With its top-ranking business climate and booming economy, Texas is a leading global destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The Lone Star State houses more than 1,400 ongoing operations by foreign corporations and, between 2010 and 2015, 766 new FDI projects were announced. When all projects are fully operational, they will generate around 83,300 jobs and more than $40 billion in combined capital investment.

An integral part of Texas’s success is its focus on leading the nation’s job creation within six key industries.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND MANUFACTURING

Texas continues to attract and cultivate Texas-sized advanced manufacturing investments. In July 2015, General Motors announced a $1.4 billion investment for upgrades at their plant in Arlington, Texas. The Arlington City Council approved a ten year, $28.7 million package of abatements for the 1.2 million square foot expansion of the plant and the more than 550 additional jobs it would create. Kubota Tractor Corp. And Kubota Credit Corp. announced in May 2015 of their intention to move their headquarters from California to Grapevine, Texas. A $3.8 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) will create about 345 jobs and generate $51 million in capital investment.

AEROSPACE, AVIATION AND DEFENCE

Texas’s aerospace industry continues to expand, as Firefly Space Systems, a small satellite launch company, announced in September 2015 their move from Hawthorne, California to Cedar Park, Texas. The expansion plans include $7.5 million in property, plant and equipment and the creation of 200 jobs. Their office in Cedar Park will be ideally located due to its proximity to their 200 acre test site facility near Briggs, Texas. In early 2015, GDC Technics added a third location when they leased a 778,000 square foot hangar at Alliance Airport. GDC, an aircraft modification firm, works on several Boeing aircraft from the 737 model to the 777 together with the Airbus fleet, including the Airbus A340-500. The new location will employ up to 600 people including engineers, technicians, aircraft maintenance and other specialists. These companies follow the earlier behemoth  announcements made by SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance. SpaceX announced in August 2014 that Brownsville, Texas would be the location for their new launch facility. The site will be the world’s first commercial launch complex designed specifically for orbital missions. Texas is already home to SpaceX’s Rocket Development Facility, which is located in McGregor, Texas and employs over 250 people. United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Boeing, operates their manufacturing, assembly and integration operations out of Harlingen, Texas. They perform spacecraft launch services for government missions.

BIOTECHNOLOGY AND LIFE SCIENCES

Innovative biotechnology companies continue to relocate and expand in Texas. In early 2015, UK-based cancer healthcare company, Endomag, announced the opening of its new US office in Austin, Texas. With their investment of $12 million and the creation of 90 jobs, Endomag has taken the first step in expanding into the American market. In April 2015, Biotest Pharmaceutical Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Biotest AG, a global Germany company, announced their new facility in San Antonio, Texas. Biotest, a company that develops immunology biotherapeutic products that are used to treat life-threatening disorders, has invested $7.8 million in their new plasma collection facility. The nearly 20,000 square foot facility will be home to more than 50 medical personnel and phlebotomists.

INFORMATION AND COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY

Two of the best-known high-tech companies in the world, Apple and Facebook, continue to grow and continue to take advantage of the high-tech business environment Texas has to offer. In July 2015, Facebook announced they will build its fifth data centre project in Fort Worth, Texas. The $1 billion investment will consist of three 250,000 square foot buildings on a 110-acre site. The Fort Worth City Council approved a $146.7 million incentive package. Apple, the world’s largest consumer electronics company, continues to work on their seven-building campus in Austin, Texas. Promising to hire 3,635 employees when announced in 2012, the company now employs 5,000 and has built the campus to house 7,000.

PETROLEUM REFINING AND CHEMICAL PRODUCTS

Many of the global energy-related companies call Texas home, including ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, Valero and BP. Houston, “The Energy Capital of the World”, houses more than 5,000 energy-related firms including more than 500 exploration and production firms, more than 150 pipeline transportation establishments and hundreds of manufacturers and wholesalers of energy-sector products. The natural gas industry boom has created huge opportunities for companies like Freeport LNG and Cheniere. In April, Freeport LNG secured their final piece of financing for their $12.5 billion liquefaction project in Freeport, Texas. The company will employ 300 people and be fully operational by the end of 2019. In May, Cheniere Energy received approval to build their liquefied natural gas facility near Ingleside, Texas. The $13 billion project will take five years to build and employ 300 people. Total Petrochemicals selected Port Arthur, Texas in June 2015 as the site for its $1.6 billion ethane cracker. The facility will produce a base ingredient in plastics from natural gas.

ENERGY

Texas has been well known for its natural resources in oil and natural gas, but few realise the potential and opportunities Texas has for renewable energy. Texas is a national leader in the wind energy industry. It ranks first in the US for both installed and under construction wind capacity, and gets 9% of its electricity from the wind. The state is home to at least 46 manufacturing facilities, including turbine manufacturer Alstom, tower manufacturer Trinity Structural Towers and, in June 2015, Gestamp Renewable Industries, a division of Spanish-based Gonvarri Steel Industries, announced plans to manufacture wind towers in Amarillo, Texas. The $41 million plant will employ 300 people and have an estimated annual payroll of more than $13 million. As part of the state’s Competitive Renewable Energy Zone programme (CREZ), Texas has spent around $7 billion building transmission lines to make wind and solar projects in west Texas accessible to population centres. Along with wind, solar projects are taking off. According to state records, Pecos County could soon host several large solar-energy farms responsible for $1 billion in investments, and the Electric Reliability Council of Texas expects between 10,000 megawatts and 12,500 megawatts of solar-generating capacity to be installed by 2029. That equates to the size of all solar farms currently operating in the US.

From automotive manufacturing to energy and petroleum, Texas is a land of opportunity across many industries. General Motors, Facebook and Cheniere are just a few of the major companies that have benefitted from the state’s award winning business climate, booming economy and proven leadership. These companies, along with thousands more, prove that Texas truly is Wide Open for Business.