Carrier commits $600M-plus to Fort Worth manufacturing center

By Amara Osei

Carrier Global will spend more than $600 million over the next three years on a new advanced manufacturing and engineering center in Fort Worth, Texas, the company announced.

The HVAC systems maker says the facility will be more than 1 million square feet and create 1,500 jobs. A Carrier spokesperson said Fort Worth approved $10.9 million in tax-abatement incentives over seven years under the Texas Enterprise Zone Program.

What will Carrier build?

Carrier will use the Fort Worth site to expand its U.S. capacity for advanced thermal management systems, including air- and water-cooled commercial chillers, according to the company’s news release. The facility is scheduled to open next year.

Carrier said the project will support “record backlog levels driven by strong demand across data centers, healthcare, education, industrial markets and other key verticals.”

Chairman and CEO David Gitlin said: “This investment reflects the strong demand we are securing for high-performance, energy-efficient solutions and underscores our confidence in the future of American manufacturing.” He added: “By expanding our U.S. manufacturing and engineering footprint, we are increasing capacity for critical technologies, strengthening supply chain resilience and creating high-quality jobs.”

What did Fort Worth approve?

At an Aug. 25 city council work session, convened before Carrier had selected its final location, Fort Worth assistant economic development director Brianna Brown said the project would be “the largest single facility investment Carrier has ever made.”

To receive the city’s incentives, Carrier made four commitments, according to Brown:

• A minimum capital investment of $433.8 million by Dec. 31, 2028, including $36 million in real-property construction costs and $397.8 million in business personal property costs.
• A minimum of 495 new full-time jobs by Dec. 31, 2029, with a minimum average salary of $75,000.
• $261.7 million in estimated added payroll over seven years.
• A small-business goal equal to 30% of real-property improvement costs.

The thresholds have dates and arithmetic. Carrier’s overall investment and employment commitments exceed the minimums outlined at the Aug. 25 work session, according to a company spokesperson.

A Fort Worth communications department spokesperson declined to answer questions about the facility or any incentives the state or city may have provided. A Carrier spokesperson separately said the city approved the $10.9 million package, which is tied to capital-investment and hiring targets.

The Texas Enterprise Zone Program is designed to encourage private investment and job creation in economically distressed areas of the state, according to the spokesperson.

Why did Fort Worth win the site?

Carrier chose Fort Worth “because of its highly skilled workforce, strong manufacturing base and strategic location that will support the facility’s long-term growth and success,” the spokesperson said.

Brown said Carrier had “expressed a commitment” to trying to recruit local suppliers for the facility. “There’s potential for quite a bit of upside with this project,” she said.

Brown also said Carrier falls within a “target industry area.” She said the facility could enhance Fort Worth’s manufacturing cluster and strengthen its energy and technology industries. Fort Worth competed with locations in three other states for the project.

How does this fit Carrier’s U.S. expansion?

Carrier has been expanding its U.S. manufacturing presence through a $1 billion commitment announced last year. The company said those funds were slated for expansions at existing facilities and a new plant producing components for heat pumps and battery assemblies.

Earlier this year, Carrier announced a workforce program to hire 1,000 U.S. service technicians and train more than 100,000 Carrier and Carrier partner HVAC technicians within five years.

What do the latest figures show?

Carrier reported second-quarter net sales of $6.4 billion in July, up 4% year over year. Organic sales rose 3% over the same period. Operating profit fell 9% to $825 million.

Carrier said the operating-profit decline was driven primarily by the Climate Solutions Americas and Climate Solutions Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa segments.

The company’s third-quarter results are scheduled for release before the market opens on Oct. 29, providing the next dated measure of the demand behind the expansion.