High-Tech Firm
Highlights Gulf Projects

Ocean access decided the issue when Cabett Subsea, a manufacturer of sub-sea control cable for oil production, started looking for a new home for its headquarters and manufacturing operation. Located in Sugarland, just south of Houston, Cabett needed to be closer to the sea. The company wound up building its 85,000-sq.-ft. (7,900-sq.-m.) facility at Port Freeport, just three miles from open ocean.
        "Freeport was interesting to us because it's a deep water port," says Tim Wooters, general manager at the facility. "We can get all offshore construction vessels in here and that's one thing our competitors don't have."
        Locating in a foreign-trade zone, which assesses no duty on products re-exported, was a plus, too, Wooters says. Cabett exports a lot of materials to make its products.
        Cabett's undersea cables are made of stainless steel tubing and can incorporate electrical wiring or fiber optics. They can range in length from two to 80 miles (3.2 to 129 km.) and can weigh up to 80,000 pounds (36,320 kg.). Cabett began operations over the July 4 weekend. The company employs 10 and expects to double its work force within a year.
        Corpus Christi has enjoyed a stellar two-year run, with about 10,000 jobs created in that span. While most have come through the expansion route, the Gulf Coast city has seen some significant relocation activity, mostly involving the offshore oil industry and call centers. In nearby Robson, Tex-Wave Industries plans to open a $4.5 million galvanizing plant, which will employ 25.