Governor Laura Kelly joined Panasonic officials yesterday to break ground on one of the largest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities of its kind in the United States. The state-of-the-art facility will create and supply lithium-ion batteries and accelerate the future of electric vehicle innovation on a global scale. Kelly says she was thrilled to break ground on a project she says will transform the state’s economy. She says it not only represents 8,000 high paying jobs, but it represents her administrations success at creating a pro-business climate to attract young talent, support innovation and drive the state toward a prosperous future.
Also, it was announced that the former Sunflower Army Ammunition plant in De Soto, where the plant is being built, now has a new name. It’s new name…Astra Enterprise Park.
After decades of production, the Sunflower Army Ammunition plant closed in 1992 and was declared an excess of the U. S. Army’s needs in 1998. Developers selected the new name to represent the massive transformation of the property, and it’s based on the Kansas State Motto “Ad Astra Per Aspera,” which roughly translates to “To the Stars through Difficulty.”
