Lockhart's Food Manufacturing Boom: Inside a Texas Town's Quiet Industrial Surge

• Ziegenfelder and RealCold, both announced before she arrived, are now in what she calls "the fleshing out of that project, the growing of the jobs."
• Hill Country Foodworks expanded into a newly built building, then came back for a second incentive to help buy an onion slicing machine.
• Mill Scale, a Lockhart metalworking business, is another local expansion she counts among her recent wins.
• A Titan-owned site, where she says the EDC has shown a number of projects.

"Most of my most recent wins are really coming from local. They're expanding," Malish says. Helping existing companies grow, she adds, is also a good story to share with new companies looking at Lockhart, because those local businesses are her customers too.

Lockhart is also a Film Friendly Texas certified community, one the Texas Film Commission highlights as the filming location for HBO's The Leftovers, and was named a Music Friendly Texas certified community. Malish says the certification tells productions, "we're willing to work with you, we're willing to assist you and make your film shoot go easy." Filming now runs through the city's new tourism department, and she's glad to see local restaurants picking up catering work from productions.

Regional cooperation is a big part of the story. Malish says the old siloed mindset has given way to a shared view across the area, because a project that lands nearby still shapes Lockhart's workforce, schools and CTE programs. "A win for the region is really a win for me and the city," she says. Communities refer prospects to one another based on their strengths, and they've teamed up on job fairs. "We don't have empty buildings, right? ... We have land though," Malish explains, so when a prospect needs land, "Jennifer from Buda" can say, "we'll call Holly."

Workforce development rounds out the conversation. McKenzie applauds the teachers and career and technical education (CTE) programs that show students the manufacturing careers in their own backyard. Malish describes a Tesla manufacturing development program Lockhart works on through the Boys & Girls Club, which pairs a social skills class with help removing barriers such as transportation, clothing and resume building, then moves participants through paid training at Austin Community College and into Tesla's interview process.

Malish, a Texas State University graduate, came to economic development by way of an aircraft parts manufacturer, the San Antonio Chamber and the New Braunfels Chamber. When a tourism director she ran into at Target described an economic development coordinator job to her as sales and marketing, she remembers thinking, "I know what that is."

Watch and listen: the full episode is on The Building Texas Show episode page and on YouTube.

About The Building Texas Show

The Building Texas Show, hosted by Justin McKenzie, tells the stories of the founders, community leaders and projects shaping Texas, from economic development and small business to conservation and education. New episodes publish weekly on YouTube and all major podcast platforms, with highlights on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn at @thebuildingtexasshow. Watch, listen and subscribe at www.buildingtexasshow.com and https://www.youtube.com/@thebuildingtexasshow.