Texas economic development saw a week of investment announcements and actions representing more than $1 billion. Companies from the aerospace, transportation, and food processing industries have announced their decisions to join The Lone Star state’s burgeoning business climate.
Tesla Breaks Ground
In greater Corpus Christi, The EV company broke ground on an in-house lithium refinery, which, once complete, will represent an investment of more than $1 billion in southwest Texas. This investment is critical to Tesla’s mission to accelerate a transition to sustainable energy and represents its efforts to increase the supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide available in North America. The 1,200+ acre site will be the location of the first industrial deployment of an acid-free lithium refining route.
Tesla states it expects the Corpus Christi facility to process other intermediate lithium feedstocks, including recycled batteries and manufacturing scrap.
The construction effort will create nearly 1,000 construction jobs, and Tesla will employ upwards of 250 full time employees at the facility, including production technicians, operations managers, and engineering roles to support ongoing plant maintenance and optimization. On May 9, Elon Musk gave first look at the site on Twitter:
First look at Tesla’s lithium refinery in Texas https://t.co/9VRF7sPKR0
— Elon Musk News (@ElonMuskNewsOrg) May 9, 2023
McKinney, TX Welcomes Cirrus Aircraft
Cirrus Aircraft announced the groundbreaking for its new facility at the McKinney National Airport (TKI) in the Dallas Metroplex. The new construction will expand upon current Cirrus operations in the city and provide additional space for aircraft sales, flight training, factory service and aircraft management.
“The Dallas Metroplex is a central location for many of our SR Series and Vision Jet owners,” said Todd Simmons, President of Customer Experience of Cirrus Aircraft. “With this new expansion at Cirrus McKinney, we are excited to continue enhancing the aircraft ownership experience for our current owners and also create an environment to introduce more people to the benefits of personal aviation. We are proud to partner with the City of McKinney, McKinney Economic Development Corporation, and McKinney National Airport and look forward to growing personal aviation in the Dallas Metroplex.”
Cirrus Aircraft plans to invest $13 million into the new 45,000-square-foot Cirrus McKinney facility. The expansion will include a 15,000-square-foot service hangar, 15,000-square-foot storage hangar, eight shade canopies, a flight simulation space, retail store and a customer lounge with a panoramic viewing balcony.
Today, Cirrus McKinney employs more than 50 team members and plans to continue adding more career opportunities in the future.
Cacique Foods Chooses Texas For HQ, Processing Plant
Cacique Foods Chooses Texas For HQ, Processing PlantFood processing company’s move to Amarillo brings more than 200 jobs to Texas.
Cacique Foods is expanding its operations to Texas with the grand opening of its new dairy processing facility in Amarillo and new corporate headquarters in Irving. The family-owned Hispanic foods company and maker of the #1 brand of authentic Mexican-style cheeses, cremas, chorizos and salsas in the U.S. is celebrating its 50th year in business with a focus on innovation and increasing production capacity.
“We’re proud of the success Cacique has seen over the past 50 years. The company started with my mother perfecting cheesemaking, while my father sold Queso Fresco door-to-door, one pound at a time, out of coolers in our family car,” said Gil de Cardenas, CEO of Cacique Foods LLC. “As we’ve grown from our humble roots, one employee at a time, Cacique Foods remains a family-owned company, and we’ve remained true to the core values my parents founded this business upon: Family. Quality, Integrity and Authenticity.”
The 200,000-square-foot dairy processing plant in Amarillo represents an $88 million investment expected to create 200 jobs. The new facility is equipped to handle dairy processing, including production of the company’s authentic Mexican-style cheeses and cremas and will grow Cacique’s offerings while putting products on the shelves of even more stores nationwide.
In Irving, the company’s new corporate headquarters will allow the company to better serve customers from a centralized location. It will provide an exceptional work environment for the growing Cacique family, improve efficiencies and promote team collaboration.
