This story has been updated.
A California-based company that builds power distribution and control systems for the tech industry, including data centers, announced Tuesday it plans to build a 1 million-square-foot plant at Brooks.
Industrial Electric Mfg. (IEM) is expanding its operations to Texas with a $200 million facility on the South Side employing 3,000 people by 2030.
The investment makes it the largest job-producing project in the region in more than 20 years, said a statement from the economic development nonprofit, Greater:SATX.
IEM is the largest independent full-time manufacturer of electrical distribution and integrated control systems in North America, according to the statement. The manufacturer provides engineering expertise, design and manufacturing and support for a wide range of industries, it states.
The new IEM plant at Brooks will be built in phases; construction and hiring timelines were not released. Ninety percent of the IEM jobs will pay an annual base salary of at least $53,000.
IEM expects to hire those 3,000 jobs in manufacturing, engineering, logistics and corporate support over the next four years.
“IEM is excited to put down roots in San Antonio,” stated Clayton Such, IEM’s CEO. “The city’s skilled workforce, strong infrastructure and collaborative economic development environment made this a natural choice for our next phase of growth.”
Such said the facility will strengthen the company’s ability to deliver highly engineered, customer-specific power distribution solutions that industries need.
“The investment also will strengthen IEM’s domestic supply chain and support deliveries for customers across North America,” he stated.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that IEM was awarded a Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $3.36 million for 448 of the new jobs being created.
San Antonio was in the running for the project against Dallas and Houston, and several states, said Sarah Carabias Rush, president & CEO, Greater:SATX Regional Economic Partnership. She declined to name the other cities and states.
“This is the single largest job-producing investment in more than two decades for our San Antonio region, reflecting both the scale of opportunity here and the strength of our workforce, advanced manufacturing ecosystem, and collaborative approach to economic development,” she said.
Since 2021, San Antonio has attracted 57 new companies and $6.8 billion in capital investment, she added, and with IEM, now 15,000 new jobs.
“San Antonio and this region has really established its prowess in the advanced manufacturing sector, and we’re seeing significant activity in our pipeline,” she said, adding there are about 59 active projects in the deal flow with 33,000 jobs and more than $17 billion of capital investment.
IEM’s investment reflects the type of advanced manufacturing project that aligns with Bexar County’s long-term economic goals, she said.
In January, County Commissioners approved a 10-year, 70% tax abatement on personal property investment of $80 million that is associated with the project. The estimated value of the incentive package is $1.55 million, according to the county.
“IEM’s investment reflects the type of advanced manufacturing project that aligns with our long-term economic goals, and I am proud to support the company’s decision to establish operations in Bexar County,” said Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai. “This project will continue to create new opportunities for our residents and strengthen our economy for years to come.”
The City of San Antonio did not provide any economic development incentives for the project.
IEM plans to build its factory in the industrial park at Brooks, situated in the southeast quadrant of the campus next to the 315,000-square-foot Cuisine Solutions plant that opened in 2021.
Brooks is also home base for a 350,000-square-foot Amazon distribution center.
As a public-private development, Brooks provides tenants with land free of property taxes. In addition, Brooks is designated as a federal Opportunity Zone, which allows investors to access steep tax breaks.
“This is the kind of employer that’s going to create jobs for people in this corner of San Antonio, and it’s going to help people buy homes, rent apartments, and invest in this corner of San Antonio,” said Leo Gomez, Brooks CEO. “It’s the kind of employer locating in the right part of San Antonio that we all need.”
From its headquarters in Fremont, Calif., IEM operates plants and offices across the U.S., including Jacksonville, Fla., Portland, Ore., Phoenix and Atlanta, and in Surrey, B.C., Canada. IEM has a field service office in Plano, Texas.
The company is growing fast to meet demand, adding more than 3 million square feet of product development and manufacturing space and investing $300 million over the past five years.
IEM built its first facility in 1957 and grew steadily over the years to own 1.5 million square feet of manufacturing capacity and supporting industries from health care and energy. Its clients include Hewlett-Packard, Apple, AT&T, IBM, Google and other big names in the tech industry, including data center developers.
There are at least 335 data centers operating in Texas, according to The Texas Tribune, making it the second largest market for data centers in the country, barely behind Virginia.
Figures from the commercial real estate firm JLL show data centers representing over 3,000 megawatts of electricity are located in the Austin-San Antonio region.
On Aug. 3, over concerns for safety and quality of life, Abbott ordered the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas to conduct audits on all data centers wanting to connect to the state’s power grid.
