Economic development leader hints to new industries moving to Williamson County

Along with the influx of new residents in Williamson County, economic leaders are expecting an increase in new industries coming to the area in the next several years.

Dave Porter, executive director of the Williamson County Economic Development Partnership, said during a Georgetown Chamber of Commerce luncheon June 13 the scope and magnitude of potential companies to establish operations in the city and throughout Williamson County “is astonishing.”

“We’re talking several that are in the billions of dollars [and] around one million square feet-plus,” Porter said.

So far this year, Williamson County has formed an agreement with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, which acts on behalf of the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Per the deal, the two entities will work together to advise new Korean companies looking to invest in Williamson County. During a trip to South Korea to visit Samsung and other companies, Porter said the delegation of county officials were told around 100-150 suppliers to the semiconductor industry are interested in establishing locations in Central Texas.

“That’s a lot of opportunity there,” he said. “We see a lot in the [electric vehicle] market around batteries and with electrical vehicle manufacturing itself.”

Porter said the county is planning to make an announcement next month about a new auto part manufacturer from Korea that has chosen to set up shop in the county. Meanwhile, a flurry of other companies from a variety of industries are interested in moving to the area, according to Porter.

In the next few years, the WilCo market could also become home for food distributors, a movie production studio and aviation projects, such as satellite manufacturers.

“The whole idea behind this is to diversify the economy,” Porter said. “So the next time there’s a recession, which we don’t know when that will be, that we don’t just tank. The real test of economic development in a county is how quickly you recover. Are you the last ones in a recession and the first one out? That’s a sign of a diversified economy.”