A high-flying defense technology company could land at Alliance following an economic development agreement approved by the Fort Worth City Council Tuesday night.
Mach Industries, a company developing advanced unmanned aircraft systems, is considering locations for a manufacturing facility to produce its vehicles. Alliance Gateway 34, a 310,036-square-foot industrial building at Westport Parkway and Independence Parkway in Hillwood’s AllianceTexas development in Fort Worth, is under consideration.
A June 23 presentation at a council work session from Jessica Rogers, head of the Fort Worth Economic Development Department, indicated the company would make a minimum capital investment of $74 million. Of that, $6 million will go to real property construction costs, and the remaining in office and equipment. Mach Industries will have a goal of spending 30% of that office and equipment budget with small businesses.
Mach Industries designs and builds aerospace and defense hardware, including unmanned aircraft, long-range munitions and alternative propulsion systems.
The city council approved a package of up to $4.5 million in tax breaks and grants over a 10-year period.
A summary of Fort Worth economic incentives for Mach Industries. (Courtesy | City of Fort Worth)
To receive the full incentive, the company would be required to hire a minimum of 1,000 workers with a minimum average annual salary of $67,470. Mach Industries would need to maintain at least 600 jobs to receive any of the incentives on a prorated basis.
If more than 50% of the jobs at the plant pay less than $60,000 at any point during the agreement, the company would not receive any incentives, Rogers said.
As an aerospace and defense manufacturer, the company is one of the economic development department’s target industries, Rogers told council members at the session.
Last year, Gov. Greg Abbott designated Fort Worth as the aviation and defense capital of Texas. The area is home to more than 600 aerospace and defense-related companies, including major employers like Bell and Lockheed Martin.
Fort Worth is competing with several sites across the state and nation for the Mach Industries facility, according to city officials.
“The company has indicated that our ability to offer incentives and demonstrate local support has made Fort Worth the preferred location,” Rogers told council members in June.
Mach Industries expects to make its final decision on the location in the third quarter.
Based in Huntington Beach, California, the company has had an ascension as rapid as its vertical lift aircraft. It was founded in 2023 by then-19-year-old Ethan Thornton, who grew up in Boerne, after he dropped out of MIT. Earlier this year, the company raised $300 million in series C funding, giving it a $1.8 billion valuation.
Mach Industries’ products include Viper, a jet-powered vertical lift vehicle; Stratos, an airborne surveillance system; and Dart, a counter drone interceptor. The company has received several U.S. Department of Defense contracts, including one on June 16 from the U.S. Navy as part of a project to develop an innovative long-range strike drone.
Thornton told TechCrunch that Mach Industries would have four new production facilities by the end of 2026.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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