Luling, Texas, is best known for its annual Watermelon Thump, but the town is quietly positioning itself as a hub for advanced manufacturing. In a recent episode of The Building Texas Show, host Justin McKenzie spoke with Ari Arias, executive director of the Luling Economic Development Corporation (EDC), about how the community is preparing residents for a new wave of aerospace and testing jobs. The conversation, titled Is This the Best Paid Job Training in Texas Right Now?, highlights why this rural town’s workforce strategy matters far beyond its borders.
Arias, who joined the EDC in 2014, says aerospace is reshaping the local economy. X-Bow Systems, a solid rocket manufacturing company, is making Luling its primary site of operations and building up workforce and internship programs. A second company, Quantum Engineering, specializes in non-destructive testing (NDT) and plans five campuses on its 30 acres, with 300 to 400 new employees hoped for in three to five years. “We’re not just that little oil town we once were,” Arias says.
The implications for residents are significant. Arias’s workforce strategy starts in the schools. After noticing that career and technical education (CTE) advisory meetings had stopped, she reached out to the mayor and to David Smith, CTE director for Luling ISD, to bring them back. She now chairs the CTE advisory committee for Luling ISD. The EDC has also partnered with the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Texas on a seven-week Tesla career pathway program for residents ages 18 to 21, who are paid during on-the-job training and guaranteed a job if they want it; the program is entering its second year. Additionally, the EDC has begun exploring an NDT internship path with Quantum Engineering, with Texas State Technical College helping students advance through certification levels, and launched the Luling Investment for Tomorrow (LIFT) grant program for local businesses and small manufacturers.
Arias says the opportunity is about access as much as jobs. With X-Bow nearby, some residents “only have to go eight minutes up the road to go work every day.” She also fields steady inquiries from developers about retail sites and utilities, and points to about 500 homes planned north of town over the next couple of years. Growth, she says, has to fit the town. “We don’t want Luling to lose that small town feel, that downtown charm,” Arias says.
For other small communities, Luling’s approach offers a model: use local employers to drive training, involve schools early, and pay people while they learn. McKenzie urges travelers to get off the highway and walk Luling’s Main Street. Arias agrees that site selectors are taking notice: “Luling is on the map for sure.”
