CIBOLO SEEING RIPPLE EFFECT

Aisin AW Co. plans to break ground on its future automatic transmission production plant in Cibolo on Nov. 4.

The first phase of the $400 million AW Texas Inc. project is expected to span roughly 500,000 square feet, and the company expects to create 900 jobs at full build-out. The commitment by Aisin is already drawing interest from potential investors.

“We have people looking at this now,” Cibolo Economic Development Corp. Director Mark Luft said.

That interest is coming from various potential investors, including those interested in developing housing and retail to support the growth of AW Texas’ workforce over the next five years. There is plenty of undeveloped real estate around the site. The AW Texas plant will be built on a 159-acre site on Bolton Road near Interstate 10 and the San Antonio Raceway.

Luft expects the development of the AW Texas campus will draw more interest.

“It’s definitely a catalyst,” he said.

The Aisin win is a result of a multicounty recruiting effort also involving municipal and state leaders. The Cibolo Economic Development Corp. and San Antonio Economic Development Foundation were also key players in courting Aisin AW.

“Aisin would have never made this decision without Toyota making this big investment in San Antonio,” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said, referencing Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas Inc.’s recent decision to invest more than $390 million in its San Antonio truck assembly plant.

Aisin AW employs more than 34,000 workers worldwide.