Mensor is one of a handful of manufacturing companies bolstering the local economy and making waves throughout the United States and even globally. Adriana Cruz, president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, a public-private entity dedicated to expanding economic opportunities in Hays and Caldwell counties, said San Marcos and Hays County are experiencing a significant increase in interest from manufacturing companies.
In November, Corvac Composites and L&M Supply, two manufacturing companies based outside of Texas, announced plans to expand into San Marcos. That same month, San Marcos–based Mensor broke ground on a 45,000-square-foot expansion aimed at addressing anticipated future growth.
"What we're seeing is that we're making it to a short list more often than before," Cruz said. "We're seeing a lot of site visits where companies will actually expend the funds to come into town and pay for the travel or the flight and take a look around and look at real estate. I think that's a good sign that we're seeing a lot more serious interest."
Since September, the city has received about one site visit per week from companies interested in relocating or expanding into San Marcos, Cruz said. Many of those companies are involved in manufacturing, and their decisions could translate into higher-wage jobs with opportunities for advancement for San Marcos residents, she said.
The San Marcos advantage
There are many factors that make San Marcos an attractive place for companies looking to expand or relocate, Cruz said. Close proximity to Austin and San Antonio means companies have a large pool of workers from which to choose. Additionally, quality of life in Hays County is high, but the cost of living is lower than in Austin, she said.
The largest factor, however, is education, Cruz said.
"You have Gary Job Corps on one end, Texas State on the other and everything in between," she said. "So you have a well-educated, productive, trained workforce that's ready to go to work."
In 2011, Texas State University added a track for Ph.D. degrees in engineering, and in December the program graduated its first student. The university's focus on technology and engineering is only going to make the city more attractive to manufacturers and technology firms, Cruz said.
'The secret is out'
Many of the city's manufacturers have been doing business in San Marcos for decades, said Rick Gonzales, outgoing president of the San Marcos Manufacturers Association. Thermon, a manufacturer of heat-tracing products, has been in San Marcos since 1954. Gonzales' own company, Mensor, has been in San Marcos since 1978. CFAN, which manufactures the engine blades in many of Boeing's aircrafts, shipped its first blade in 1994.
For many years it seemed as if San Marcos' manufacturing sector had reached equilibrium, Gonzales said. The companies that were here were doing well, but there was not an especially large amount of growth.
Gonzales said San Marcos' designation as the fastest-growing city with a population of more than 50,000 in the United States—a title it received from the U.S. Census Bureau in May—has raised its profile nationally.
"The area is very attractive, but it's been a secret for a lot of years," Gonzales said. "[Companies] just didn't know about San Marcos. They knew about San Antonio. They knew about Austin. San Marcos was kind of nestled in between. The secret is out."
Local companies including Thermon, CFAN, Ember Industries and TXI have experienced rapid growth in recent years. The growth does not appear to be stopping any time soon, Gonzales said.
"Historically Texas has had a little bit stronger economy than the national average," Gonzales said. "I think if you see any growth on the national level, it's going to be a little bit stronger here."
Mensor President Lee Graham said in addition to building a new 45,000-square-foot building, the company is planning to increase its staff nearly 80 percent to include about 125 people within the next 10 years.
Why companies go elsewhere
The city has a lot of positive factors, Cruz said, but there is room for improvement.
Early in her tenure with the GSMP, Cruz said a visiting company turned the city down because "it appeared dirty."
This experience underscored the importance of things as seemingly unrelated to economic development as landscaping and roadway features.
"I think people may think that [aesthetic features are] not important, but if you're having people over to your house for the holidays, you're going to clean up your house," Cruz said. "You want to make the best presentation possible."
The city needs to leverage its natural assets, Cruz said. Anyone who has ever ventured west of I-35 has probably seen the river and the sprawling Hill Country of San Marcos, but those features are not evident on I-35, which serves as the city's front door, she said.
During Cruz's time with the Austin Chamber of Commerce, she would take companies on driving tours of the city. There were certain routes she knew to take. Treks by the hike and bike trails along Lady Bird Lake led to Zilker Park, where companies could see the quality-of-life factors that make Austin attractive. In San Marcos, those routes are harder to come by.
"The city is on the right path. They're looking at all of these issues, and they're considering them and what the impact will be, and that's great.
"You have to have the type of place and the quality of place that attracts these executives, high-tech firms or target industry sectors that we're looking at so they can come and create those jobs and hire our people," Cruz said. "It's a puzzle that all the pieces sort of have to fit together."
