Defense Technology Startup Targets Fort Worth Site For Next Manufacturing Facility
A $1.8B defense technology company is eyeing a huge Fort Worth industrial building it could use to produce unmanned aircraft systems.
The California-based Mach Industries is considering the 310K SF Alliance Gateway 34 industrial building in Hillwood’s AllianceTexas master-planned community for the site of its next manufacturing plant. The Fort Worth City Council is expected to vote on a $4.5M economic incentive package for the project in August, according to the Fort Worth Report.
If Mach Industries chooses the Fort Worth site, the company plans to invest at least $74M to upgrade the building and add equipment.
The economic development agreement would include tax abatements and grants covering the company’s first decade of operations.
The defense technology manufacturer is also considering other sites across the country for the plant. However, Fort Worth Director of Economic Development Jessica Rogers said an incentive package and local support would make the Alliance location the company’s preferred landing spot.
“The project represents a large creation of skilled manufacturing and engineering positions,” Rogers said during a June 23 council work session. “This is also a growing company and a growing industry sector where we’re seeing a lot of innovative technologies and advanced manufacturing being integrated.”
The proposed incentive package would require Mach Industries to hire at least 1,000 employees with an average annual salary of more than $67K. The company would need to keep at least 600 of those positions to continue receiving prorated incentives. Mach Industries would lose its incentives if more than 50% of the jobs paid less than $60K per year at any point during the 10-year agreement.
Mach Industries is expected to choose a location for its manufacturing site in the third quarter.
The 3-year-old startup raised $300M in a Series C funding round, it announced earlier this month. The capital infusion was led by new investors Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital, valuing the company at $1.8B.
Rogers said aerospace and defense manufacturers like Mach Industries are the prime targets for the city’s Economic Development Department.
Gov. Greg Abbott designated Fort Worth the state's aviation and defense capital last year. There are more than 600 aerospace and defense-related companies in the area, including Lockheed Martin Corp., Bell and American Airlines.
Brazilian aerospace company Embraer began a $70M expansion in Alliance in October. The addition to its maintenance and repair hangar at the Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport is expected to increase the firm's U.S. capacity by 53% when it wraps up next year.
MP Materials Corp. is also developing a large-scale magnet manufacturing campus in Alliance that will boost its annual production capacity of neodymium-iron-boron magnets, which are used in defense applications, data centers and semiconductor manufacturing. The company will invest $1.25B to build the 120-acre campus.
