Ground broken on Elgin business park; $12 million facility first to move in
ELGIN, Texas (KXAN) — Thursday morning, a ceremonial groundbreaking for Carr Lane Manufacturing's production facility marked the first business to move into the city's developing business park and the company's largest single investment in its history.
Carr Lane Manufacturing has been in operation since 1952 with facilities in St. Louis, Missouri, and Austin. The family-owned company makes equipment parts often used in aerospace, agriculture, welding fabrication and other fields.
This new facility is roughly 25 miles east of Austin and will be more than 50,000 square feet.
The new site is an effort to have more space for production and to eliminate the commute to and from Austin for employees, said Keri Westland, chief administrative officer for Carr Lane.
"We've been in Austin for over 40 years, but this gives us an opportunity to design a facility that will best meet the needs not only of our customers but also of our employees moving forward," said Westland.
The 70 or so employees at the business's current Austin facility will be brought over to this new facility once it is complete.
Elgin Mayor Theresa McShan said the business park will provide job opportunities for the people already living or moving to Elgin.
She said booming housing developments are a good sign Elgin's workforce will only get stronger in the coming years.
The establishment of the business park is also redefining Elgin's reputation of being a "bedroom community," said McShan.
"We can be able to train our students coming out of school with ACC, and we can have our very own workforce here," said McShan.
The Carr Lane Manufacturing facility is expected to be complete by the summer of 2023.