The Wichita Falls City Council approved, on July 7, a push to be the home of a new Panda Biotech hemp processing facility, according to the Wichita Falls Times-Record-News.
Wichita Falls, Texas, is looking to attract the Dallas-based biotechnology firm in what would be the largest private investment in the city in decades. The city council approved the Wichita Falls Economic Development Corporation offering Panda Biotech a $2.8-million agreement which includes a $2-million five-year forgivable loan. The rest of the money in the deal would go toward incentives to hire the promised 50 employees and make infrastructure improvements in the city to facilitate shipping of material.
The proposed facility would be an investment of over $90 million to break down and process hemp stalks. The two decorticating machines the company will install in the location it chooses can process 10 tons of hemp stalks per hour, turning them into material that has many uses. The company can use a second “cottoning” process to make the material more suitable for fabric production.
After the 2018 Farm Bill was ratified, Panda took steps to help build the hemp production capacity of Texas, donating 60 tons of seed to Texas farmers. Along with the donation, the company requested that producers provide data on their crop to Texas A&M’s AgriLife program, which is studying the burgeoning industry.
“This information will help ensure the 2021 Texas industrial hemp harvest will achieve its full potential,” Dixie Carter, executive vice president of Panda Biotech, said.
The decorticating facility would be open with one machine some time in 2021, and the second machine would be operational in 2022. The facility will directly employee around 50 people with $5 million annual payroll.
Wichita Falls officials are also discussing potential tax incentives to increase the chance of Panda Biotech selecting the city for its facility, a decision which the company says will come down in the next few weeks.
