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Texas Ropes in More Industries and Trade

With titles like “largest exporter in the nation” and “world’s eighth largest economy,” its no wonder so many corporate site selectors see Texas as their location of choice.

By Donna Clapp

 

“In days gone by, signs posting ‘G.T.T.’ or ‘Gone To Texas’ were displayed in windows of closed up shops all across America advertising the flurry of migration to a vast land of opportunity,” says Texas Governor Rick Perry. “Today, that tradition continues as people look to the Lone Star State to pursue their dreams. Texas is at the forefront of emerging markets and industries. It’s no longer just about cotton, cattle, and crude—it’s about technology and communications, manufacturing, and international trade, too.”

new U.S. Highway 287 Bypass U.S. Senator Joe Barton, State Representative Jim Pitts, County Judge Chad Adams, Mayor Boyce Whatley, and several community leaders cut the ribbon on the new U.S. Highway 287 Bypass. (SOURCE: Corporation for the Economic Development of Midlothian)

The governor’s quote is backed by hard economic statistics as well. In fact, if Texas were its own nation (once more, that is), it would represent the world’s eighth largest economy. Texas recently surpassed California as the largest exporter in the nation; it’s the gateway to trade with Latin America, with 75% of America’s commerce with Mexico traveling through the Lone Star State. Texas is the headquarters for 45 Fortune 500 companies, is home to 14 of the 100 Fastest Growing Businesses in America (as rated by Fortune Small Business), and has maintained healthy bond ratings despite tough economic times across America.

Additionally, Texas employment growth exceeded national employment growth rates in 2005; December 2005 marked 16 consecutive months. Texas employment gained 153,500 non-agricultural jobs in 2005 for an annual growth rate of 1.6% of state non-agricultural job growth.

But the best news about Texas is its business climate. Economic developers throughout the state are creating innovative incentives for businesses looking to expand or relocate in their region. Here are just a few of those regions that are ready and willing to work with you to make your business succeed.

Midlothian: The Crossroads to Success

Midlothian, TX continues to be a choice submarket within the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex (DFW). Site selectors are showing an increasing interest in Midlothian’s ongoing growth and improved accessibility. The city’s industrial and commercial businesses are able to take advantage of a strategic location that provides excellent access to markets, all while their employees and their families enjoy a relaxed small-town quality of life with the metropolitan amenities of the DFW Metroplex just minutes away.

Midlothian is located at the intersection of many interstates and highways providing the important ground transportation network essential for operational success. Midlothian’s businesses and residents are now taking advantage of the newly opened US Highway 287 Bypass, and will have even more route alternatives after the construction of Loop 9 and the Trans Texas Corridor.

After 40 years of planning, Midlothian’s leaders were able to cut the ribbon on the US Highway 287 Bypass last summer. The bypass has eased tractor-trailer congestion significantly in the retail sections of the city. And because of the bypass’ limited access and signal lights, Midlothian’s distribution centers, such as Target Corp., have reported that they are now saving as much as 30 minutes per round trip.

Within the next few years, Loop 9, a Texas State Highway, will provide the southern portion of the new outer loop around the DFW Metroplex. Loop 9 will travel through the northern edge of Midlothian and will intersect with both State Highway 360 and US 67.

On a larger scale, state lawmakers are also actively pursuing the construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor as part of the NAFTA corridor. Preliminary plans indicate that this major thoroughfare will be built in close proximity to Midlothian. The Perryman Group’s economic impact study indicates that the Trans-Texas Corridor will enhance efficiency, improve logistics, and reduce transportation time and costs, while also increasing the ability of cities like Midlothian to expand trade operations.

Midlothian has two Class 1 rail lines and a regional airport, located on the east side of the city. The 243-acre general aviation airport is evolving into an attractive corporate aviation airport. The airport is currently working to purchase an additional 115 acres to extend its runway to 6,500 feet. In 2006, the airport secured the necessary federal and local funds for an expansion that will allow the airport to land planes as large as a Gulfstream 5 or Challenger jet.

