Bexar County, San Antonio and state leaders lured Great Britain-based heavy equipment maker JCB to the South Side with incentive packages worth almost $32 million, local officials revealed this week.
JCB plans to break ground on a new manufacturing plant on 400 acres at 13610 State Highway 16 in May. The company has made plans to invest at least $265.7 million and create a minimum of 1,580 new full-time jobs by the end of 2028.
City Council is expected to approve a package of abatements and incentives worth $13.74 million over the length of the agreement at its April 4 meeting, according to background documents attached to a council meeting agenda posted Wednesday night. Bexar County is considering a roughly $12 million package, it revealed on Tuesday.
Based on JCB’s investment and job count, San Antonio calculated a 10-year, 90% tax abatement — 20% of that because JCB is building in a census tract that scores highly on the city’s Equity Atlas — worth roughly $10.4 million. JCB would also receive up to $2.35 million in Economic Development Incentive Fund grants and $1 million in city fee waivers, plus $500,000 in SAWS fee waivers.
The city also plans to designate JCB as a “triple jumbo” Texas Enterprise Zone project, making it eligible for the maximum potential state refund of $3.75 million, or $7,500 per created job, over five years.
From Bexar County, JCB is expected to receive a 10-year, 100% tax abatement of property investments, worth roughly $6.5 million. It will also receive a $5 million grant for off-site public infrastructure improvements.
Bexar County Commissioners voted unanimously to advance their proposed agreement with the company Tuesday.
The case for San Antonio
Last October, Gov. Greg Abbott announced that JCB had been offered a Texas Enterprise Fund grant of $5.7 million. That fund awards “deal-closing” grants to companies who choose Texas when they are considering projects in other states.
As part of a company’s bid for state and local incentives, it must prove that those incentives contributed to its decision to choose Texas over another location.
If it didn’t land in San Antonio, JCB was planning to put its new plant at its North American Headquarters in Savannah, Georgia, which offered a combined $125 million in incentives, according to a joint incentive application filed with San Antonio and Bexar County.
“The state of Georgia and city of Savannah have been aggressive with their proposal,” JCB’s application states. “An incentive is needed to strengthen the business case of a Texas facility over a Georgia expansion.”
Economic development leaders from San Antonio and Bexar County visited the Georgia headquarters earlier this year to gain a better understanding of the type of facility JCB hopes to create.
While the company specializes in farm equipment, it hasn’t said exactly which products will be made in San Antonio.
A presentation to county commissioners Tuesday said its production plant would make “telescopic handlers,” which is a type of forklift, and “aerial work platforms,” also known as a scissor lift. Those products are currently only produced in the United Kingdom and India, according to the presentation.
Jobs of all levels
A 275-page document released by Bexar County laid out fresh details about an agreement local leaders hope will bring new opportunities to the South Side.
The school district’s portion of the company’s tax bill won’t be abated, something Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores (Pct. 1) pointed to as a major win for Southwest ISD.
JCB’s joint incentive application also lays out job creation goals and expected salary ranges — requirements local governments use to modify or end incentive agreements with companies that don’t live up to their promises.
For example, the city and county both cancelled incentives with DeLorean Motor Company earlier this year after it failed to meet its goals amid corporate upheaval.
“All the incentives are backed-loaded, meaning they only have value once they actually start to deliver on their promises and commitments,” Bexar County’s executive director of economic and community development David Marquez said of the agreement with JCB.
“If, as in the case of the DeLorean, that didn’t happen, then there’s no outflow of incentives,” he said.
The city’s agenda memo notes that it will “recapture” city funds and fee waivers if JCB fails to meet the investment and job creation requirements by the end of 2028, or “otherwise fails to comply with the Ch. 380 Economic Development Agreement.”
JCB’s agreement with the county has no job creation requirements until 2027, when the company is supposed to have hired roughly 1,000 employees. JCB Texas operations director David Carver said in an interview that he hopes the plant is producing long before then, around May of 2026.
The company currently has four executives from the United Kingdom living in San Antonio to start up its local operations. The economic development group Greater:SATX has been helping those executives familiarize themselves with the community, by taking them to a Spurs basketball game and showing them Haven for Hope.
The company, which is still in the process of acquiring all the land it needs, has also made several local leadership hires, Carver, who previously served as the company’s human resources director in the UK, told Bexar County Commissioners Tuesday.
Some of JCB’s jobs will be open to applicants without any educational requirements. For other more technical roles, the company will lean on the county’s manufacturing training programs.
JCB’s lowest salary is expected to be $21.81 per hour. Of its 1,580 local team members, 644 will make between $20.55 per hour and $24.99 per hour. Another 702 will make between $25.00 and $29.99 per hour, according to the application.
The company’s incentive application said it “goes above and beyond” in the benefits it provides to its employees, including health insurance, life insurance and a 401(k) match.
“This comprehensive benefits package showcases JCB’s dedication to the well-being and financial security of its workforce,” the application states.
