KC’s Tech Appeal Draws Koch Presence

The evolution of Kansas City’s technology ecosystem has prompted Koch Business Solutions, a division of Wichita-based Koch Industries, to opened a new coworking office space in Kansas City, designed to provide IT support to the parent and its affiliates around the world.

Koch, the nation’s second-largest privately held company, anticipates more than 20 full-time employees will use the coworking office at Think Big Coworking in the Crossroads area of Downtown. In a news release announcing the move, HR Manager Katie Schuckman said that “Kansas City has a strong reputation as a tech community on the forefront of innovation and entrepreneurship, making it a perfect place for us.”

This is not Koch’s first attempt to hire in a market with deep technology talent; it did the same in 2015, Koch when it opened an office in Reno, Nevada, tapping into strong technology talent and knowledge networks there. “We are continuously searching for ways to embrace innovation and experimentation to stay competitive in the market,” said Tracy Nelson, director of workplace strategies at Koch. “Despite being a large company, we see the value of embracing the start-up environment found in coworking spaces.”

The office will also serve as an innovation space to host discussions, knowledge shares and brainstorming sessions in support of the Kansas City IT community.