KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
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Marvin, a window and door manufacturing company, has found a new home in Kansas City, Kansas. The company wants to bring jobs and a positive culture along with it.
Founded in 1912, the Minnesota-based business has locations in 19 North American cities.
It's expanding to Kansas City, Kansas, to make a new fiberglass product.
Marvin Windows and Doors signed a land purchase agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, in August 2023 and broke ground in 2024.
“We’re there for the long term,” said Marvin’s president, Darrin Peterson. “This isn’t a 5-10 year thing for us; we’re thinking about 30-40 years.. Last week, in Fargo, North Dakota, I had a 30-year anniversary, which is one of our first."
The 400,000-square-foot facility cost $76.5 million. Part of the money came from a combination of an incentive package — which included tax abatements, bond issuances — and performance agreements from the UG.
Marvin does pay property taxes, a point of concern residents have expressed about developers when they're given a property tax exemption.
The company was unable to confirm the amount of property taxes it pays ahead of Monday’s story deadline.
There are 90 full-time employees at the Kansas City, Kansas, location. Fourteen of those employees relocated from other Marvin locations.
About 60% of job applicants have been from Kansas.
The company wants to have 600 employees at the KCK facility.
“Being from Wyandotte County … it’s a sense of feeling like, ‘Hey, I got to bring this great organization to Kansas City.’ So it’s kind of cool,” said Robert Conchola Jr., director of operations at Marvin’s KCK location.
Conchola found a home within his hometown at Marvin.
The facility sits at the site of the former Woodlands racetrack, which opened in 1989 and stopped operating as a racetrack in 2008.
Conchola remembers the facility from his childhood.
He grew up on KCK’s east side, an area residents say is often neglected when it comes to major development projects.
“It’ll be everybody coming here to bring the jobs to Wyandotte County,” Conchola said. “Our visitors that come in, spending those dollars here.”
KSHB 41’s Rachel Henderson spoke with the UG’s chief financial officer about sales tax revenue on July 9.
The CFO, Dr. Shelley Kneuvean, told Henderson that sales tax revenue is up in the county since the commission voted not to exceed revenue-neutral in 2025.
She also said not having a wealthy tax base makes growth difficult in Wyandotte County.
“That is a real issue,” Kneuvean said. “And so … we are making headway, and we’re very glad about that because we have brought a lot of jobs into the community.”
In May, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis reported Wyandotte County’s unemployment rate was 4.7%, with a total of 3,988 unemployed people. That number was higher than the year before.
“We felt there was a great workforce population there,” Peterson said.
Peterson says building relationships has been crucial for Marvin, with partnerships that include Kansas City, Kansas, Community College, Piper Unified School District and the Wyandotte Economic Development Council.
“The easy answer for what the county stands to gain is the new property taxes, which are needed for the city and county, but also the Piper School District, which is the third fastest growing district in Kansas,” Greg Kindle, president of the WYEDC, said in an email. “That educational connection was one that we made early between both the Piper School District superintendent and the president of KCK Community College. It is our goal to make those connections so that the business community is engaged in talking about the opportunities that exist here in Wyandotte County.”
Kindle spoke highly of Marvin’s "kind" and "professional" company culture, adding he’s optimistic that it will radiate into the broader Wyandotte County community.
“One of the gaps we sometimes see is the community engagement," Kindle said. "This is something Marvin Windows makes a point to do — get engaged and be present. This is something that has worked well for them in Fargo, North Dakota, and that they are emulating here in Wyandotte County.”
The grand opening for the facility is set for Thursday, Oct. 2, the day before National Manufacturing Day.
Job openings range from unskilled, first-time positions to roles with decades of experience.
Click here to see the jobs available at Marvin.
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