The city of Midlothian is a pro-business community that values quality, conscientious corporations. Midlothian’s leaders constantly strive to maintain the excellent quality of life its citizens have come to expect. The city is also just 30 to 35 minutes from every type of recreation or entertainment that the DFW Metroplex has to offer, including numerous museums, theatres, zoos, conference centers, sports stadiums, and amusement parks. Midlothian has the best of both worlds—quiet country living, and full access to all the amenities of the DFW Metroplex. Because of its strategic location, Midlothian is truly the “Crossroads to Success,” not only for industry and business, but also for employees and their families.

Foreign-Trade Zone Adds Appeal to Port Freeport

With duty-related benefits available at sites encompassing more than 3,500 acres, Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 149 is becoming an increasingly significant aspect of the marketing efforts of Port Freeport, TX.

Port Freeport Port Freeport Managing Director Phillis Saathoff and Port Freeport Supervisor of Marketing and Public Relations Nancy Stephans. (Source: Ed Christman)

“We are finding growing interest from companies seeking to derive benefits that can only be obtained by operating in an FTZ,” says Port Freeport Managing Director Phyllis Saathoff, who currently serves as immediate past president of the Washington-based National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones. “When Foreign-Trade Zone benefits are added to the many other advantages of doing business at Port Freeport, we clearly have the ability to customize a perfect package.”

Not only are those who haven’t previously conducted business in or around Port Freeport showing interest, but longtime port tenants and zone users such as American Rice Inc. (ARI)/Grupo SOS are looking into increasing their use of the FTZ while expanding their operations at the Texas Gulf Coast port.

Since its acquisition two years ago by the Spain-based Grupo SOS food conglomerate, ARI has been advancing a $200 million project to expand automated warehouse and storage facilities and add plants for making instant rice products and bottling olive oil. Future phases call for further facilities, including a cookie-baking plant.

“ARI has always been the most consistent user of the zone, and with these new operations coming online, they have the potential to become an even bigger user,” says Port Freeport Supervisor of Marketing and Public Relations Nancy Stephens. “The benefits of the FTZ program are available to all port tenants and companies that relocate to Port Freeport.”

A primary use of FTZ No. 149 has long involved ARI eliminating customs duties on the empty poly-propylene bags it imports from Saudi Arabia. It later ships these bags, filled with rice, back to Saudi Arabia. Without the FTZ program, ARI would pay customs duty, at the rate of 8.5%, on the value of the imported empty bags and later file complex paperwork with federal customs and border protection authorities in hopes of eventually recouping most of the duty paid.

ARI’s use of the FTZ program dates back to 1988, when FTZ No. 149 initially was established to include 1,952 acres on Port Freeport property plus five acres at Brazoria County Airport. Since that time, Port Freeport filed an expansion application with the Foreign-Trade Zones Board, expanding the general-purpose zone to an additional 141 acres at the airport, eight acres at the Santa Fe Industrial Park in Alvin, and, even more impressively, three sites in Pearland totaling 1,484 acres. In 2001, the Foreign-Trade Zones Board approved the application increasing FTZ No. 149’s general-purpose zone to its current 3,590 acres.

The Pearland sites, on the edge of greater Houston, some 50 miles north of Port Freeport, are gaining a lot of attention as Houston’s urban sprawl extends into the northern portion of Brazoria County.

ort Freeport currently ranks 13th among U.S. ports in international cargo tonnage handled. With a current channel of 45-foot depth, soon to be widened and deepened, just three miles from open Gulf of Mexico waters, Port Freeport offers more than 7,500 acres for future development. Port Freeport serves its customers through development of competitive world-class navigational capabilities, while achieving profits and creating jobs as a leading economic catalyst for the district and the Texas Gulf Coast.

McGregor: Success In the Heart of Texas

McGregor, TX, a small central Texas community adjacent to Waco, is a thriving community of 5,500 residents. Founded by Dr. McGregor in the late 1800s at the crossroads of the Cotton Belt and Santa Fe rail lines, McGregor has all of the attributes anyone could wish for: great weather, great resources, and friendly folks.

McGregor’s school system is one of the best in Texas, with students getting above average scores for the state and nation for the SAT and ACT exams. McLennan County Community College has a branch in McGregor, and the Texas State Technical College also has a branch in town. Baylor University is just down the road in Waco, and six more colleges and universities are within easy commuting distance. They all offer standard and advanced courses as well as specialized training. The Heart of Texas Workforce Board also offers special training and/or funds for individual corporate needs.

