Rockdale focuses on four industries that match its workforce, infrastructure, and location in the Central Texas manufacturing cluster.
Semiconductor Suppliers
Equipment, materials, and componentsThe industry
The companies that keep chip plants running: equipment makers and service providers, specialty chemical and gas suppliers, parts and component manufacturers, and logistics providers.
Suppliers locate near the fabs they serve, but they need land, water, and workers at a lower cost than the metro.
Why Rockdale
- Between two new chip plants: Samsung’s plant is just down US 79 in Taylor, and Terafab’s new plant in Grimes County, with a $16.8 billion first phase, is a little over an hour away.
- Research and training nearby: UT Austin’s $1.4 billion Texas Institute for Electronics and the planned UT Austin–Taylor Center.
- Room to grow at a lower cost: new homes 42% below the Austin metro median, and a 100-acre MDD-owned industrial park.
- Water and power infrastructure: 750,000 gallons per day of available water and an Oncor substation across the road from the Industrial Park.
Food and Beverage
NAICS 311, 3121The industry
Companies that turn agricultural products into packaged foods and drinks: baked goods and tortillas, snack foods, sauces and condiments, frozen and prepared meals, and bottled beverages.
These plants need large volumes of clean water, reliable wastewater treatment, and fast access to grocery and food-service distribution across Texas.
Why Rockdale
- Water and wastewater capacity: 750,000 gallons per day of available water from the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer and 800,000 gallons per day of wastewater capacity.
- Close to the customer: Dallas–Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio within four hours, and Austin within about an hour.
- Farm country: Milam County agriculture, plus Rockdale ISD career pathways in ag technology, animal science, and plant science.
- Lower operating costs: average wages in Milam County run 32% below the U.S. average.
Metal Product and Machine Manufacturing
NAICS 332, 333The industry
Fabricators and machine builders: forging and stamping, structural and architectural metal, and machinery for agriculture, industry, and HVAC.
These companies depend on skilled welders, machinists, and maintenance technicians, and on nearby customers who buy what they make.
Why Rockdale
- A trained workforce: 75% of Rockdale High graduates earn an industry-based certification, more than twice the Texas rate, and TSTC in Hutto trains welders and precision machinists.
- Strong regional demand: Central Texas buys large volumes of metal products and machinery from outside the region, so local suppliers can capture that business.
- Rail for steel and heavy freight: Union Pacific and BNSF on the line through Rockdale, with the RCR Taylor transload park about 30 minutes west.
- A ready site: the 100-acre Rockdale Industrial Park is owned by the MDD, zoned industrial, and inside the city limits.
Electronic Product Manufacturing
NAICS 334, including 3345The industry
Makers of electronic instruments and devices: navigation and guidance systems, sensors, measuring and control instruments, and electromedical equipment used in aerospace, defense, healthcare, and industrial automation.
These products are high in value and low in volume, so the industry depends on engineering talent and research partners more than on bulk freight.
Why Rockdale
- Engineering talent: more than 4,600 engineering graduates a year from UT Austin and Texas A&M, two of three Carnegie R1 universities within about 90 minutes.
- Defense and research partners: UT Austin’s Applied Research Laboratories and Texas A&M’s Bush Combat Development Complex.
- Skilled veterans: about 8,000 soldiers leave active duty at Fort Hood each year, many with technical training.
- Stable ground and clean air: very low earthquake hazard and full attainment of federal air quality standards.
How we chose these industries
The Rockdale MDD's target industry analysis scored manufacturing industries on national growth, the region's largest industries and their supply chains, purchases the region now makes from outside suppliers, and how well each industry's jobs match the skills of workers within a 45-minute drive. These four rose to the top.
Is your company in one of these industries? Let's talk.
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