It was recently announced that Stanley Black & Decker will be building a new, 425,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. Construction is slated to begin later this year for a plant that will create 500 jobs. The new facility is expected to open in 2020.
The company was also considering a site in Ohio, but a 40% tax abatement for the $50 million project helped seal the deal for Fort Worth. The proximity to a recently announced, one-million-square-foot distribution center in nearby Northlake may have also been a factor.
The property tax abatement is scheduled to last for five years and could equal $80 million. Although the exact language is still being finalized, city officials are reportedly expecting a return on the deal in about two years.
The plant will manufacture a wide range of Craftsman mechanics tools, which Stanley Black & Decker purchased in 2017. According to the company, that brand is on pace to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2021.
The Fort Worth facility is expected to be a flagship of sorts for Stanley’s Industry 4.0 “smart factory” initiative. The plant will utilize an in-house team focused on accelerating the adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies and programs. Stanley Black & Decker currently operates 30 manufacturing facilities in the United States, with more than 100 production sites worldwide.