Seguin Economic Development Corporation Receives the 2023 Community in Economic Development Award (CEDA) for Transferability

SEGUIN, TX – The Seguin Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) is the 2023 recipient of Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) Community Economic Development Award (CEDA) in the Transferability Category. The SEDC earned this recognition for the successful recruitment of Maruichi Stainless Tube Texas into the Rio Nogales Industrial Park in Seguin. 

In the second half of 2022, the SEDC team worked aggressively on the negotiation and finalization of the successful recruitment of Maruichi to Seguin; however, the genesis of the project can be traced back to 2014. Between 2014 and 2019, investments in infrastructure by the City of Seguin and the SEDC ensured that the Rio Nogales Industrial Park had access to industrial grade electric, water, and wastewater utilities, regional detention to maximize developable land, and immediate access to Interstate 10 via 8th Street. Having a shovel-ready site immediately available was key in the recruitment of the Maruichi project. 
Upon completion of construction, the project will represent a total capital investment of at least $75 million and will result in the creation of at least 106 new jobs over a two-year ramp-up period. The creation of jobs and capital from this project will have far-reaching economic impacts on the city, region, state and will position the companies to be more competitive on a global level. 

“Our Community Economic Development Award is one of the ways in which our organization honors the excellent work done by our communities, their leaders, and their economic development professionals,” noted Ray Dunlap, 2023 Board Chair of the Texas Economic Development Council. “Each community nominated achieved excellence in economic development and substantially improved the economic base of their respective regions. The recipient communities in each population category were recognized for extraordinary accomplishments in meeting the criteria set forth in the nomination process.”

This is the second time that the SEDC has received the CEDA in less than five years. The previous award was received in 2020 for the recruitment of Teijin Automotive Technologies and United Alloy, LLC.

“The momentum that has been created over the past couple of years by being creative, looking for solutions and being customer-service oriented, all of those things have come together to bring economic development opportunities to the City of Seguin,” said City Manager Steve Parker. “There are a lot of things that play into it, it’s the incentives, quality of life, workforce, but it’s also a community that’s all working together to make sure that all these things are possible and that we all have the same vision. We know we’re going to grow; we want to grow smart, and we want to grow fast. I am so excited about what has already happened here, but also the potential of the future.”

The Community Economic Development Award program recognizes exceptional contributions of TEDC member cities toward the economic vitality of their communities and the state of Texas through creativity, leadership, and partnership in the achievement of business retention, business recruitment and community improvement.

“I always like to say that economic development is a team sport, so we really couldn’t have recruited Maruichi without the support of our partners in economic development,” said SEDC Executive Director Josh Schneuker. “All of our partners coming together helped to really push everything over the goal line and really helped our community to be successful in the recruitment of this company to Seguin.”

The CEDA committee received twenty-four applications this year. Nominees were judged on five criteria: innovativeness, transferability, community commitment and leverage, measured objectives, and secondary benefits.

Communities nominated included: Population Less than 10,000 – Brookshire, Hillsboro, Kaufman, Lamesa and Lorena. Population 10,001 to 20,000 – Calhoun County, El Campo, Granbury, Mount Pleasant, Terrell and Tomball. Population 20,001 to 50,000 – Boerne/Kendall County, Celina, Fate, Greenville, Lancaster, Seguin, Sherman, Stephenville and The Colony. Population 50,001 to 100,000 – Cedar Park, Georgetown, Missouri City, San Angelo, Orange County and Pharr. Population 100,001 to 250,000 – Allen, Mesquite, Sugar Land and Abilene. Population 250,001 and Above – Austin, Waco/McLennan County, Corpus Christi and Lubbock.

The 2023 CEDA recipients in population categories are: 
Population Less than 10,000: Lorena Economic Development Corporation 
Population 10,001 to 20,000: Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation 
Population 20,001 to 50,000: Sherman Economic Development Corporation 
Population 50,001 to 100,000: Orange County Economic Development Corporation 
Population 100,001 to 250,000: Development Corporation of Abilene 
Population 250,001 and Above: Lubbock Economic Development Alliance

Innovativeness: Allen Economic Development Corporation 
Transferability: Seguin Economic Development Corporation 
Community Commitment and Leverage: Calhoun County 
Measured Objectives: City of Waco and McLennan County 
Secondary Benefits: Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation

The awards were presented at the Award Luncheon at the TEDC’s 2023 Annual Conference on Thursday, October 12th, 2023, in Houston Texas.

You can follow the Seguin Economic Development Corporation on the SEDC’s Facebook Page at facebook.com/seguinedc and on Twitter at twitter.com/SeguinEDC.

About The Seguin Economic Development Corporation
The Seguin Economic Development Corporation was created in 1994 as a type “4A” Corporation under state law. Seguin Economic Development has worked to promote Seguin as a premiere destination for businesses looking to expand or relocate. Voter created, SEDC receives a portion of Seguin’s sales tax to market Seguin and provides incentives to industries such as manufacturing, biotechnical, distribution, energy and technology. SEDC works with existing companies in Seguin and new businesses that are looking to expand their operations.

About the Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) 
The Texas Economic Development Council (TEDC) is an Austin-based, statewide, non-profit professional association dedicated to the development of economic and employment opportunities in Texas. The TEDC provides information, education, and legislative services to its members to foster the expansion of existing businesses, the location of new firms and the development of strategies that promote a positive business climate in Texas. With 1,000 members, the TEDC is the largest state economic development association in the nation.