The list of industries North Texas cities actively recruit has grown a new entry: venture-backed defense manufacturing.
On Tuesday night the Fort Worth City Council approved an economic development agreement with Mach Industries, a company that builds unmanned aircraft, long-range munitions and alternative propulsion systems, offering up to $4.5 million in tax breaks and grants across a decade, the Fort Worth Report reported.
The deal
Mach Industries is weighing Alliance Gateway 34, a 310,036-square-foot industrial building in Hillwood's AllianceTexas development, against competing sites in Texas and around the country. A decision is expected in the third quarter.
The company would commit to a minimum capital investment of $74 million. Collecting the full incentive requires hiring 1,000 workers at a minimum average annual salary of $67,470. Maintaining fewer than 600 jobs forfeits the incentive entirely, and if more than half the jobs pay below $60,000 at any point, none of the money is paid.
Jessica Rogers, Fort Worth's economic development director, told council members in June that the city's willingness to offer incentives and show local support had made it the company's preferred location.
A young company moving quickly
Mach Industries was founded in 2023 by Ethan Thornton, who was 19 at the time, grew up in Boerne and left MIT to start it. Earlier this year it raised $300 million in Series C funding at a $1.8 billion valuation.
