While much focus on American manufacturing and infrastructure in recent years has been on high-tech innovations, ranging from microchips to clean energy to electric vehicles, it is important to retain some focus on heavy industry. There is positive news on that front: JCB, a construction equipment manufacturer, is building a new factory in San Antonio, Texas. And it’s a big factory, totaling over 700,000 square feet on a 400-acre plot. The $500 million investment is the largest in JCB’s history, creating its largest plant in the Western Hemisphere. Only the multinational firm’s headquarters in England is larger.
The $500 million foreign direct investment (FDI) will create around 1,500 well-paying jobs in the San Antonio area, with additional jobs created by the plant’s construction and in the plant’s supply chains when manufacturing is up and running. To help secure the facility, both the city of San Antonio and Bexar County offered tax credits to the British firm. In exchange for a combined total of $26 million worth of tax credits and grants, the JCB plant is expected to generate some $30 billion for the local economy over the next decade. New construction equipment like skid steers and aerial hoists are expected to begin rolling out of the plant in 2026.
JCB Says U.S. Market is Largest in World for Construction Equipment
The British firm was eager to build the new plant to capture more of the world’s largest market for construction equipment. In November 2021, Congress passed the largest infrastructure investment bill since the Cold War. Much of America’s existing infrastructure stems back to the 1950s, when interstate highways were constructed, or even the 1930s, when New Deal programs built roads, parks, and government buildings. As a result, there has been relatively strong bipartisan support for increased federal investment in new infrastructure.
With billions of federal dollars rolling out for infrastructure projects across the United States, the time is ripe for new construction equipment to be sold to contractors who will complete those projects. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, authorizes up to $550 billion for new projects and programs. A chunk of the money will have to be spent on capital expenditures like construction equipment, which will remain available for private-sector projects afterward.
Texas Factory Serves State With Greatest Demand
JCB chose Texas as a site for its new plant due to the state’s business-friendly atmosphere and its central location to construction demand. As a Sun Belt state, Texas has one of America’s fastest growth rates, especially when it comes to urban growth. By building the factory in San Antonio, JCB can produce equipment closer to the cities that will purchase most of it, reducing transportation costs. San Antonio itself is actually the fastest growing city in the United States, meaning a significant amount of JCB’s output at its new Bexar County facility will likely be purchased locally. This would keep more dollars in the local economy and instill strong bonds between local construction companies and JCB.
Image credit: JCB
