The first tenant announced at Titan Development’s Innovation Business Park is projected to become one of Hutto’s largest employers.

Paradigm Metals, a Pflugerville-based manufacturer, announced at Thursday’s Hutto City Council meeting that the company is moving into a 100,000-square-foot custom-ordered building at the Titan Development project just east of SH 130.

"We're bringing between 250 and 275 employees — minimum — to Hutto when we move into that building," said Blain Ogea, chief operations officer for Paradigm Metals. "That right there should be exciting for Hutto."

In a presentation shown to council members Thursday night, Ogea and Dan Chew, president and CEO of Paradigm Metals, showed figures that project their company to grow to more than 400 employees by 2021.

Per figures from Hutto ISD, the school district is the city’s largest employer with 1,067 people on its payroll.

"This is a huge coup for the city of Hutto," said Kevin Reid, chairman of Titan Development.

Paradigm Metals is a technology manufacturer and the company houses several operations in its facility. The manufacturer provides precision sheet metal fabrication, machining, screen printing, powder coating and more. Per Ogea, Paradigm Metals ships internationally.

Chew founded the company in 1984 alongside his brother, Steve Chew, and relocated the company to the Austin area in 1996. Paradigm Metals expanded its operations to its current 50,000-square-foot location in Pflugerville, though the company executives say their production has outgrown their facility. According to Chew, the company has grown in revenue 30 percent on average per year over the past decade.

"The size of [our current] building can only produce so much, so our upside and growth potential mandated that we had to have more space. That's why we're going two times the size of the building," Ogea said.

Paradigm Metals is the first tenant announced at Titan Development's Innovation Business Park, a $100 million speculative building development. The manufacturer's new facility will be the second building constructed on the property and the first building ordered custom-built.

Paradigm Metals is technically located in the Austin Extraterritorial Jurisdiction, though the company has a Pflugerville mailing address.

Construction on the first building in Innovation Business Park has already gone vertical. That building is a speculative space for prospective tenants.

"One of the big advantages in working with Titan is they've already got their troops on the ground, meaning their contractors and builders," Chew said. "They've got their site survey, the roads are in and the infrastructure is there."

Chew and Ogea said they expect to break ground on the new Paradigm Metals facility Nov. 1 with an opening date by this time next year.

Paradigm Metals is the third manufacturer to announce its relocation to Hutto in the past six months after two California-based companies confirmed their move to the city.