Cresson (1080 KRLD) - A company based in Australia has broken ground on a factory in the Parker County town of Cresson. Wagners CFT produces fiberglass materials for use in bridges, light posts and marine projects.
The plant along Highway 377 will generate 304 jobs in Cresson.
Parker County Judge Pat Deen says Cresson was looking for a spot where the plant could have easy access to transportation but would not interfere with residential areas.
"They want to be a good neighbor. They found a great spot in Cresson that doesn't intrude upon anybody," says Parker County Judge Pat Deen. "It's got great access points to 377 and then they can get to the freeway."
Deen says the creation of jobs in Cresson can help Parker County establish itself as a destination instead of people who live there driving to work in Tarrant County, closer to Fort Worth.
"Exporting those jobs east every day is a problem, not only for our transportation system but also it takes those jobs out of our county," he says.
The Texas Enterprise Fund provided $1,799,984 to Wagners for the project. Deen says this is the first Texas Enterprise Fund grant in Parker County.
"It's a great incentive for recruitment," he says, saying about 60% of Parker County residents now commute to jobs in the Metroplex.
Deen visited Wagners' plant in Australia. He says the company has a product that will find a growing market in the United States.
"They build corrosive-free bridges. It's slightly more of a price than a normal bridge, but think of how valuable they are on the East and West Coast where there are a lot of saltwater and erosion," Deen says. "They make a product that is really, desperately needed in the United States. They expect their business model to drastically grow."
He says, because of the technology used, the jobs created at the plant will be high-wage.
"Wagners really invested in robotics and those types of things that do require a highly sophisticated type of job that comes with high-wage growth," he says. "It all really comes together well. The Texas Enterprise Fund is really the driving vehicle for that."
The plant should open this fall.
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