Airport grows with community

By Ric Swats

River Cities Business Journal

KINGMAN - The Kingman Airport Authority was formed in 1979 to create economic opportunity in the area following the closing of the Duval Mine.

Today i can be said it has succeeded in that area with 80 businesses employing 2,500 people in the business park.

“One out of every 12 people in Kingman works at the airport,” Kingman Airport Authority, Inc., Director of Economic Development Bob Riley said.

As it has historically, location plays a key role in the success of the industrial zone at the airport.

Logistically, Kingman is in a beautiful position,” Riley said. “It's on the I-40/Hwy. 93 Can-Mex highway. Burlington Northern runs through here, El Paso gas has a pipeline here and the fiber optic trunk from Phoenix to California goes through here.”

Many distributors like the Kingman Airport because they can serve the Southern California market from a nearby center.

“”We're in a position to service Southern California without being in Southern California, which is not necessarily pro business,” Riley said. “The Kingman Airport is 350 miles from the Port of Los Angeles at Long Beach - 350 miles represents a single truck driver's one-day route.

“From the beginning our biggest interest was to serve Southern California.”

But, now that Phase 1 of 1,100 acres dedicated to the business park is filling up some of the focus has changed.

“If you look at a 350-mile radius you're looking at 33 million people in that radius,” Riley said. “We appeal to a lot of businesses.”

The economic impact is huge.

In 2004, the last year for which economic numbers are available, 2,058 people accounted for earnings of $95.4 million. The park brought in $26.7 million and had an overall economic impact of 619.7 million. It also indirectly supported 5,394 jobs in the Kingman area.

The Authority has only about 100 acres left to fill out Phase 1, then it will begin work on the 1,200 acre second phase.

Work is underway on the 1,200 acre second phase.

“We've made overtures to the FAA to release the program,” Riley said.

The new connector road with I-40 at Rattlesnake Wash is a key to the expansion plans at least in part because the underpass from Route 66 is not an all-weather facility.

“From the very beginning we've considered secondary access very important,” Riley said. “We've considered (the Rattlesnake Wash route) an important project since 1979 when we started here.”

Right now the Airport is actively working on bringing in more industry.

“We have about 45 active leads,” Riley said. “They're capable and ready to pull the trigger once they make a decision.”

Riley's biggest concern about limiting growth has to do with the employees.

“Kingman grew at a rate of about 3 percent for 20 years like clockwork,” Riley said. “We've had 12 to 15 percent growth for a few years, but the labor part of that growth has only grown 1 percent.”

The growth of the industrial area has been good for the growth of the airport itself.

“The land sales within the industrial park has been used to pay for improvements to the airport,” Riley said.