When a manufacturer announces a major investment, the announcement focuses on the company, the facility and the jobs being created. But the decision to locate or expand in a region begins long before the announcement.
Companies evaluate whether a region can support their operations over the long term, from workforce availability and development-ready sites to infrastructure, transportation, suppliers and the partnerships that help move complex projects forward.
Recent investments from Toyota, Industrial Electric Manufacturing (IEM), JCB and Blackwave show the range of manufacturing activity taking shape across Greater San Antonio. They also highlight two important questions: What has made the region attractive to manufacturers, and what will it take to sustain that momentum for the next generation of investment?
Talent Is Central to Manufacturing Competitiveness
For employers across industries, access to talent is a business necessity. Manufacturers need production workers, engineers, technicians, skilled trades professionals, operations managers, logistics specialists and employees with expertise in automation and quality control.
Greater San Antonio's manufacturing employment grew from 51,900 jobs in 2021 to 60,600 in 2025, an increase of 16.8%. Average annual earnings reached $92,845 in 2025, marking four consecutive years of manufacturing wage growth.
Sustaining that growth requires more than recruiting people after a company announces an expansion. Employers, educational institutions and workforce organizations must work together to make people aware of the myriad opportunities and help them explore career options, develop relevant skills and connect training with industry needs.
Across the region, workforce initiatives, technical education programs and partnerships such as TX FAME and Texas FAST Track are helping align training with employer demand, while colleges and universities continue producing graduates in engineering, advanced manufacturing and other high-demand fields. Together, these efforts help create the talent pipeline manufacturers need to support their current operations and long-term growth.
During Manufacturing Month, students are participating in Job Shadow Days with employers including Toyota, Toyotetsu, Avanzar, International Motors, FORMA and Cox Manufacturing. These experiences introduce students to modern production environments and the range of careers available in manufacturing. Programs such as SA WORX extend that connection through career exploration and work-based learning. For more than a decade, the initiative has helped connect students with local career opportunities and employers, strengthening awareness of manufacturing careers and helping students understand how education can translate into long-term employment opportunities.
Site Readiness and Infrastructure Matter
Major manufacturing projects require more than an available parcel of land. Companies must determine whether a site can accommodate their operations, whether utilities and transportation infrastructure can meet their needs, and whether development can proceed on a timeline that works for their business.
Preparing for those requirements can take years. The IEM project at Brooks illustrates why that preparation matters. : As a master-planned, mixed-use community, Brooks offers more than available land. Its capacity to accommodate nearly 1 million square feet of manufacturing space made it a fit for IEM’s planned advanced manufacturing campus. That opportunity reflects long-term site development and infrastructure planning, within a broader environment designed to support businesses and the people who work there.
For Greater San Antonio, maintaining site readiness also means planning beyond individual properties. As manufacturing and employment centers expand across the South Side, transportation connections will become increasingly important. The South Texas Parkway is included in city and regional plans and is advancing through planning and funding efforts. Although construction remains years away, the project illustrates the long-term infrastructure planning needed to support continued development and connectivity across the region to meet forecasted demand.+
Partnership Is Part of the Competitive Advantage
Bringing a major manufacturing project to a region often requires coordination among companies, local governments, utilities, educational institutions, workforce organizations and economic development partners.
greater:SATX serves as a regional connector, bringing business, education, workforce and public-sector partners together around shared economic development priorities. That work helps align regional capabilities with company needs and strengthens the conditions that support investment.
Since 2022, greater:SATX has helped secure more than $10 billion in corporate investment and nearly 21,000 jobs across the region. Through the third quarter of 2026, the organization had already surpassed its annual goals, with 7,113 announced jobs and $4.8 billion in capital investment.
Those results reflect years of regional coordination to strengthen the conditions that help companies invest, expand and grow.
Preparing for the Next Investment
Recent manufacturing investments help explain why Greater San Antonio has been attractive to manufacturers, but they also underscore what it will take to remain competitive in the future: continued investment in talent, sites, infrastructure and collaboration. The projects announced today are the result of work that began years earlier, supported by employers, educators, workforce organizations, local governments and economic development partners working toward shared goals.
Maintaining that momentum will require continued commitment to those same fundamentals. As manufacturers evaluate locations for future investments, Greater San Antonio's competitiveness will depend on its ability to keep strengthening the talent pipeline, preparing sites, making infrastructure investments and building the partnerships that support long-term growth.
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