In a big gain for both Texas and the U.S. Motorola Mobility (IW 1000/334) announced yesterday that it will produce its new flagship device, Moto X, in Fort Worth, Texas.
The location was a perfect fit as it was recently unoccupied by Nokia.
“It was a great facility in an ideal location,” said Will Moss, a spokesman for Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google.
The new facility will employ 2,000 to design, engineer and assemble the phones.
"Motorola Mobility's decision to manufacture its new smartphone and create thousands of new jobs in Texas is great news for our growing state,“ said Texas Governor Rick Perry.
“Our strong, healthy economy, built on a foundation of low taxes, smart regulation, fair legal system and a skilled workforce is attracting companies from across the country and around the world that want to be a part of the rising Texas success story," Perry added.
The opening of the plant is a signficant move in the trend to bring manufacturing back to the U.S.
“Motorola and Google wouldn’t be opening a large new smartphone factory in Texas if they didn’t think they could turn a profit," said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing.
"The announcement is fresh evidence that investing in American manufacturing makes smart business sense," Paul added. " Still, this is hardly a trend. But, the fact that Apple, Lenovo, Google, and Motorola are all making significant investments in manufacturing means that offshoring is no longer the only option.
"I also think this announcement shows the power of “Made in America.” There is no hotter slogan on the market today.”
