325,000-SF Mission factory draws incentive

MISSION – Royal Technologies has opened its $45 million, 325,000-sf factory on Trinity Rd. in the Mission Expressway Business Park. The Mission Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) has agreed to invest $2.7 million in the company.

Of the $2.7 million provided by the MEDC, $1.3 million will come from city coffers as a direct economic incentive, and $1.4 million is the value of tax abatements for the property, said MEDC CEO Alex Meade. The payments are to be spread over the course of eight years.

In 2013, Royal Technologies purchased Hi-Tech Plastics, an injection molding company that supplied parts to maquiladoras in Reynosa.

The new factory opened officially in July 2014, but has been operating in stages since April 2014, said plant manager Trung Nguyen. “In general, we make plastic cases for professional power tools, chair components for office furniture and interior pieces for automobiles,” said Nguyen.

About 50 machine operators and production supervisors were hired as part of the expansion so far, although up to 400 jobs are expected over the next few years.

Manufacturing in the Valley makes up only 5 percent of the industry, but it accounted for $3.7 million in exports for McAllen, according to the International Trade Commission in 2012.