Bexar County officials are luring a European manufacturer to the county’s southeast corner with a tax incentive package that could be worth $2.2 million.
ECOR Global is planning to invest $160 million and create 150 jobs at a site just outside of Elmendorf. Bexar County Commissioners recently approved a 10-year, 50% abatement on county ad valorem taxes if the company meets those investment goals.
The tax abatements apply to a 63-acre site located at the intersection of Old Corpus Christi and Gillette roads that ECOR is considering for its facility.
ECOR produces plywood-like panels called ECOR-Ply using recycled agricultural and paper waste, like corn stalks or cardboard. The panels can be used for flooring, furniture and packaging, according to a brochure on the company’s website.
The tax abatements start in 2028 and the company would have to begin construction by May 30 of that year, according to its agreement with the county. ECOR must submit reports twice a year showing it’s meeting the tax abatement requirements during the 10-year period.
One of those requirements is for ECOR to hire 150 workers at a minimum wage of at least $16.20 or $33,696 a year, not including benefits. At least a quarter of those workers must be Bexar County residents.
In a 2023 application for Bexar County incentives, ECOR officials said the projected annual salary for workers at the new factory is $56,000 a year, with 120 employees earning between $53,400 and $80,099 a year; 20 employees would make between $80,100 and $98,789 annually and 10 would make more than $104,130 annually.
According to that application, benefits would include health insurance packages with 75% contributions from employers after the first year, two weeks of paid time off, five sick days and a 401K program.
The tax abatement zone is just under 63 acres.
The facility would require 35 acres and include a 50,000-square-foot and 200,000-square-foot building for manufacturing and four more 50,000-square-foot buildings for materials storage, according to a project overview from 2024.
County Communications Specialist Nicole Galindo said construction could take around 24 months. The South Texas ECOR plant would serve existing ECOR customers in Waco and in Monterrey, Mexico.
Galindo added that the $2.2 million valuation of the incentives is an estimate. The value of the incentive depends on ECOR’s investments.
Negotiations with the company started in 2025, when Bexar County Commissioners approved the framework for the tax abatements.
