photo by: Courtesy: State of Kansas

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly reviews plans for a proposed computer chip manufacturing facility in Burlington on Feb. 20, 2023.

A Kansas company that currently makes high-tech surge protectors proposes to invest $1.9 billion to enter the computer chip business, and projects that it will create about 1,200 jobs in the small town of Burlington if the project is successful.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday joined officials from EMP Shield to announce the project in Burlington, which is a community of about 2,600 people about an hour southwest of Lawrence. The project appears contingent on convincing the federal government to provide some funding for the venture.

The Burlington-based company currently manufactures devices aimed at protecting equipment from electromagnetic pulses, which can be anything from a lightning strike to advanced weapons that aim to disable electronic devices.

The company’s website, however, says nothing about currently being in the business of manufacturing computer chips, which has become an industry targeted for incentives as the U.S. government seeks to have more chips manufactured domestically for national security reasons.

A press release from the governor’s office said EMP Shield plans “to leverage state support to apply for CHIPS Act funding,” referring to a federal program aimed at spurring new investment in computer chip manufacturing in the U.S. The release did not put a dollar figure on how much the state may be offering in incentives to move the project forward. Earlier this month, the state approved about $300 million in tax incentives for a proposed semiconductor plant in Wichita.

The CHIPS Act includes several provisions designed to direct federal money to rural communities. Burlington would almost certainly qualify as a rural area under the federal program. The community in the 1980s was the site of massive investment to build the Wolf Creek Generating Station, the state’s lone nuclear power plant. But the town has remained small in size since then, and the creation of more than 1,000 new jobs in the community likely would create challenges for the local workforce to fill them.

Tim Carty, founder and lead engineer for EMP Shield, said his plans call for the establishment of bus routes from metropolitan areas to bring workers into the area. Burlington is about 60 miles from Topeka, 100 miles from Kansas City and 130 miles from Wichita.

“This next-generation technology project will help our community grow and make our country safer. That’s a win for everyone,” Carty said in a press release issued by the governor’s office.

Plans call for EMP Shield to build its facility on 300 acres of industrial property in Burlington. The facility would include about 235,000 square feet of high-tech manufacturing space. Jobs at the plant would pay an average of $66,000 a year, and many of them would not require a four-year degree, according to the governor’s release.

“There are workforce development programs already in place that will enable high school graduates and those with two-year degrees to train up and get very high-paying jobs,” Carty said. “This will allow those who grow up here to stay in Kansas, enjoy our quality of life, and not have to go to San Francisco.”

The release said six “out-of-state suppliers” also will be part of the project, and that EMP Shield is working with area partners that include the University of Kansas, Coffey County, Flint Hills Technical College, Allen County Community College, Pittsburg State University, the Heartland Black Chamber of Commerce, the Wichita Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and public school districts in Burlington and the nearby communities of Lebo, Waverly, Leroy and Gridley.

The release did not provide any timelines on when the project could move forward, and Carty indicated there is still the need for significant amounts of federal support before the project could become a reality.

“Coffey County appears to really hit the sweet spot for everything requested for CHIPS Act funding,” Carty said. “Everything is falling into place, and the state’s strong support hopefully gets us one step closer to a favorable federal response.”

The Burlington project becomes the second in the state that is hoping to land federal dollars to build a new computer chip manufacturing plant. Integra Technologies, an established chip manufacturer, announced earlier this month that it hopes to build a $1.8 billion semiconductor plant in Wichita with the help of federal funding. That project would add an estimated 2,000 jobs in Wichita.