Gov. Greg Abbott announced Aug. 25 that Industrial Electric Mfg. is establishing an advanced manufacturing facility in San Antonio, a project carrying a $200 million capital investment and up to 3,000 new jobs. A Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $3.36 million has been extended to the company for 448 of the jobs to be created.
The facility will sit at Brooks City Base, the former Brooks Air Force Base in southeast San Antonio, and will expand IEM’s North American manufacturing capacity by drawing on the state’s logistical and workforce advantages, according to an Aug. 25 news release from the governor’s office. The company manufactures power distribution systems, remote power panels, switchgear and switchboards used across a range of industries.
“Texas leads America’s manufacturing resurgence,” Abbott said in the release. “This investment by IEM in San Antonio will create new, good-paying jobs and generate a significant economic impact for Bexar County. Advanced manufacturers invest and expand in Texas because of our welcoming business climate, easy access to domestic and global markets, and highly skilled and growing workforce.”
IEM CEO Clayton Such said in the release that the company chose San Antonio for its next phase of growth because of the city’s skilled workforce, strong infrastructure and collaborative economic development environment. “This facility will strengthen our ability to deliver highly engineered, customer-specific power distribution solutions that industries, from healthcare to energy, advanced manufacturing, and more, depend on every day,” Such said.
Regional officials quoted in the release welcomed the project. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez said the investment will create hundreds of good-paying jobs and strengthen the region’s manufacturing economy, while Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said the project aligns with the county’s long-term economic goals and reflects a partnership among the county, the state, greater:SATX and Brooks City Base. Brooks President and CEO Leo Gomez called the decision a significant win that reaches beyond the campus.
“This is the single largest job-producing investment in more than two decades for our San Antonio region,” said greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership President and CEO Sarah Carabias Rush, who credited the area’s workforce and advanced manufacturing ecosystem.
The Texas Enterprise Fund is a performance-based grant administered by the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office within the Office of the Governor, the release said. It may be awarded to a business relocation or expansion project for which a Texas site is competing with out-of-state locations.