Industrial Electric Mfg. (IEM) plans to invest $200 million in a new electrical equipment manufacturing campus at Brooks in southeast San Antonio, creating up to 3,000 jobs by 2030.
The planned 1-million-square-foot facility will be developed in phases at Brooks City Base on San Antonio’s South Side. IEM expects the project to create jobs in manufacturing, engineering, logistics and corporate support as the campus expands.
IEM manufactures equipment used to distribute and control electricity inside large facilities. Its products include custom switchgear, switchboards, remote power panels and control systems serving data centers, hospitals, utilities and industrial customers.
The company announced the San Antonio investment on August 25, 2026, selecting Brooks for its latest major manufacturing expansion.
A Major New Manufacturing Campus for San Antonio
The planned facility will give IEM a significantly larger manufacturing presence in Texas while expanding its ability to produce electrical equipment for customers across North America.
The company has not yet released a detailed construction schedule. IEM expects to provide additional information on construction and hiring in the coming months.
The project is planned in phases, allowing the company to expand the campus as production and workforce requirements grow.
At full development, the facility could support up to 3,000 jobs, making the project one of the largest recent manufacturing job commitments in the San Antonio region.
IEM CEO Clayton Such said the company was excited to establish roots in San Antonio, pointing to the city’s workforce and infrastructure.
IEM’s planned campus is part of a broader manufacturing expansion underway across San Antonio. Toyota is nearing completion of its $531 million rear axle production plant at its South Side manufacturing campus, where the 500,000-square-foot facility is preparing for trial production in fall 2026. The project is part much larger Toyota expansion in SA. Toyota committed $3.6 billion in July 2026 to scale its operations, expanding manufacturing space by 2.5 million square feet, launching a second assembly line, and creating more than 2,000 jobs. The two projects serve different industries, but together they highlight the scale and diversity of San Antonio’s growing manufacturing base.
What IEM Will Manufacture
IEM’s products are part of the electrical infrastructure that moves and controls electricity inside large buildings and industrial facilities.
Switchgear helps protect and control electrical circuits. Switchboards distribute electricity to different parts of a facility, while remote power panels bring distribution closer to equipment and loads.
These systems are particularly important for electricity-intensive facilities such as data centers, hospitals and industrial plants.
The new San Antonio campus will expand IEM’s capacity to manufacture these systems while adding another large-scale production base to its North American network.
Demand for Electrical Infrastructure Is Growing
The investment comes as demand for electrical infrastructure continues to increase across the United States.
Data centers are one major source of that demand. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence computing is driving developers to build facilities that require large amounts of electrical capacity and sophisticated power-distribution systems.
Utilities, manufacturers, healthcare operators and other large electricity users are also investing in new facilities and expanding existing ones.
That broader construction activity is increasing demand for the equipment needed to distribute and control electricity once power reaches a facility.
IEM’s new campus will position the company to serve that growing market while increasing domestic manufacturing capacity.
San Antonio Wins the Project
IEM considered San Antonio against an out-of-state location before choosing Brooks for the new campus.
State and local economic development officials supported the project with financial incentives.
Texas committed a $3.36 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant tied to 448 of the planned positions. The jobs covered by the grant are expected to carry an average annual salary of about $53,000.
Bexar County also proposed a 10-year property tax abatement for the project, estimated at roughly $1.55 million.
The incentives helped strengthen San Antonio’s bid as IEM evaluated competing locations.
From Air Base to Manufacturing Center
The Brooks site has undergone a major transformation since its military era.
Brooks operated as an Air Force base for decades before the Air Force departed in 2011. The property had transitioned toward civilian redevelopment and became Brooks City Base, a mixed-use campus focused on education, healthcare, research, technology and business.
The site now hosts major institutional and commercial operations, including Texas A&M University-San Antonio and healthcare facilities.
IEM’s planned campus will add a large industrial manufacturing operation to that existing mix and further expand Brooks’ role as an employment center on San Antonio’s South Side.
IEM Expands Its Manufacturing Footprint
IEM has operated for more than 75 years and specializes in custom power-distribution and control systems.
The company has manufacturing operations across the United States and Canada and says it has more than $1 billion in annual sales and more than 10,000 commissioned projects.
IEM also says it has invested $300 million and added more than 3 million square feet of development and manufacturing space over the past five years.
The San Antonio project will add another 1 million square feet to that expanding footprint.
What Comes Next
The San Antonio campus remains in the planning and development stage, with construction and hiring timelines expected in the coming months.
IEM plans to develop the facility in phases as it establishes its new manufacturing operation.
The eventual 1-million-square-foot campus and up to 3,000 jobs would make the project a significant addition to San Antonio’s industrial base.
The investment also adds another major manufacturing project to a city that continues to attract large-scale industrial developments.
Toyota, for example, is nearing completion of its $531 million rear axle production plant at its San Antonio manufacturing campus, adding another major manufacturing operation to the city’s South Side.
IEM New San Antonio Electrical Equipment Manufacturing Campus: Factsheet
- Company: Industrial Electric Mfg. (IEM)
- Location: Brooks City Base, San Antonio, Texas
- Investment: $200 million
- Planned Facility Size: 1 million square feet
- Development: Phased
- Projected Jobs: Up to 3,000 by 2030
- Products: Switchgear, switchboards, remote power panels and control systems
- State Incentive: $3.36 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant tied to 448 jobs
- County Incentive: Proposed 10-year property tax abatement
- Announcement Date: August 25, 2026
- Construction Status: Planned; construction timeline not yet announced
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