3 Facts that Show the Power of Small in Kansas
Maybe it's the engineer geek in me coming out, but I like data. I realize that sometimes data is boring, and can be used incorrectly, but most of time it can be used to make intellegent decisions...intellegent decisions about your business, your competitors, trends, etc.
When I came across this piece from the National Association of Manufacturers' (NAM) and the "Power of Small", the data provided on a national perspective made me stop and think. As the author, Drew Greenblatt, stated, "When policymakers and the public think of manufacturing, most imagine sprawling production facilities. Although there are certainly big players in the sector, research shows that small and medium-sized businesses are the heart of the industry--just like they are the foundation of the American Dream."
NAM has compiled some interesting facts that clearly demonstrate that large impact often comes in small packages. I will add to Drew's data by presenting similar data for the state of Kansas' manufacturing sector where possible.
1. Small and medium-sized businesses comprise the preponderance of the manufacturing sector.
Nationally
Of the 256,363 firms identified in the most recent data, only 3,626 were large companies. The remaining 98.5%--a total of 252,737 companies--were businesses employing fewer than 500 people.
Kansas
Of the roughly 3,100 manufacturers identified by the Kansas Department of Labor, only 41 of them had more than 500 employees. This makes 98.7% of them identified as small or mid-sized manufacturers.