Hutto’s Innovation Business Park will have a new tenant by mid-summer.

The Austin branch of Western Industries Corporation, or WIC, announced plans April 4 to relocate to Hutto, leasing 79,000 square feet of Titan Development’s first spec building at Innovation Business Park.

“We’re Hippos now,” Louis Morelli, chief operating officer of WIC said at an April 4 Hutto City Council meeting. “We’re excited to be in Hutto.”

WIC is a manufacturing company that creates packaging products. The company plans to begin operations at the new Hutto facility in July, according to a press release.

“WIC joins a list of new businesses choosing Hutto given our open-for-business philosophy, easy access to major markets, and a large, educated workforce,” Hutto City Manager Odis Jones said.

WIC will invest more than $3 million in the facility, according to the release. The company plans to expand from 75 jobs currently to 145 jobs, Morelli said at the meeting. In a deal reached Thursday night and approved by the Hutto City Council, the city will provide a 20% ad valorem property tax abatement for 10 years.

"We are excited about the relocation of our operation to such a business friendly and cost- effective environment," James Robertson, CEO for Western Industries said in the release. "For the past four decades, we have built long lasting partnerships by consistently exceeding our customer’s needs, and we now look forward to growing our business in Hutto."

Headquartered in Oklahoma City, WIC has operated a manufacturing facility in Austin for over 25 years. WIC also operates manufacturing facilities in Dallas, Wichita, Kansas, and Reynosa, Mexico. The Hutto relocation only impacts the Austin facility.

Western Industries Corporation will join Paradigm Metals and BryComm, two Austin-based businesses that are also relocating to Hutto.