September 18, 2017

Texas Comptroller Visits Brownwood on Tour of Texas Manufacturing Plants

(BROWNWOOD) — On the second stop of his Good for Texas Tour: Manufacturing Edition, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar visited three plants in Brownwood: Kohler, 3M and Superior Essex Corporation.

“These companies represent subsectors of an industry that continues to drive output and productivity in the Texas economy, creating jobs and paying wages well above the statewide average,” Hegar said. “The manufacturing industry also contributes significantly to job creation in other industries, particularly the service sector.”

During his Good for Texas Tour: Manufacturing Edition, Hegar will tour facilities, meet with local officials and release the results of a study the Comptroller’s office recently completed examining the economic impact of the manufacturing industry.

The plastics and rubber products manufacturing subsector, which includes 3M, is responsible for $4.8 billion in annual exports from Texas and nearly 48,000 direct and indirect jobs, and contributes $4.9 billion to the state’s gross domestic product (GDP).

“Though this subsector remains less concentrated in Texas than the U.S. overall, its GDP growth in Texas has outperformed that of the U.S. subsector, and export growth since 2009 is strong, especially to Mexico,” Hegar said.

The nonmetallic mineral products subsector, which includes Kohler, accounts for $765 million in annual exports and more than 78,000 Texas direct and indirect jobs, and contributes $5.3 billion to the state’s GDP.

“This subsector pays higher average wages in Texas than the national average, and its GDP and job growth have outpaced U.S. averages since 2010,” Hegar said. “Its employment is concentrated in several regions throughout Texas, and its state employment share is 12 percent higher than the U.S. average.”

Superior Essex Corporation is part of the fabricated metal products subsector, which accounts for $7.7 billion in annual exports and about 190,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Lone Star State. The subsector also contributes $14.2 billion to the state’s GDP.

“This subsector suffered job losses in Texas beginning in January 2015, which coincided with declining energy prices,” Hegar said. “Recently, however, the employment in this subsector has begun to recover, adding about 13,500 jobs from September 2016 to June 2017.”

In all, Texas manufacturers were responsible for 3 million direct and indirect jobs in 2016. The average annual salary for direct jobs is nearly $74,000. In 2016, Texas manufacturers exported $210.3 billion in goods and contributed $225.8 billion to the GDP.

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