Back on track: Businesses
Courtesy of Wes Albanese Photography
City and county officials tour the new KEG 1 O’Neal LLC distribution facility in Temple in 2019.
Temple’s major employers thrive STAFF REPORT
Temple’s location in Central Texas, coupled with low costs and a skilled workforce, are key strengths for local industries. Major Temple employers are global and national frontrunners in manufacturing, business support services, health and life sciences, and logistics and distribution, according to the Temple Economic Development Corp. New to Temple is Niagara Bottling, which invested $90 million and created 70 jobs at a new bottling facility and continues to expand. Battery maker East Penn Man-
ufacturing Co. has invested $106 million with the plan to create 266 new jobs to expand its Temple facility. Niagra and East Penn are among the major manufacturing operations that include Acer, Reynolds Consumer Products and Pactiv. Reynolds Consumer Products opened its Temple facility in 1970 and expanded in 2018 to make room for a new plastic film production line. Located near the crossroads of Interstate 35 and Interstate 14, Temple’s manufacturing industry offers robust interstate and freight distribution infrastructure via Union Pacific and BNSF rail-
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roads, the Temple EDC said. With about $750 billion in goods traveling along the I-35 corridor through Central Texas, Temple’s strategic location makes it home to food, beverage and grocery distribution centers, including Walmart and H-E-B. Performance Food Group, the McLane Co. and Wilsonart have called Temple home for years. In addition, R+L Carriers, Tri-Supply, KEG 1 O’Neal and Nortech Lubricant Distribution have invested millions of dollars to bring new or expanded logistics operations to Temple, the Temple EDC said. “We look forward to a long
standing and growing presence in Temple,” Scott O’Neal, KEG 1 O’Neal president and partner, said in a news release. KEG 1 O’Neal’s $11 million investment in 2019 included the creation of 50 new jobs — nearly doubling the company’s Temple workforce. Logistics and distribution talent in Temple surged by 20% between 2007 and 2017, and is expected to continuing growing by another 8.5% by 2022, according to TEDC. Medical facilities continue to thrive in Temple. Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest not-for-profit health care system in Texas, operates June 27, 2021