The BNSF and Amtrak mainline runs through McGregor with a downtown depot. Interstate 35 is just 10 miles from McGregor via US Highway 84, a four-lane divided highway that runs east and west. Waco Regional and Killeen Regional airports service the area with direct flights to Dallas, Houston, Austin, and Atlanta. McGregor Executive and Texas State Technical College Waco airports offer considerable land, training, and approaches, as well as avionics and A/P services.

The local labor force (numbering 104,000 locally and 250,000 area-wide) is ready and willing to work. Fort Hood turns out approximately 1,500 veterans per month, most of whom desire to stay in the Central Texas area.

McGregor suffered a blow to its economy with the closing of a Naval Weapons Reserve Base, but looked upon it as an opportunity to reinvent itself, turning the entire 9,700 acres into an industrial park. With full utilities, paved streets, and a number of buildings, the city began marketing the new McGregor Industrial Parkfor diversification of its industrial base.

In a few short years it has attracted firms like Dell McGregor Business Center, Ferguson Enterprises, Insituform Technologies, Trane A/C, Smead Manufacturing, and Space Exploration Technologies. A major part of its ability to attract such Fortune 500 and other firms is McGregor’s sincere dedication and willingness to assist companies. Incentives aside (and there are lots of them), the city of McGregor is ready and willing to listen to a company’s desires and try its best to fulfill them. Hence, it has over 1,200 employees in its industrial park with 12 companies and 25 manufacturers in the city. Not too bad for a small town in Central Texas.

Hutto: The Fastest Growing Community in America

“Fastest Growing Community in America.” “Center of the Universe.” “Hippo Capital of Texas.” These are just some of the tag lines that capture the robust business and cultural activity in Hutto, TX, a city in dynamic Williamson County, on the eastern edge of the famous Texas Hill Country region. From 1995 to 2005, the population in Hutto increased an astounding 866%—20 times the increase in the “high-tech Mecca” of Austin during the same period. (Central Austin is about 20 miles southwest of Hutto.)

Hutto, long an agricultural town of fewer than 1,000 people, has developed into a diverse community of more than 18,000 residents. The city expects to hit 35,000 residents within the next decade. Light manufacturing is fast becoming a substantial part of Hutto’s economy as businesses learn of the many reasons why the city is perfectly located for them.

Located on the new State Highway 130—which will eventually be a component of the Trans-Texas Corridor—Hutto is strategically located with ideal access to major transportation corridors in all directions. With its proximity to Austin and Round Rock, Hutto is the ideal lower-cost alternative for many small and mid-size companies. Hutto is where site selection consultants and their clients have already discovered affordable real estate, a relatively young and well-trained workforce, safe neighborhoods, quality schools, abundant recreational opportunities, and an overall family and business friendly environment.

The Hutto Economic Development Corp. (EDC) can be your ally in finding an ideal location for your business. A wide variety of business incentives is available and will be packaged to best suit your needs.

Just one example of how the Hutto EDC has helped local businesses grow is Precision Engineering Ceramics, Inc. (PEC). From its origin in Hutto six years ago as a two-person operation with meager sales of ceramic components to the semiconductor industry in Austin and Dallas, PEC has now grown to a 17-employee firm with more than $2.5 million in annual sales and rapidly growing. The Hutto EDC is helping PEC grow even more by assisting the company with construction of its 25,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility. With continued robust sales in the semiconductor industry, PEC has now entered the offshore petroleum exploration market, which is expected to double sales volumes almost immediately.

Growing Demand and Improved Facilities Keep Port of Brownsville Booming

Located at the southern tip of Texas and connected to the Gulf of Mexico, the Port of Brownsville continues to be a busy hub of transportation options. Five modes of available transportation including ship, barge, rail, truck, and air are all here. Combine this with ample acreage (over 40,000 acres for development) and a location on the Texas/Mexico border, and you have an international seaport with all the right advantages.

