Wichita manufacturing company hiring 100 after pandemic drove demand
A Wichita-based manufacturing company is looking to hire 100 new employees to expand its capacity to produce recreational vehicles, the business announced Wednesday.
Airxcel is hiring for nearly all positions, including production, engineering, sales, human resources and more. Starting wages vary depending on the job and experience, and all full-time positions receive benefits.
Airxcel designs and manufactures equipment like air conditioners, furnaces, water heaters, cooking appliances, composite panels for RVs and more. But its work with RVs is what drove the company to expand its workforce.
“In the COVID pandemic, many of us realized the importance of connecting with nature,” said Jeff Rutherford, CEO of Airxcel. “That resulted directly in demand for our products.”
Airxcel currently employs around 650 people in Wichita, Rutherford said. The expansion will bring its workforce to over 700 employees — combined with a hiring push last summer, that’s nearly a doubling of its workers before the COVID-19 pandemic brought increased interest in RVs.
Airxcel also announced hiring in Wichita last July for the same reason. At the time, it looked to add 135 positions as the RV industry saw demand fueled by consumers planning outdoor vacations in the first pandemic summer. It ended up hiring 265 new workers last year, almost double what it planned then.
That hiring followed about 200 layoffs earlier in the pandemic. Rutherford said Airxcel had to furlough workers when COVID-19 first hit because its customers closed down. It has since brought all those workers back to the job, he said.
Based in Wichita, Airxcel has 18 manufacturing facilities in six states and Italy, employing about 1,700 people in all. It recently celebrated 30 years in business and is soon to produce its eight millionth RV air conditioner in Wichita.
Local elected officials, including Gov. Laura Kelly and Lieutenant Gov. and commerce secretary David Toland, touted the expansion and new jobs Wednesday afternoon.
“Airxcel is a great example of a company that adjusted during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pete Meitzner, chairman of the Sedgwick County Commission, said in a statement. “Their company exemplifies our region’s manufacturing strength and the value that strength brings to our community and state.”
The company said it will also pour more than $4 million in capital investment into its Wichita facility, as well as add an extra shift and more assembly lines to maximize its existing space in north Wichita at 3050 N. St. Francis.
Advanced manufacturing has long been key to the Wichita area’s economy and a main focus of economic development and workforce groups. The Greater Wichita Partnership included advanced manufacturing as a focus in its regional growth plan. The Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas received its largest grant ever this year to help retrain workers in advanced manufacturing and other targeted sectors.
Meitzner said the Wichita region’s workforce has given the area a long history with manufacturing, with over 900 manufacturing companies in the area today, and training and retraining are an important part of workforce strategy in Kansas, Toland said.
Airxcel was established in 1991 with the acquisition of two business units of the Coleman Company, according to Airxcel’s website. Earlier this year, it acquired two manufacturers of windows and HVAC equipment.
“We are so thankful to have smart, innovative companies like Airxcel further diversifying our economy and increasing employment opportunities in Wichita,” Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said in a statement.
You can apply for a job with Airxcel at www.airxcel.com/careers.
“We look forward to our future growth as a company and the Kansas economy as a whole,” Rutherford said.
This story was originally published June 2, 2021 at 5:09 PM.
