(Seguin) — The newest member of Seguin’s manufacturing community is officially in operation.
Aceroteca Metals, L-L-C has opened its new 59,000 square foot metal service center. The plant is located at the corner of Heideke and Seidemann Streets.
The company initially broke ground on the 23-acre site just across from Minigrip in June 2023.
Company President Hector Morales says that with company origins in Mexico, this first U.S.-based facility will serve as a service center and as a trader to provide clients with steel of origin, making the product market even more competitive. He says that as a leader in the steel industry, the company’s operation works to commercialize flat steel and metal goods into a wide range of shapes and sizes.
“Now, we are ready to start operating. We are going to be able to process steel sheets. Our main product is steel coils. We can do galvanized steel coils, hot (rolled) pickled & oil all these products coming in the coil form and then we cut them up into sheets or (other product). So basically, that’s our main objective is to get to the mail fabricators, the HVAC industry – you can operate on a lot of different industries that need these products and right now, they need to bring them all the way from Houston or Dallas and so we are going to be local. We are going to be close to everyone here,” said Morales.
In fact, Morales says the city’s strategic location within South-Central Texas was a huge factor in deciding to build in Seguin.
“I think that it’s very important – Monterrey has also been a power house for Mexico and together with the area of San Antonio and Houston, I think, there’s a lot more business potential and capacities between Monterrey, San Antonio and Houston, and that triangle or even Austin if you want – that area is going to bring more business than all the triangles that we normally talk about which is Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and so for me, I think there’s more good business potential going to the South,” said Morales.
The Seguin Economic Development Corporation reportedly worked with Greater:SATX, a regional economic development organization, to help locate Aceroteca to Seguin. Greater:SATX first started working with the company through the International Business Development Center (IBDC).The IBDC functions as a soft landing for foreign businesses looking to expand into the U.S. market in the San Antonio region.
SEDC executive director Josh Schneuker says plenty of effort has been put into this project – a project that will only add to the intensity of the city’s manufacturing community in this region.
“There’s a lot of companies that are working metal fabrication and those types of processes and this facility really aligns so well with our manufacturing base here in Seguin, so the hope is that we are able to connect with Aceroteca with a lot of our local manufacturers and manufacturers from across the region that rely on sheet metal and sourcing that material much closer as opposed to having to go far outside the market to do that. So, this is a big project for us and a big deal for us because it’s adding that resiliency, I think to our local area in terms of supporting our manufacturers and allowing everybody to be successful,” said Schneuker.
Responsible for overseeing the local plant is Jim Conn, the plant’s chief executive officer. Conn says the manufacturer is not only committed to being a good neighbor but also wants to showcase the benefits of tapping into one of the most rapidly growing labor markets in the United States.
“The hope is that we continue to get the support from the community. They’ve really embraced this since we’ve been here. It’s been really fantastic. In addition to that, we are really looking forward to partnering with our sister plant in Mexico to kind of bring together the border operations. We’ve got a lot of opportunity along the border in South Central Texas so we kind of feel like Seguin is really the gateway to Mexico for us so really excited to be here,” said Conn.
Automated systems and highly skilled employees are said to be crucial for the facility’s operation. Currently, there are 16 employees. Plant officials say they hope to double the number of employees in the future.
Company officials and regional partners on Friday gathered with local officials for a special lunch and tour of the new facility.
The project represents a capital investment of more than $10 million.
