Pretzels, Inc., Amazon, and Boxy Charm are among the companies that have recently selected the Kansas City region for new manufacturing and distribution facilities.

Dot’s Pretzels and Tuthill Corporation are opening manufacturing facilities in the Kansas City region.

U.S. manufacturers are evaluating how to bring some operations closer to home.

Niagara Bottling, LLC, a family owned manufacturer of bottled water and soft drinks, will open a new manufacturing facility at CenterPoint Intermodal Center in Kansas City, Mo. The company will create nearly 50 new jobs and invest $68 million in a 400,000-sq.-ft. operation.

KC SmartPort’s 2018 Annual Industry Briefing: Digitize, delivered an expert panel of leaders from manufacturing companies including Honeywell, Mars Wrigley Confectionary U.S., Kawasaki Motors and Magna International.

In 2018, technological and business innovation will be seen with manufacturing in five key areas: Blended Business Mashup, the Internet of People, Data-Driven Intelligence With Analytics, Omnichain and Future-Proof Flexibility.

Industrial firms hired 31,000 people in November, which is the second biggest increase in four years. Only a 44,000 person gain in August was bigger.