ORANGE COUNTY, Texas — New details are emerging about the $40 million industrial project that is expected to bring dozens of permanent and contract jobs to Orange County.
Optimus Steel, which is headquartered in Beaumont, is on the docket with the Orange County commissioners' court December 22 to discuss an abatement agreement.
Editor's Note: The video above is from a story on Nov. 9 before the company's name emerged
According to the commissioners court meeting notice, Optimus Steel's project would accommodate a new steel wire product line.
On Tuesday, Orange County commissioners voted unanimously to establish a reinvestment zone along nearly 500 acres off Old Highway 90 near Rose City. The zone is near existing railroad tracks that would be key to shipping the new product around the country.
"It's not your typical oil and gas project that Southeast Texas is really built on. It's dependent on that but it's not your typical project," Orange County Economic Development Corporation executive director Jessica Hill said.
The project would be located in Orange County commissioner Robert Viator's precinct.
"It comes with very little burden on the country as far as infrastructure, and I think if we can end up getting this expansion it will help out the whole community," Viator told 12News before the vote on the reinvestment zone.
While Orange County is a great fit for this project, it is not the only area eyeing luring Optimus Steel with lucrative tax incentives.
Optimus Steel produces "a wide range of high-quality Wire Rods, Coiled Rebar, and Billets," according to their website.
The company has terminals in Ohio and Illinois using BNSF, Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific rail services.
