Montgomery County is a vibrant industrial center in Southeast Kansas with a population of 36,252.  The principal cities are Caney, Cherryvale, Coffeyville, and Independence.  While there are several cows and a few buffaloes, agriculture has always been secondary to manufacturing.  The rapid growth of the county occurred in the early 1900’s with the discovery of oil and natural gas and this ample supply of energy contributed to the growth of manufacturing.  This history still influences the county today as about 25 percent of Montgomery County employees are involved with manufacturing as compared to 12 percent of the employees in Kansas. 

The decade of the 1990s was a critical time for Montgomery County.  Employment growth rate was negative during the first half of the decade, declining by almost one percent.  In 1994 with much discussion and teamwork, voters passed by overwhelming margins a one-cent sales tax initiative for economic development purposes.  The funds collected were used to attract American Insulated Wire to Coffeyville and Cessna to Independence.  Employment growth rate between 1995 and 2000 increased 7.5%.  Building permit activity, sales tax revenue, and property values all increased and the rate of population decline decreased. 

The manufacturing sector is quite diverse in Montgomery County.  With the arrival of Cessna the aviation sector has grown substantially.  Fiberglass and plastics is another key industry in the county, with companies involved in rotational, injection, and blow-molding, and thermoforming.  Spears Manufacturing Company in Caney, a producer of plastic pipe fittings and valves, recently completed a 120,000 square foot new facility, adding approximately 100 new jobs.  Metals and machine shops are also important and Montgomery County is home to Acme Foundry, one of the largest foundries in the state.  Oil and gas still play an important role: Coffeyville Resources LLC Refinery and Fertilizer has a oil refinery and nitrogen plant to produce anhydrous ammonia and fertilizer and several companies produce pumps and valves for the oil industry.  Printing and publishing is another sector with KOPCO in Caney serving as a leading commercial printing operation. 

Montgomery County is working towards several ambitious goals for this decade.  One is to continue to diversify the economy.  New focus has been placed on developing the county as a distribution hub since the arrival of the huge Amazon.com warehouse north of Coffeyville.  The second goal is to achieve population growth by the 2010 census.  The Montgomery County Action Council and the University of Kansas are working together to identify root causes of negative population growth and these findings will be used as the foundation of a population growth action plan.  Additional goals include establishing the county as an international business portal, fostering entrepreneurial growth, ensuring the growth and development of existing industries, obtaining broadband Internet access for the entire county, improving housing stock, upgrading rail and highway access, reducing property taxes, and recruiting new businesses.

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