Bombardier flying high in Wichita

Bombardier, an aerospace company based in Montreal, Quebec, has more than 18,800 employees worldwide, including 3,100 U.S.-based employees. Bombardier has maintained a strong presence in Wichita, Kansas, reinforcing its commitment to the region’s rich aviation heritage.

In April 2022, Bombardier designated its Wichita facility as its new Bombardier Group U.S. headquarters, highlighting the site’s growth and multi-disciplinary expertise. Over the past five years, the Wichita service center has experienced a significant transformation. By reorganizing existing hangar space, the site expanded its customer services and support capabilities, increasing the total number of hangars from three to seven. These changes reflect Bombardier’s commitment to supporting its global fleet of more than 5,100 aircraft — including 2,000 Learjet business jets — and securing its position as a major contributor to the Wichita workforce.

In October 2024, Bombardier Defense celebrated the successful first flight of the PEGASUS aircraft, a modified Bombardier Global 6000, in Wichita. This milestone highlights the advanced capabilities of the Wichita team in aircraft modification and testing. Further strengthening its role in defense, Bombardier delivered the first Global 6500 aircraft to the U.S. Army’s HADES program in November 2024. This delivery underscores the company’s expanding footprint in defense projects and its commitment to supporting U.S. military initiatives. These accomplishments demonstrate Bombardier’s significant contributions to Wichita’s aviation sector and its ongoing commitment to innovation, job creation, and aerospace excellence.

Kansas banks rolling on Railz

Toronto-based fintech company Railz has been awarded a pilot project to work directly with the Kansas Bankers Association to deploy its banking e-commerce platform into community banks located throughout the state of Kansas beginning in the first quarter of 2024. The award stems from their successful pitch at the 2023 NXTSTAGE Financial Technology Pilot Competition held in Wichita, Kansas. Railz provides a single application programming interface to all major accounting software (such as QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage) providers and enables on-demand access to financial transactions, analytics, insights, and reports for small business customers. Partnerships between Kansas and Canadian industry leads to innovations that keep our businesses competitive.

Canada invests in Kansas

Exports to Canada support 10,300 employees in Kansas in addition to the 12,600 employees at Canadian-owned businesses across the state. Kansas exports $2.7 billion in goods and services to Canada.

Canadian-owned companies, including Great-West Financial, Learjet, Ag Growth International and Lodging Enterprises, are major contributors to Kansas’ economy. They employ residents in every sector and contribute to the local economy by paying salaries and local taxes and purchasing goods and services in their supply chain.

Kansas exports $2.3 billion in goods to Canada annually
Kansas exports to Canada by industry

• Agriculture: 19%
• Chemicals: 7%
• Energy: 7%
• Equipment & machinery: 32%
• Minerals & metals: 4%
• Plastics & rubbers: 7%
• Transportation: 20%
• Other: 4%

Top Kansas goods exports to Canada

• Aircraft & parts: $309 million
• Telephones & AV recording equipment: $141 million
• Animal feed & food industry residues: $139 million
• Natural gas & other gases: $110 million
• Agricultural machinery: $97 million
• Rubber & rubber articles: $95 million
• Animal meats: $79 million
• Optical, medical & precision instruments: $67 million
• Plastics & plastic articles: $66 million
• Beverages & alcohol: $56 million

Kansas exports $354 million in services to Canada annually
Top Kansas services exports to Canada

• Business services: $140 million
• Travel (including for education): $87 million
• Charges for the use of intellectual property: $47 million
• Insurance services: $26 million
• Maintenance & repair services: $18 million

Kansas imports $2.0 billion in goods from Canada annually
Kansas imports from Canada by industry

• Agriculture: 13%
• Chemicals: 5%
• Equipment & machinery: 33%
• Forest products: 4%
• Minerals & metals: 4%
• Plastics & rubbers: 5%
• Transportation: 21%
• Other: 15%

Top Kansas goods imports from Canada

• Aircraft & parts: $378 million
• Engines & turbines: $313 million
• Plastics & plastic articles: $91 million
• Pasta, breads & cereal preparations: $83 million
• Inorganic chemicals: $58 million
• Optical, medical & precision instruments: $53 million
• Agricultural machinery: $48 million
• Telephones & AV recording equipment: $42 million
• Paper & paperboard: $32 million
• Softwood lumber: $28 million