community involvement. <\p> To date, 48 companies have entered our Hall of Champions, reserved for those earning a Champions of Business honor three times. In the spirit of recognizing their continued focus on excellence, we’ve launched a new awards program, League of Champions. Three companies are receiving the inaugural honor: VML, JE Dunn Construction Co. and Country Club Bank. <\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Airshare
Airshare has been in business for more than two decades, but it accomplished one big goal overnight.<\p> The aviation company had offices in Overland Park, Wichita, Fort Worth and Buffalo, New York, before acquiring the aircraft management business of Wheels Up last fall.<\p>
2024 League of Champions — Country Club Bank
Country Club Bank’s core values influence every decision. They include achievement, compassion, enthusiasm, integrity and teamwork.<\p> “Doing the right thing is always going to serve you well,” CEO Paul Thompson said. <\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Commerce Bank
On the surface, keys to Commerce Bank’s growth during the past year have been its payments business and helping customers understand ways to prevent the increasing threat of fraud. But those two areas reflect a deeper philosophy that extends far beyond checking accounts and loans.<\p> “We find, increasingly, that we’re helping commercial entities find out there are needs they didn’t even know they had,” CEO Kevin Barth said.<\p>
2024 League of Champions — JE Dunn Construction
Throughout its 100-year history, JE Dunn Construction Co. has played a role in a variety of noteworthy projects.<\p> Among the newest is the Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium, where JE Dunn and Monarch Build were general contractors. The $117 million stadium is believed to be the world’s first purpose-built for a professional women’s sports team. <\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Propio Language Services
Propio Language Services, an Overland Park-based language interpreting service company, grew its revenue by 60% last year and its profit by 452%. CEO Marco Assis said they are only getting started.<\p> “If we have the best service, if our team is the most qualified, and if our pricing is the most competitive, there is no reason to not switch to Propio,” Assis said. “And our clients are seeing that.”<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Prime Capital Investment Advisors
Overland Park-based Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC has completely transformed itself during the past seven years, building a footprint throughout the U.S., completing 25 acquisitions and offering strong financial advice to clients across the wealth spectrum.<\p> Prime Capital Investment Advisors (PCIA) was recapitalized in July 2023, selling a minority stake to Boston-based private equity firm Abry Partners. That added fuel to propel its growth.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Max Motors Dealerships
Robert Jacaway started selling cars straight out of high school at a local Oldsmobile GMC dealership in 1983. More than 40 years later, the brands and locations have changed, but the business remains the same.<\p> “I’ve done it my whole life,” Max Motors Dealerships CEO and co-owner Jacaway said. “I started in sales and worked my way into management by the time I was 20. I’ve been around good people who helped me a long way.”<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Lever1
Lever1 prides itself on white-glove customer service. The Overland Park-based professional employer organization works to provide human resources services and products tailored to individual client needs.<\p> As Lever1 continues to grow, recently expanding into St. Louis and Oklahoma City, one philosophy that remains is a customer-first mentality.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — TreviPay
Online purchasing has long shaped how consumers make choices in an ever-changing goods and services landscape.<\p> TreviPay CEO Brandon Spear said a recent shift from brand loyalty to experience loyalty is yet another change that affects the way people choose to purchase. The easier the transaction, the happier the customer.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Fre3dom Interiors
Fre3dom Interiors is a Kansas City-based design company that works to create engaging spaces in the community. The company works to bring visions to life in classrooms, but it also is an active participant outside the classroom. <\p> The company prides itself on being involved with its surrounding communities and giving back to worthwhile causes. It’s involved with organizations such as literacy program Lead to Read KC and Kansas City Girls Prep Academy, the first all-girls charter school in Kansas City. <\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Dairy Farmers of America
Dairy Farmers of America has weathered a volatile two years in the milk industry, coming out on top.<\p> CEO Dennis Rodenbaugh took over the cooperative’s top leadership position in 2022 amid a downward trend in earnings.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — TREKK Design Group
The nation’s aging infrastructure has drawn much attention and investment, with many major systems nearing the end of their lifespans.<\p> That’s where TREKK Design Group LLC comes in, offering safer, more efficient ways to evaluate and address problems in two key areas: roads and water systems. Combine that with the company’s expansion of office locations and new sales of in-house tools, and TREKK is paving a path to growth.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Clarkson Construction
Since 1880, Clarkson Construction Co. has followed the same set of core values: Be honest, embrace collaboration, and take pride in building up the community around you. <\p> Billy Clarkson III not only is president of Clarkson Construction, but the sixth-generation family member to take the reins. Building the company’s success starts with the right people on the team, he said.<\p>
2024 Champions of Business — Multistudio
Defining how a typical Multistudio project might look is no easy feat, given the range of nontraditional efforts the Kansas City architect has designed during its 50-year history.<\p> Although these developments vary in size, as do the clients pursuing them, a commonality they share is the possibility they stand to unlock in their respective communities, National Managing Principal Anthony Rohr said.<\p>
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