This first class, deep water seaport is a major center of industrial development with over 275 companies operating within its boundaries. The construction and repair of offshore drilling rigs, ship dismantling, and steel fabrication are just a few of the many diverse companies doing business here. Add to this the LPG storage/distribution, waste oil recovery, scrap recycling, bulk terminaling for miscellaneous liquids, grain handling and grain storage activity, and you have a very long list of industrial activity at the Port of Brownsville.

All around the port, roads have been reconstructed, sheds have been upgraded, and docks have been improved and updated. Work never stops at this international deepwater seaport, as ongoing port projects supply the port with the tools it needs to create jobs and wealth for the surrounding community. Present cargo facilities include 11 deep draft dry cargo docks, 10 with adjacent warehouses; five deep draft liquid cargo docks; and one dry cargo barge dock. In addition, the Port of Brownsville offers 720,000 square feet of transit shed space, sprinkler-equipped overhead cranes, and 450,000 square feet of open dockside aprons, with the distinct advantage of having all dry cargo docks served by rail.

Increasing demands in several markets, competitive rates, and a distinct logistical advantage are keeping the Port of Brownsville bustling. And what does the future hold? By all estimates, even more economic success. Everyday, more and more businesses are discovering the port’s advantages and are concluding that the Port of Brownsville is ready and willing to accommodate their needs.

Schertz: First Among Texas’ Small Communities

As a relatively young community located to the northeast of San Antonio, three factors make Schertz, TX distinct from other Texas communities: labor, economy, and accessibility. A highly skilled and relatively young workforce, aggressive economic development policies, business-friendly climate, and enormous growth along the I-35 and I-10 corridors have all contributed to Schertz’s economic successes in the last decade.

The city of Schertz seeks to create a welcoming environment in which to conduct business, and its diverse economic base helps ensure continued growth into the future. Money magazine recently named Schertz 40th among the nation’s top 100 communities in which to reside, and the city ranked first among Texas communities with populations under 50,000. With nearly 32,000 residents and many more expected well into the future, Schertz continues to attract the families and quality workforce needed to help the city shape itself as a premier Texas destination.

Nearly one third of the civilian adult population in Schertz are veterans. Nearly two-thirds of Schertz residents have attended college, and the city’s location offers exceptional access to a wealth of regional assets that include top-rated public and private universities and first-tier research and development centers. These assets offer Schertz businesses ready access to a highly skilled and trained workforce, and give residents the opportunity for lifelong learning. This labor pool, coupled with San Antonio’s 800,000 area workers, offers businesses the skills, education, and long-term employees they need to compete in today’s global markets.

Schertz still has plenty of space in which to grow. The newest planned business park, Verde Enterprise Park, with more than 200 acres, will eventually encompass three million additional square feet and will compliment the city’s two existing industrial spaces. This park is just one of several recommendations garnered from a comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS) completed in February 2006. The CEDS identified several industry sectors that represent the best opportunities for Schertz: advanced materials and manufacturing, automotive parts, healthcare, logistics, medical devices, and professional and technical services.

Seagoville: a city with growth and market access

The City of Seagoville is a community of 13,250 located in East Dallas County on US Highway 175. Seagoville is in a period of significant growth, with over 6,500 homes slated for construction. Seagoville is home to an O’Reilly Distribution Center, O’Reilly Auto Parts Store, KLLM Transportation, and others.

Seagoville’s location on US 175 places Seagoville minutes away from Interstates 20, I-635, I-35, I-45, and I-30. Seagoville residents and businesses have access to all the services and amenities of a major metropolitan area while enjoying a small community environment.

The Seagoville Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) has access to approximately 180 acres of land available for business/industrial development. The SEDC staff is available to assist in all land development ventures. The SEDC, city of Seagoville, Dallas County, Dallas Independent School District, and Council of Governments recently completed a $2.1 million public infrastructure project to promote the development. The project includes streets, drainage improvements, and water/sewer infrastructure improvements. Seagoville has prime locations for retail development, with the completion of a 54,000-square-foot retail center and the start of an additional 13-acre retail development underway.

Seagoville is within 20 minutes of two campuses of the Dallas County Community College District, Eastfield College in Mesquite, and Cedar Valley College in Lancaster. The Lancaster airport and Mesquite airport are also in close proximity to Seagoville. SEDC is online at seagovilleedc.com

 

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