Caterpillar brings 1,400 jobs to Seguin, TX
WELCOME to Seguin, Caterpillar!
Mayor Betty Ann Matthies was our program on “What’s Happening in Seguin” at our January Seguin Board of Realtors Meeting. If you’ve never heard Mayor Matthies talk, she is a hoot! What a wonderful role model she is. Mayor Matthies is so comfortable with public speaking and speaking her mind. She presented a wonderful slide show highlighting many changes to Seguin in 2008 as well as some that are still in the works. The Walnut Branch project is expected to start up in April. Mayor Matthies is passionate about improvements that need to be made to our public library, as well as maintaining green space and our corridors between surrounding cities.
Matthies spoke about Caterpillar planning to bring 1,400 jobs to Seguin, TX.
Caterpillar is consolidating its assembly, paint and testing operations from Illinois and South Carolina to Seguin. Seguin was competing with Mexico and South Caroline for the new facility. Way to go Seguin Economic Development, Mayor, City, and all of those involved to help Caterpillar choose our city and Central Texas.
Seguin’s proximity to ports and major cities attracted Caterpillar. The new I-130 toll road will also add to Seguin’s logistic attributes! I-130 is going to come out on I-10 at the former weigh station area East of town and east of I-35.
The Company will build the plant with help from Texas Enterprise Fund. The state’s offering is the biggest Texas Enterprise Fund investment this year. To qualify for money from the 5-year-old Texas Enterprise Fund, companies have to be moving to the state or conducting a significant in-state expansion. The state of Texas is investing $10 million in exchange Caterpillar must commit to creating a certain amount of jobs within a certain time frame.
“This investment in Caterpillar will not only create high-paying jobs for Texans, but will strengthen our state’s overall economic situation and further diversify our state’s economic makeup,” Governor Rick Perry said in a statement.
Other major manufacturers in Seguin include Continental AG (formerly Motorola), Minigrip, Hexcel, Alamo Group Inc., CMC Steel and Tyson Foods Inc.
Matthies credited the state incentives as well as a local package that included tax breaks from the city, county and school district in helping attract the plant.
The breaks include a 10-year abatement on property taxes; plus, the city, county and school district don’t tax manufactured goods that are in the plants fewer than 30 days. Local officials also will build streets and sewer lines to the plant site inside the city limits. “It’s an unusual circumstance when you can get a city, a county and a school district working together,” said Matthies.
