Undaunted by tariffs, Siemens celebrates opening of $190M electronics plant in Fort Worth
Siemens celebrated Thursday the opening of its $190 million manufacturing facility in south Fort Worth that will soon employ 800 people.
The 500,000-square-foot plant east of Interstate 35W near Everman produces electrical switchboards for data centers. The carbon-neutral facility cost $64 million to build, according to state records.
The Fort Worth facility has about 480 workers now, and Siemens plans to hire about 320 more by 2026. Full-time jobs at the manufacturing hub have average annual salaries of about $63,000. Fort Worth’s City Council approved a $6 million tax abatement for the project in 2023.
Siemens’ president and CEO, Roland Busch, said the facility provides crucial support for the country’s rapidly expanding technology infrastructure industry. He spoke Thursday at a ribbon cutting at the property on Harris Legacy Drive.
“The industrial tech sector is the basis to boost manufacturing in the United States, and there’s no company more prepared than Siemens to make this future a reality for customers, from small and medium-sized enterprises, to industrial giants,” Busch said.
The state of Texas is home to the third-most data centers in the country. The warehouses of servers are used to power AI, and Texas’ data center market is rapidly expanding. There are about 141 data centers in the Metroplex, including Meta’s $1 billion campus in far north Fort Worth.
Siemens, which is based in Germany, is “100% committed” to the U.S. economy, Busch said. The company is working toward its goal of building domestic supply chains to serve its American customers.
After Siemens’ first quarter earnings were released in mid-February, Busch told reporters the company is prepared to acclimate to new tariffs under President Trump’s administration.
Barry Powell, regional CEO of electrical products for Siemens Smart Infrastructure North America, said tariffs — or the threat of them — have not changed Siemens’ plans for the facility. He said most of the items produced at the Fort Worth site stay in the United States.
“Siemens is all for free trade,” Powell said. “We’ll adjust as business conditions merit, but we’re not changing anything in terms of manufacturing strategy, or the customer base at all.”
Powell said the company decided to expand in Texas because of the state’s rapid population growth and business-friendly policies.
The technology company also has manufacturing facilities in Grand Prairie and in Carrollton, which produce other kinds of electrical components.
Siemens operates around the globe, and the United States is one of its largest markets. The company’s revenue was over €75 billion for the 2024 fiscal year, equivalent to about $81 billion.
Fort Worth council member Chris Nettles, whose district includes the facility, said the project is advancing the city’s goals of creating jobs for residents in their communities.
Nettles said 1,000 jobs will be created in the south Fort Worth corridor in the next two years. He said living wages and local jobs, like those offered at Siemens, are key to defeating poverty.
Siemens isn’t the only company expanding along I-35W in south Fort Worth. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Continental Tire are building distribution centers in the area at Hillwood Development Co.’s Risinger/35 Logistics Park. Hillwood chairman Ross Perot Jr. told the Star-Telegram in August that his company is exploring additional opportunities for development in the area.
