Manufacturing Day: Made in GBK
Updated: Oct 16
Every October, the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce joins the national celebration of Manufacturing Day with a local campaign called Made in GBK. Together with Great Bend High School, Barton Community College, Great Bend Economic Development, Kansas WorkforceONE and local manufacturers, the Chamber opens factory doors to students, educators and community leaders to show what is being made right here in Barton County and the rewarding careers behind it. Here is the story of Manufacturing Day in Great Bend, from the first event in 2019 to today.
What Is Manufacturing Day?
Held annually on the first Friday in October, Manufacturing Day helps show the reality of modern manufacturing careers by encouraging thousands of companies and educational institutions around the nation to open their doors to students, parents, teachers and community leaders. It is organized nationally by The Manufacturing Institute, and since 2012 it has helped students discover financially rewarding job opportunities. MFG Day is more than a single event: it is a series of grassroots events, and in Great Bend the celebration continues throughout the month of October.
"Manufacturing Day is an opportunity for manufacturers to show their communities what they do, highlight the economic importance of manufacturing, and draw attention to rewarding manufacturing careers," says Megan Barfield of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce. "Students get the chance to see firsthand how many types of jobs are available in the manufacturing sector, from welders and engineers to designers and marketing professionals."
According to the National Association of Manufacturers, more than 18.5 million U.S. jobs are supported by manufacturing, and every dollar spent in manufacturing creates $1.40 for the U.S. economy. U.S. manufacturing is the ninth largest economy in the world and makes up nearly 12% of the country's gross domestic product. In communities that hosted a student Manufacturing Day event in this format, 84% of students were more convinced that manufacturing provides interesting and rewarding careers, 64% were more motivated to pursue a career in manufacturing, and 71% were more likely to tell friends and family about manufacturing after attending.
The national #CreatorsWanted campaign aims, by 2025, to reduce the skills gap in the United States by 600,000, increase the number of students enrolling in technical and vocational schools or reskilling programs by 25%, and raise the positive perception of the industry among parents to 50% from 27%. By 2028, America will need to fill 4.6 million modern manufacturing jobs. Learn more at mfgday.com and creatorswanted.org.
Where It Started: The Community Vision Plan
Manufacturing Day grew out of Great Bend's community visioning process. Under the strategy "Grow the Workforce of the Future," the Great Bend – Better Than Great Community Vision Plan set an action item to "institute a Manufacturing Day for high school students to tour major manufacturing companies to highlight technology and innovation careers," with USD 428 as the lead organization and a 2020 target. The idea builds on the legacy of Jack Kilby, the Great Bend native and Nobel Prize winner who invented the integrated circuit, to create a community business culture around technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Read more in Great Bend – Better Than Great.
The plan also records the economic context: manufacturing was 10.3% of Great Bend's employment in 2018, and the community's third goal was to diversify the economy with one additional industry by 2030, a goal Fuller Industries' CEO connected directly to his company's growth plans.
2019: The First Manufacturing Day
The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce & Economic Development celebrated its first Manufacturing Day on Friday, October 4, 2019, under the first "Made in GBK" banner. "For this first year, we have partnered with Fuller Industries, Great Bend Industries, Eldridge Fencing, Superior Essex, Great Bend High School JAG-K and Barton Community College," Megan Barfield said. Nearly 120 students were expected to tour the facilities that morning, and thanks to the participating businesses lunch and t-shirts were provided to every student.
The day concluded with a special Chamber After Hours at Fuller Industries, LLC from 5 to 8 p.m., with food and beverages, plant tours from 5:30 to 7 p.m., and a short program with Fuller CEO Mark Chalfant and giveaways.
In the November 2019 Outlook Business Journal, the Chamber thanked the participating manufacturers (Fuller Industries LLC, Great Bend Industries, Eldridge Fencing and Superior Essex), JAG-K Career Specialist Jennifer Hopkins, USD 428 and Barton Community College. Approximately 100 JAG-K (Jobs for America's Graduates, Kansas) students from Great Bend High School and 10 Barton Community College automotive students spent a morning touring and hearing from the local plants to learn about the job opportunities available right here in Barton County. The headline: the first local Manufacturing Day was "Deemed a Huge Success."
