The Great Bend City Council on Monday will consider a $250,000 cash incentive to help California engine-parts manufacturer Crower Engineering relocate to Great Bend, though the company has not made a final decision, Great Bend Economic Development director Jason Kuilan said in an email Nov. 6.
The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at City Hall. GBED Inc. is asking the city to approve the money to help Crower move its manufacturing operations from San Diego. Kuilan is scheduled to present the request.
Asked Friday for comment on the proposal, Kuilan said in an email that he will make comments Monday at the council meeting.
In an email to the Tribune on Nov. 6, Kuilan said discussions with Crower “remain ongoing, as they have for several months.” He said Great Bend is “actively recruiting the company, alongside several other communities across the country.” He said the organization would share details publicly once Crower makes a definitive decision. In a later email, he said the GBED does not discuss talks with prospective businesses while recruitment is ongoing and until details are final.
Incentive proposals
The city would not pay the money up front. Under the proposal, the incentive becomes payable once the city verifies that Crower has ordered and received the equipment it needs for its Great Bend operations and that its lease with Fuller Industries has started. The money could cover equipment transportation, machinery relocation and installation, facility transition costs and other expenses directly tied to setting up operations here.
The money would come from the city’s Economic Development Sales Tax fund, which the agenda lists as having a balance of $1,201,494.92. No new appropriation would be needed.
The agenda packet describes the move as a chance to attract an established manufacturer, create skilled jobs and broaden the city’s industrial base. It does not say how many jobs Crower would bring, how many people it employs, or when it would start production in Great Bend.
County Incentives
The Barton County Commission may also consider an incentive for Crower at its Tuesday meeting, following an executive session with Kuilan, County Administrator Matt Patzner confirmed to the Tribune. The commission’s agenda, released Friday, does not name the company or specify an amount.
A family company from San Diego
Bruce Crower founded the company in 1955. The company, now called Crower Cams & Equipment Co., makes high-performance racing engine parts, including camshafts, lifters and rocker arms. Bruce Crower died in 2019. His grandson, Louis Floquet, took over ownership and leadership of the company in December 2025. The agenda refers to the company as both Crower Engineering and Crower Manufacturing. The Tribune has reached out to Crower for comment.
The Fuller building
The agenda says the incentive would not be paid until Crower’s lease agreement with Fuller Industries has commenced. Fuller ended production at its Great Bend plant Nov. 6, a week after selling its chemical business to Betco. Fuller said it will keep the facility, which it said has two tenants, with a third expected to move in in January 2027. Fuller has not named the tenants.
Asked whether his organization has been in talks with Fuller’s expected third tenant, Kuilan said it does not discuss talks with prospective businesses while recruitment is ongoing. He did not say whether a lease with Crower has been signed. He said he and his office were not aware of Fuller’s sale before it was announced Nov. 6.
Fuller has not said how many people worked at the plant or how many lost their jobs.
