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Located in America’s Heartland, Lubbock, Texas is known for its thriving agriculture, manufacturing and technology sectors. Companies such as Leprino Foods, Tropicale, Plant Agricultural Systems (PLANT-AS) and Dura-Line recognized the region’s prominence in manufacturing and its available skilled labor force, choosing to expand into the area. These advantages, and more, provide endless opportunities for companies to grow in Lubbock.
Leprino Foods, a global leader in mozzarella cheese and other dairy nutrition production, is near completion on its 850,000-square-foot facility located in East Lubbock where over one million pounds of cheese will be processed daily. Serviced by regional dairies throughout West Texas, roughly 200 trucks per day will be needed to service this facility.
Supported by world-class food safety, operations, training, and maintenance programs, as well as monitored and controlled through leading-edge automation and instrumentation, this facility will expand Leprino’s existing network of mozzarella cheese production plants around the world. The finished products will be distributed throughout the United States and internationally. This investment will result in $10.6 billion over the next ten years for the state of Texas.
Another company that announced an expansion in Lubbock is Tropicale Foods, the No. 1 Hispanic Frozen Novelty Company in the U.S., added 500 jobs and $66.8 million in capital investment in Lubbock to continue producing its delicious, authentic Mexican frozen treats.
And, in the technology sector, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of conduit, FuturePath, and cable-in-conduit, Orbia’s Dura-Line business expanded in Lubbock adding $52 million in capital investment and 141 new jobs. The company delivers infrastructure solutions to transform connectivity in industries including telecommunications, enterprise networking, energy and transportation. The business announced its expansion into the Lubbock Logistics Center II located in the Lubbock Business Park, where it will manufacture plastic conduit for fiberoptic lines.
“We are experiencing unprecedented demand for our products. So, expanding in a strategic location with a highly skilled workforce was crucial to our business plan. Lubbock exceeds in both categories,” said Elad Shmulevich, Vice President of Global Operations at Orbia Connectivity Solutions (Dura-Line). Shmulevich continued, “The support we’ve received from the LEDA team and the Lubbock community so far has confirmed that we made the right decision.”
With a vision to modernize the digital infrastructure required to support fresh produce demand worldwide, PLANT-AS announced its expansion to West Texas. The modernization of the region’s agriculture industry with new technology exhibits strong parallels to the ever evolving and diverse economy of the region. The monumental partnership between Lubbock and Amarillo in bringing ground-breaking technology to the Texas Panhandle has not only bridged two hubs but ensured a strong foundation for future industry growth throughout the region. The expansion includes the development of 13.3M square feet of advanced Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) production facilities on 700 acres where fresh produce will be grown using state-of-the-art hydroponic technology.
The Hub City continues to experience growth within its diverse manufacturing sector. For more information on what’s happening in Lubbock, visit lubbockeda.org.
