TEXpansion — February 2010
Businesses and industries are expanding their facilities throughout Texas. Here is a sampling of recently announced expansions, tracked by the Office of the Governor, Economic Development and Tourism Division.
| City | Business Name | Type of Business | Type of Project | New Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell | Terrell Market Center | Hospital and mixed use development | Plans a 4.7 million-square-foot commercial development on 4,500 acres including a 100-bed hospital. The hospital could expand to 400 beds. | Up to 10,000 |
| Amarillo | Bell Helicopter | Aviation | Broke ground on a $31 million, 137,000-square-foot flight hangar for the H-1 helicopter program, which builds UH-1Y transport and AH-1Z attack helicopters. Amarillo Economic Development Corporation will pay for the hangar with part of a $38 million bond issue. | Up to 300 by 2013, bringing their total number of local employees to 1,400. Average salary is more than $50,000 |
| Lancaster | United Natural Foods Inc. | Organic and specialty food distributor | Has leased 589,870-square-feet of space for a distribution center serving Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas and Louisiana. | Up to 130 during the next three years |
| Amarillo | Zarges Aluminum Systems | Supplies internal components for wind turbines | Establishing its first U.S. plant on 8.5 acres. The Amarillo EDC provided $4.75 million from a November 2009 bond issue to construct a facility scheduled to open in September. | Up to 100 with an average salary range of $50,000-$60,000 |
| Irving | Shermco Industries | Electrical component testing and repair company | Purchased 31 acres of land to build a 150,000-square-foot corporate office and electrical service/generator maintenance and repair facility. | Up to 50 including customer service, machine shop, administrators, and engineers |
| El Paso | Global Alternative Fuels |
Biodiesel producer | Increasing its biodiesel production capacity from 5 million to 20 million gallons per year. | 10 |
| Brenham | Blue Bell Creamery | Ice cream manufacturer | Buying the 400,000-square foot Mount Vernon Mills facility to store surplus equipment and carton supplies. | None |