Fuller Industries: "A well-kept secret in Great Bend"
In its September 2019 featured business profile, Fuller CEO Mark Chalfant explained why Manufacturing Day mattered. When he mentioned that he worked for Fuller, people often asked whether the company would survive; he answered that it would thrive, pointing to four new products in the works and new hires coming. "What Fuller is about today is a well-kept secret in Great Bend," he said. "Therefore, our goal is to expose the community to Fuller and vice versa." Fuller, which then employed more than 130 people, hoped to add between 10 and 40 employees, and offered jobs in manufacturing as well as chemistry, quality assurance, programming and automation.
Chalfant offered statistics on the multiplier effect: for every one dollar spent in manufacturing, another $1.82 is added to the economy, and for every one manufacturing worker, four employees are hired elsewhere. He also tied Fuller's growth to the Better Than Great visioning group's third goal, "additional industry." Read the full Fuller Industries feature story.
2020: MFG Day Goes Virtual, #CreatorsWanted
MFG Day 2020, on October 2, was the central anchor of the Chamber's Creators Wanted efforts that year. The Chamber promoted Manufacturing Day and a month-long celebration in October that looked different from previous years, with many Kansas manufacturers virtually opening their doors to take up the important work of inspiring young people to pursue careers in manufacturing and engineering. "Today's science, technology, engineering, and math graduates will power the next chapter of American production and innovation, and harnessing their potential is an economic imperative."
To help connect area manufacturers with high school students across Barton County and Barton Community College students, Chamber staff spent hours capturing photos and editing video that was sent to teachers who may incorporate it into their curriculum throughout the year, exposing students to opportunities right here. The November 2020 Outlook Business Journal, headlined "Great Bend Chamber of Commerce Promotes Manufacturing in 2020," featured the results. Read the November 2020 issue.
Watch: Manufacturing in Great Bend
2021: Made in GBK, Year Three
In 2021 the Chamber again partnered with Creators Wanted to facilitate events locally with the "Made in GBK" campaign, through partnerships with Great Bend High School, Barton Community College, Great Bend Economic Development and Kansas WorkforceONE. The campaign's third year kicked off with a joint proclamation by Barton County and the City of Great Bend recognizing Manufacturing Day. Over the following Wednesdays in October, students and community leaders toured participating manufacturers to see what is being created right here at home. Students received bags with needed safety equipment, "Made in GBK" t-shirts, and information about the facilities they toured.
After their tours, students completed a brief survey and voted for their favorite manufacturer. The manufacturer with the most votes was recognized at the Building Bridges event on the evening of November 3, 2021 at Great Bend High School with the first "Made in GBK" Award. The 2021 "Coolest Manufacturer" award went to KMW Front End Loaders, on North 281 Highway. Special thanks went to the 2021 sponsors: Kansas Manufacturing Solutions, Hutton and Landmark National Bank.
By the numbers (November 2021): 18 tours, 10 stops, and 175 students from Great Bend High School and Barton Community College, with "more tours in 2022 for the business community to attend." The Building Bridges event, held with Great Bend High School and Kansas WorkforceONE to strengthen connections among educators, students and the business community, drew 24 businesses and more than 200 students and parents.
Participating manufacturers named on the 2021 Made in GBK graphic: Primus, Sunflower Diversified, Fuller Industries, T&C MFG, Eldridge Fencing, Dry Lake Brewery, Superior Essex, South Bend Industrial Hemp, KMW Loaders and Doonan Specialized Trailer. See the October 2021 issue, the November 2021 recap and the Chamber event listing.
