Wichita County amends incentive obligations with Panda Biotech

The Wichita County Commissioners Court on Tuesday amended an incentive agreement with Panda Biotech to give the hemp gin extended time to meet its obligations.

The gin announced in 2020 it planned to go into business in a former automotive plant north of Wichita Falls.

The county agreed in September 2020 to give the Dallas-based company a 70 percent break on its property tax for 10 years in exchange for meeting certain capital and employment goals.

County Judge Jim Johnson said Tuesday's action did not change the agreement but pushed forward the time frame.

“Due to the economic impact of COVID and other factors, those commitments weren’t able to be met,” Johnson said.

He said the amended agreement would push the dates ahead by three years.

“This starts the clock,” he said.

The amended agreement lowers the capital investment requirement from $55 million to $44 million but still calls for the hiring of 50 workers within five years.

Panda Biotech also received extensions from the City of Wichita Falls on incentive agreements.

Commissioner Barry Mahler praised the plant.

“It is state of the art, and it is well done,” he said.

Mahler predicted spin-off businesses will come to the area.

“We need to help these guys get this thing going,” he said.

Scott Evans, Panda’s chief operating officer, said the plant has been operating for about three months. He pointed out about 2,000 acres of hemp had been planted nearby in Oklahoma and another 2,400 acres had been planted on the Waggoner Ranch in North Texas.