Wichita’s newest business HQ has been 77 years in the making

Under the third-generation leadership of CEO Ann Konecny, family-owned Foley Equipment has seen expansive growth.

And now, 77 years after its founding, Foley recently moved into a new headquarters, a $19 million, 146,000-square-foot building on South West Street. The company is christening the building with grand-opening events this week.

Foley built its new HQ to accommodate its growing territories and local employment, which stands at 200 today.

“We are delighted that we have reached the point where it made sense to expand our headquarters to meet the needs of our much larger customer base,” Konecny said in an e-mail.

The new building includes a 45,000-square-foot parts warehouse and a 36,000-square-foot service center to service customers in its territory that has grown to 104 counties in Kansas and 40 in western Missouri. It operates 19 locations in 14 cities over that territory, and employs nearly 1,000 people.

Since taking the Caterpillar construction equipment dealer’s top post 20 years ago, Konecny has guided expansions including a rental store for its Cat skid steers, front loaders and other equipment.

Foley’s also added a 125,000-square-foot engine rebuild facility and sales center for off-lease and repossessed Cat machines in Park City, and acquired Cat dealerships in Topeka and Kansas City.

Konecny became the company’s top executive and dealer principal in 1997, taking over from her dad, Paul “Skip Foley, Jr., who had led it since 1973.

The founder of Foley Equipment and Konecny’s grandfather, Paul Foley Sr., had worked in the treasury department at Caterpillar’s Illinois headquarters before coming to Wichita in 1940 to join the Karcher-Wolter Tractor Co., which later became Foley Tractor.

Konecny credits Foley’s “world-class” staff and their focus on the customer for the company’s success and growth during her tenure as its leader.

“I sleep well, not because we don’t have problems, but because those problems are being tackled by a competent and conscientious team,” Konecny said in the statement.

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 6:16 PM with the headline "Wichita’s newest business HQ has been 77 years in the making."