Tenaris underway on $1B-plus Bay City facility

BAY CITY, MATAGORDA COUNTY – Tenaris has started construction on its $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion international manufacturing facility near Van Vleck. The project is expected to produce 600 permanent jobs, with an average salary of $66,000. The plant will manufacture seamless pipe.

Port Freeport has been designated as the new Tenaris plant’s main import facility. Officials estimate 1,800 jobs related to the plant will be created in Brazoria County alone.

“This is going to mean a huge housing and retail sales impact for Brazoria County,” said Robert Worley, president of the Economic Development Alliance for Brazoria County. “They’re projecting numbers as high as 50 to 60 percent of the plant’s employees to be living in our county.”

For Port Freeport, being named the plant’s main import facility translates to more than $1 million a year and almost 30 jobs once the plant is fully operational. Port Freeport’s deal with Tenaris means significant inbound and outbound shipping which equates to roughly 600,000 tons each year.

Construction is expected to be complete in mid-2016 with manufacturing actually starting when the finishing line is completed in mid-2015.

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