QM Power, maker of high-efficiency motors, announces move to Kansas City, hiring plans

QM Power, which makes high-efficiency motors, has moved to a Kansas City plant that is more than three times the size of its previous headquarters in Lee’s Summit.

The company on Monday said the move to its nearly 13,000-square-foot space at 9680 Marion Ridge would allow for expansion as demand picked up for its main product, the Q-Sync smart synchronous motor.

The company also said it planned to increase its 28-person staff by about a dozen by the end of the year.

“Since our Q-Sync launch in September 2015, we’ve gained a lot of traction in refrigeration with large retailers, supermarket chains and equipment manufacturers,” said P.J. Piper, co-founder, president and CEO of QM.

The main use for the motors so far has been powering refrigeration fans, of which the average grocery store has about 225. Government tests have documented 50 percent to 80 percent energy savings for the QM motor over the two other designs it can replace.

The government has designated the Q-Sync an “emerging energy-saving technology” and estimated that using the motors could save half a billion dollars in energy costs every year.

QM Power has been marketing the motor since its introduction last fall at a grocery trade show, and the Department of Energy is helping QM Power get more than 10,000 of the fan assemblies installed at grocers around the country.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 2:39 AM with the headline "QM Power, maker of high-efficiency motors, announces move to Kansas City, hiring plans."