A D V A N C E D
M A N U F A C T U R I N G
A Higher Gear Tesla is coming to Texas, and it’s hardly alone. by GARY DAUGHTERS
Tesla will build the company’s new Cybertruck, Model Y and Tesla Semi models on 2,000 acres east of Austin. Image courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
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TEXAS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
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exas has long been a manufacturing powerhouse, having provided a platform for growth and innovation in manufacturing sectors as diverse as semiconductors, aerospace, chemicals, electronics and automotive, just to name a small handful. And you can now count Tesla among the ranks of manufacturing titans such as GM, 3M, Samsung, Toyota, Ericcson, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, that call Texas home. The decision of Tesla’s Elon Musk to build the company’s new Cybertruck, as well as the Tesla Model Y and Tesla Semi, on 2,000 acres east of Austin produced huge headlines in 2020. The $1 billion, 4.5-million-sq. ft. plant, is bringing some 5,000 jobs to Travis County. Companies like Tesla are tapping into a deep talent pool in Texas, where nearly 875,000 workers are employed in manufacturing roles. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, that gives Texas the nation’s second-largest manufacturing workforce. Manufacturers also choose Texas
for its business-friendly climate, which includes a high-value cost of business and competitive incentive programs. Illinois-based Navistar, a leading maker of buses and commercial trucks, chose San Antonio to launch its new Manufacturing 4.0 production concepts. Navistar broke ground in June 2020 on a commercial truck facility that will incorporate the company’s latest manufacturing principles — digital factory, connected machinery, robust lean manufacturing processes and cloud analytics — to “enable predictive quality and maintenance and allow datadriven decisions to be made on the shop floor in real time,” the company says. “We are excited to launch Manufacturing 4.0 concepts at our new facility, as these advancements will reduce manufacturing complexity and increase quality,” said Persio Lisboa, Navistar’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. “Sharing these new industrial advances and
