Samsung supplier to build $175M plant in Taylor

TAYLOR, Texas (KXAN) — A major supplier for Samsung is now planning to build a new multi-million-dollar plant in Taylor, another boon for the burgeoning tech hub.

Soulbrain TX, LLC, a South Korean manufacturing company, announced it will invest $175 million into opening a phosphoric acid facility to help with Samsung’s nearby semiconductor fabrication plant in Taylor. The City of Taylor and the Taylor Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) reached an agreement with Soulbrain on this initial investment as well as the promise for the plant to create a minimum of 50 jobs, according to a news release.

“It’s really tremendous, and it really is the domino effect when you land a large project like Samsung, all the different suppliers that need to come around there,” said TEDC CEO Ben White on Wednesday.

The plant will be built at the sprawling RCR Taylor Logistics Park, located on FM 3349 in the east side of Taylor. If someone passed by now, they would see an area of the property used by Tesla to ship out its various electric cars via rail.

Soulbrain is also agreeing to making an annual civic donation of $25,000 per year, creating an internship for local high school students and joining the Taylor Chamber of Commerce, the city said.

City leaders added the company is considering a second phase to the project worth $400 million. In return, the city agreed to grant a 10-year, 25% tax abatement for each phase of construction.

“The city is going to receive 75% of the property taxes that we have not been receiving because there’s been zero development there,” White said. “Seventy-five percent of the taxes generated by that $175 million and that $400 million project over the next 10 years, so it’s a great windfall.”

He also told KXAN that construction on the new plant could begin as early as January next year.

New housing is already popping up close to where these large projects are happening in Taylor.

“We’re excited about new people coming in,” Christy Pick said. “The city of kind of having some growing pains.”

Pick, a lifelong Williamson County resident and a real estate agent at The Real Estate Social, said she’s seeing demand for homes and apartments outpace supply, and the plants are not even open yet.

“I just want Taylor to grow in the right way,” Pick said Wednesday. “I want to be a part of that. I want to be making sure that everyone is able to find somewhere to live.”

Outside of her office Wednesday near historic Second Street, crews worked in the heat to paint new striping for parking spots and crosswalks — a visible sign of the city trying to revitalize the old throughout town.

However, with so much new coming into the city, it’s only the beginning of more changes to come. City leaders hinted Wednesday announcements about more developments driven by Samsung are on the horizon.

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