2022: Tours for All Ages
In October 2022 the Chamber again joined the movement to fill the skills gap and inspire the next generation of creators with Made in GBK, thanking the Barton County Commission for a proclamation in support of Manufacturing Day and "our dozens of manufacturers right here in Barton County." MFG Day is manufacturing's biggest annual opportunity to inspire the next generation through focused events for students, parents and educators, and its initiatives support women, veterans, students and workers through skills training. Modern manufacturing has introduced robotics, laser systems and other advanced technology, and the Chamber's hope was to help connect the community, including youth, to the industry and its career paths.
Tours were scheduled for all ages through partnerships with USD 428, JAG-K, Barton Community College, Kansas WorkforceONE and the Chamber's membership. Following the tours, participants had a chance to vote for the "Coolest Manufacturer" Award, following 2021's winner, KMW Front End Loaders. Read the October 2022 issue.
2023: Great Bend Manufacturers Get Statewide Recognition
The October 2023 Outlook Business Journal highlighted Manufacturing Day on October 6, 2023 and the local manufacturers that are "the driving force behind the town's thriving manufacturing sector": Primus Sterilizers, T & C Manufacturing, Fuller Industries, Great Bend Industries and KMW Loaders. Two local manufacturers, T & C Manufacturing and Primus Sterilizers, along with Ellinwood's Kansas Earth & Sky, were included in the "Coolest Thing Made in Kansas" competition hosted by the Kansas Manufacturing Council of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, which highlights the cutting-edge technologies being developed in the heartland. Read the October 2023 issue.
2024: Fuller Industries and Scott's Welding
On Friday, October 4, 2024, Fuller Industries Inc. joined the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce and others in the Barton County manufacturing community to mark MFG Day 2024. "This event is a chance to inspire the next generation, positively shift perceptions about our industry, and build the foundation for the manufacturing workforce of the future," said Joe Mann, Fuller general manager and vice president. Fuller, a local manufacturer primarily focused on commercial janitorial products with a global reach, was integrating the operations of a sister plant in Canada into its Great Bend location by November and adding new product lines, automation and robotics. Hiring remained a challenge, especially for roles that interface with automation and for STEM roles such as lab techs and chemists. According to the Manufacturing Institute, 3.8 million new manufacturing workers will need to be hired in the U.S. over the next decade.
Also in 2024, Scott's Welding Service, Inc. celebrated 30 years of excellence on Manufacturing Day. Established in 1993 in Hoisington with one welding truck, the company grew into a provider of welding fabrication, iron and metal distribution, and full-service tank and trailer inspection across Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado. David and Shellee Frederick took over from Scott and Karen Reddig in 2023 and have continued the tradition; with locations in Great Bend and Emporia, the company has a 150 x 120 welding shop, an 85 x 80 tank and trailer inspection shop and a 24-hour field service truck. Its shops are certified Code shops, holding U and R stamps since 2008 along with the National Board Stamp, and its ASME-certified welders work with all types of metal. Read the October 2024 issue.
2025: A Manufacturing Month Coffee at Fuller
The January 2026 Outlook Business Journal noted that, in partnership with the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce, Fuller Industries hosted a Manufacturing Month coffee as part of the national Manufacturing Day initiative. The event highlighted the importance of modern manufacturing careers and the need to inspire the next generation of skilled workers amid nationwide labor shortages, with company leaders emphasizing collaboration among manufacturers as essential to strengthening communities and sustaining economic growth. Fuller's Brush/Gript Department also completed its annual ISO audit with zero nonconformances for the second consecutive year, and holds ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100D certifications. Read the January 2026 issue.
Get Involved
If you are a manufacturer in Great Bend and would like to open your doors for tours or take part in Manufacturing Day, contact the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce at 620-792-2401. Follow the Chamber's Facebook page for highlights from local manufacturers each October, and join the conversation online with #MFGDay and #CreatorsWanted.
In the News
Great Bend holding first Manufacturing Day event, Great Bend Tribune
GBHS students learn importance of manufacturing, Great Bend Tribune
Proclamation marks MFG Day for county, city, Great Bend Tribune
Eye-opening tour, Great Bend Tribune
Manufacturing vital to Barton County, Great Bend Tribune
There's lots being made, Great Bend Tribune letter to the editor
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