In the heart of Texas, Williamson County is gearing up for a major economic boost with South Korean company Hanwha Advanced Materials LLC set to build a $100 million auto parts factory near Georgetown. The 200,000-square-foot facility will grace a 38-acre site just off the I-35 and aims to create at least 180 jobs, a move that Williamson County officials sweetened through a savvy cultural play featuring a photograph of baseball legend Nolan Ryan donning Hanwha gear, as reported by the Austin Business Journal.
Williamson County Commissioners Court backed the investment with a unanimous vote on March 19 for a Chapter 312 incentives agreement, which promises a 70% tax abatement over a decade, under the code name "Project Corgi," County Judge Bill Gravell and his team previously took a keen initiative to visit South Korea, where they discovered the company’s admiration for Ryan, aligning with Hanwha’s ownership of a Korean baseball team, Hanwha’s CEO of its American branch, Simon Lee, emphasized the strategic location of Georgetown about the dynamic automotive manufacturing core blooming in Texas, including the growing presence of Tesla in the area, which could lead to Georgetown producing truck beds for both Toyota and Tesla, Texas presents the added value of being comfortably nestled between Canada and Mexico; crucial players in the automotive supply chain.
The county's overture to Hanwha has further solidified its commitment to high-tech manufacturing and job creation, Gravell has expressed the county’s dedication to education and local talent by securing internships for high school students as part of the economic deal, these educational ties serve as a beacon of hope for grooming the next generation of industry professionals, in a statement obtained by Austin Business Journal, which also noted that Hanwha must fulfill certain investment and employment criteria to sustain the agreed incentives.
Meanwhile, ConnectCRE reported Hanwha's significant track record of collaboration with various automotive giants like Hyundai, BMW, and Ford, and its current spread of manufacturing sites across the globe, including Alabama, North Carolina, and Michigan.
