Governor Greg Abbott made the announcement in a press release today, saying the facility “will create 200 new jobs and generate more than $8 million in capital investment,” and that the state is giving the company a Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) grant of $903,000.
“Texas is a leader in aerospace and aviation, and we are proud to welcome KMM’s new manufacturing facility to the Kerrville community,” said Abbott. “I know that this new facility will strengthen Texas’ aerospace and aviation sector.”
“It is great to work with Texas, and specifically Governor Abbott,” said Don Hedger, the company’s president. “Texas is great to work with, and the Hill Country is a special place.”
The decision was also lauded by Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly and Kerrville Mayor Bill Blackburn, who said that they hoped KMM’s presence in the region would attract other manufacturers as well, such as those in Texas’ budding space industry.
Officials of the county and city business development corporations expressed their optimism in the project as well.
Greg Richards, the president of the Kerrville Economic Improvement Corporation (EIC), said that he expects “EIC’s investment in this project to catalyze significant growth in our tax base, helping to bring in quality commercial development that will ease some of the tax burden off of individual taxpayers.”
The executive director of the Kerr Economic Development Corporation, Gilberto Salinas, said that KMM’s new facility will lead to “increased business activity and value-add opportunity for years to come, which was the overall strategy set forth by the Kerrville 2050 Comprehensive Plan.”
KMM is the second company this year that Abbott announced will receive a taxpayer-funded TEF grant.
In February, the governor said that Freshpet, Inc. would receive $2.1 million in funds for building a new pet food manufacturing facility in Ennis.
The Texas Enterprise Fund has given over a half-billion dollars in grant money since it was created in 2003.
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Daniel Friend
Daniel Friend is the Marketing and Media Manager for The Texan. After graduating with a double-major in Political Science and Humanities, he wrote for The Texan as a reporter through June 2022. In his spare time, you're likely to find him working on The Testimony of Calvin Lewis, an Abolition of Man-inspired novel and theatrical podcast.