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Austin:
The High-Tech Hub

Prodigy Communications Corp., one of the nation's largest Internet service providers (ISPs), announced in June it was relocating its corporate headquarters

Charles J. Roesslein, Prodigy's president and CEO, says more than 200 employees are expected to relocate to Austin by early 2001, growing to upwards of 350 employees. "Prodigy has achieved tremendous success and its partnership with SBC makes it the third-largest fee-based ISP in the U.S.," says Roesslein. "The relocation to Austin and the subsequent change in the management team are designed to leverage the assets of SBC Communications to further enhance Prodigy's competitive position."

Austin (population 465,000) has one of the most balanced economies in Texas, including major universities and state government facilities. "Companies come to Austin because it has a great business climate, a reasonable cost of living and it's a wonderful place to live and work," says Mark Hazelwood, president and CEO, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Much of the action in recent years has been in high-tech manufacturing, including semiconductors and electronics. Austin has attracted "fabless" chip companies that design computer chips and software systems for the semiconductor industry, including such firms as Silicon Laboratories, Agere, Extreme Devices, EVSX and Obsidian Software.

Dell Computer Corp. is one of the region's top private employers with more than 14,500 workers, and the center of a thriving supplier network. Advanced Micro Devices, Houston-based Compaq and Solectron also have manufacturing facilities in the Austin area. In software, CSC Financial Services is a fast-growing employer.

"Austin has clearly become one of the centers for technology leadership with both the depth and the talent to catch up to the level of success that the West Coast has enjoyed for the last 15 years," says David Murphy of Tivoli Systems, a locally based enterprise solutions company. "Growth and the quality of life have given us an edge in attracting talent from within and outside of Austin."

Western Texas:
A New Economic Diversity

While cattle and petrochemicals remain the mainstays of many western Texas communities, new types of manufacturing and service companies are making their homes on the range.

Amarillo (population 157,000) has long been the oil and gas capital of the state's northern Panhandle with large helium and carbon black plants. But recently Southwestern Bell announced a 133-job expansion of its customer care center. "The community's support made it easy to select Amarillo," says Michelle Thomas, communications contracts manager for SBC, Southwestern Bell's parent company. SBC officials also cited the high productivity of Amarillo workers in the decision to expand locally.

'Space City USA'

For the past two decades, Houston has been known as "Space City USA" because of NASA's Johnson Space Center. In addition to serving as the training ground for U.S. astronauts, the JSC is the birthplace to hundreds of new technologies. Nearly 20,000 Houston area residents work in and near JSC, a 1,620-acre (656-hectare) complex 25 miles (40 km.) from downtown Houston. Many of the technologies from this scientific center are being adapted for use in energy, biomedical, pharmaceutical, manufacturing and telecommunications. Nearby is the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI), where advance research is being conducted to develop experiments on the International Space Station. Researchers are studying topics like the effects of space flight on the cardiovascular system and the impact of weightlessness on muscle functioning. "The National Space Research Institute is an exciting opportunity for the world of space science and biomedical science to join forces in a powerful partnership between NASA and academia," says Ralph Feigin, M.D., president, Baylor College of Medicine, one of the NSBRI members. San Antonio's Kelly Air Force Base is being redeveloped into KellyUSA, a new hub for private commercial and aerospace-related companies.

Bell Helicopter is building V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor helicopters in its new Amarillo plant. Plans call for major expansions of the facility's 150,000-sq.-ft. (13,935-sq.-m.) plant and 72,000-sq.-ft. (6,689-sq.-m.) hangar by 2002, with corresponding growth in the 178-person work force.

Also in the north, Wichita Falls (population 100,000) has added new high-tech firms to its agricultural, trade and petroleum production industries.

Abilene (population 115,000) is another regional trading center with a growing manufacturing base. Aerobotics Industries, a supplier of aerospace engineering, tooling, prototyping and machined components, is building a 400,000-sq.-ft. (37,161-sq.-m.) facility that will allow it to diversify into heavy fabrication products for other transportation industries. Zoltek Cos., a manufacturer of carbon fiber for the military and aerospace industries, is expanding its 100,000-sq.-ft. (9,290-sq.-m.) Abilene plant from 50 to 250 employees in the next five years.

Located in the southern plains, Lubbock (population 200,000) is an industrial, educational and health-care center. Last year, Cox Communications announced that Lubbock would be its cable TV regional operations center, with a new regional call center. TechTel Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier, plans to generate 72 new jobs as the Lubbock-based business continues to expand into other Texas communities. Another growing firm is iwantacar.com, an advertising source for automobile dealers on the Internet. The Lubbock company has developed proprietary cost control software used by auto dealerships.

Midway between Fort Worth and El Paso are the cities of Odessa and Midland, located in the Permian Basin, the largest single source of oil and gas deposits in the United States. The "Petroplex" produces one-fourth of the nation's natural gas. The area has attracted new investment from oil and gas, and specialized tool manufacturers. Odessa has several industrial parks containing more than 500 acres (203 hectares) of available land.

On the Rio Grande across from Ciudad Juarez in Mexico, El Paso (population 583,000) is the largest city in western Texas. Economic development leaders have targeted plastics, metals, medical supplies, defense and back-office facilities for area growth. "We've had some nice relocations and expansions over the past two years," says A. F. "Tom" Thomas, senior vice president of economic development, Great-er El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

For instance, Boeing has expanded its defense-related manufacturing plant from 200 to 1,200 employees in the past two years. "As word spreads that Boeing is experiencing good luck in El Paso, that will influence other defense contractors," says A. J. Evalds, general manager of the plant. "This facility has delivered impressive results, including 100 percent on-time deliveries and under-budget cost performances."

v Home Products International opened a 400,000-sq.-ft. (37,161-sq.-m.) manufacturing and distribution center with 300 employees last year. Home Products is a major manufacturer of ironing boards and other plastic consumer products.

El Paso is also attracting major call centers. Brylane opened an 850-employee center serving U.S. catalog companies last fall, as did EchoStar Satellite Corp. (2,000 employees) and State Farm (500 employees). "Even though our unemployment rate has fallen from 12 percent in 1995 to 8.5 percent now, we still have lots of folks available," says Thomas.