A solar industry parts manufacturer that recently leased 82,000 square feet inGeorgetown is aiming to ramp up to 200 employees by April. It further cementsthe city far north of Austin as a manufacturing hub.
Protec PV Inc. – which is registered in Delaware but has an Austin office – is hiring to reach as many as 50 people in the next six weeks as it occupies space at3000 I-35 Northbound for its new headquarters. The facility is at Berry Creek Business Park. The company makes advanced encapsulants that are used to protect solar panels and is part of the wave of green manufacturing in the U.S.
CEO Luke Strzegowski said the solar industry is booming for a variety of reasons. But the biggest is just the sheer demand for electricity – that's not only for data centers, but also pretty much anything that requires power, like electric vehicles or even heaters – and the reliance on solar to fill it.
Protec is "coming along to support them," Strzegowski said. The company builds encapsulants that are used to hold panels together, protect solar cells and lessen impact resistance. He said it's a technology that applies across any industry that uses solar power. He said he couldn't share any of his customers, but the company works with all of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the U.S. – especially ones with a presence in Texas.
"The growth in Texas is really something to see," Strzegowski said, referencing even projects like Blue Origin Enterprises LP in nearby Hutto that rely on solar power. "You don't realize how much is going on in Texas unless you're part of this industry. It's just really impressive to see all of the growth and all of the people that are coming in and doing the different components and whatnot. We're just really excited to be part of that growth going on here."
The company looked around various states before squaring in on Texas because of the growing solar manufacturing ecosystem that has suppliers nearby, he said. But Protec homed in on Georgetown specifically because of its diverse work force that could fill high-tech engineering and science jobs, along with access to electricity, as other areas of Texas promised a six-month ramp that would not work on their quick timelines. Plus, the cooperation of utility, economic development and other officials.
"It just seems like an area where everybody is going out of their way to help people like us, manufacturers, set up shop. Other areas we've looked, people are happy just having warehousing kind-of jobs. Okay, but that's not what we do,"Strzegowski said.
Strzegowski said the first pieces of equipment are in the process of being delivered. He thinks the company will have about 40 to 50 people in the next six weeks, and plans to reach around 120 people in January. On that timeline, headcount would hit 200 by the end of April.
He admitted hiring at that rate is going to be a challenge. What the company does is unique and niche, so there are not a lot of people that are familiar with the equipment that they can tap into compared to other areas of the country like the Midwest.
"One of our things will just be trying to identify people who we think can learn the job, and we can work with them to get the skills they need," Strzegowski said.
Protec will add to a continued wave of manufacturers setting up shop or expanding in Georgetown, about 30 miles north of Austin, with a population around 107,000 people. Others that have relocated to the city or are expanding within it include TSS Inc. , Vertiv Holdings Co. , Aalo Atomics , Flex Ltd. , BaerManufacturing Inc. , Schunk Xycarb Technology Inc. , Amazon.com Inc. , ZTSystems , Pegatron Corp. and Compal Electronics Inc.
Georgetown economic development director Cameron Goodman said Protec adds to a "growing cluster of companies here that are supporting energy-related infrastructure" and "further cements Georgetown as a place where innovative energy infrastructure manufacturers can grow and succeed."
Berry Creek Business Park was developed by Houston-based Fidelis. The 521,000-square-foot project has been years in the making, and recently inked its first tenant in USA Packaging LLC , a Round Rock-based food packaging maker. But the park is now fully leased after also adding TSS Inc.
CBRE Inc.'s Jay Austin and Jake Frickenschmidt handle leasing at Berry Creek Business Park.
