6 | City of Victoria, Tx litical issue, with some suggesting it made no sense to allow a perfectly good spot of ground to go unused when it could be divvied-up into small parcels to accommodate small enterprise, but the EDC encouraged resistance to such proposals. Like that famous field of dreams, Fowler maintained a positive “if you build it, they will come” posture. Whatever doubt may have once existed, the fact remains that the Victoria EDC has ultimately proven its point. Caterpillar Inc., the $70 billion manufacturer of mechanical marvels critical to the industries of agricultural, energy, transportation and construction, has since selected Victoria as the new site for their manufacturing of hydraulic excavators. Now manufactured in Victoria, TX, these excavators range from 11 to 49 tons of machinery crucial to the moving of dirt and Caterpillar moved more than $200 million to Victoria to create the 1.3 million square-feet of required operational space, essentially taking-up over half the available acreage offered by the industrial park. This has already led to the creation of more than 400 new jobs, but when it reaches full production, Caterpillar anticipates the Victoria facility will employ 800 and upwards. Aerial view of Port of Victoria City of Victoria, Tx | 7 Success is said to breed success. In this instance, the EDC developed another 100 acres of land at a site located just across the street from the new Caterpillar facility. This site will soon serve as home to a new division of Ken Garner Manufacturing, a Tennesseebased enterprise recognized as the leading industry producer of counterweights crucial in the manufacturing of heavy duty equipment – particularly, the excavators produced by Caterpillar. BENEFITS FOR BUSINESS Beyond setting aside land, the Victoria EDC helped spur other incentives which not only posed a benefit for new business operations, but also benefitted businesses already existing in the community. For example, the community already had what were known as enterprise zones. For businesses that operate in such zones, there are certain tax benefits and allowances which provide fast-track permitting. Expanding on that line of incentive, the Caterpillar site has been deemed as a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ 155) which accommodates similar benefits. The Caterpillar site is also located only 12 miles from the Port of Victoria, a facility that is utilized by barges Entrance to Victoria’s Lone Tree Business Center DECEMBER 2023 THE CONSTRUCTION SOURCE AMERICA - SOUTH
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