Denton board backs incentive package for Panel Ray’s planned U.S. plant

The Economic Development Partnership Board voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend that the City Council approve an incentive agreement for Panel Ray, a subsidiary of Grupo Pro Max, to locate a manufacturing facility in Denton.

The recommendation covers a Chapter 380 incentive package that, according to the agenda and staff presentation, would include multi-year rebates on real and business personal property taxes, a job-based grant for qualifying positions and a one-time $50,000 relocation grant. Board members agreed to forward the item to the City Council; staff said the item would be presented to council on July 15 for final action.

Panel Ray, based in Monterrey, Mexico, seeks to establish its first U.S. joint-compound manufacturing facility in North Texas. "This is a true recruitment project," said Britney Saltillo, economic development staff member, explaining the lead came through the state economic development division and staff responded with a Denton site. Christina Davis, the project manager who handled the city's response, said the company is considering a 60,000-square-foot building for a phased launch and that phase 1 would operate initially on one shift and expand to three shifts over time.

Staff told the board the project would involve a capital investment of roughly $15 million, including an estimated $2.7 million in building improvements (patio, silos, electrical upgrades) and about $7 million in business personal property (machinery and specialized equipment). The company anticipates creating 20 new jobs; staff identified 11 of those as qualifying for the job-based grant and said the weighted average salary for qualifying positions is $72,733, above the city's current average wage of $65,651.

The staff presentation listed the recommended incentive structure as a 60% rebate on new real property taxes for five years, a 60% rebate on new business personal property for five years, a job-based grant tied to qualifying positions (staff noted the grant value up to $16,500 per qualifying job), and a $50,000 one-time relocation grant. Those measures produced a staff-estimated total incentive value described in the agenda materials as approximately $236,857; the staff recommendation slide presented to the board showed a total of $236,837. The board motion asked council to consider the incentive agreement "as presented" on the agenda.

Company representatives attended and answered technical questions about operations and permitting. Juan Carlos Ruiz, engineering manager for Panel Ray, said the project’s two silos would be about 10 meters (roughly 33 feet) tall. Christina Davis and company staff described the production process as enclosed: product is transferred by vacuum from trucks into silos and handled in closed systems to minimize dust and environmental release. Staff said they held a pre-application conference with city environmental services and that the company has been advised to coordinate with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for any required air permitting.

City staff presented an estimate of fiscal impact over a 10-year window: net benefits (revenues less incentives) to the city of about $617,000, to the county $241,000 and to the school district $612,000; staff calculated a payback period of about two years and a rate of return of about 3.8 percent. Staff also noted the property’s current taxable valuation and the anticipated increase after the investment.

Board discussion covered permitting risk, site location (an industrial area south of Airport Road near Shelby Lane and Dakota Lane), and job timing (year 1, year 2 and year 4 hires). After brief discussion, Lee Ramsey moved to recommend approval to the City Council and Leo Morales seconded. The motion carried with the board voting in favor and no recorded opposition.

Next steps: staff said that, if the board recommendation is approved by City Council, the city would finalize a Chapter 380 agreement and proceed with the permitting and site-improvement process. The city presentation noted the item will appear on the July 15 City Council agenda.

Votes at a glance: The board approved two procedural items earlier in the meeting (meeting minutes) and approved the Panel Ray incentive recommendation; the minutes approval and the Panel Ray recommendation were both carried by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

For transparency: the agenda item is listed as EDP 25-0018; the staff presentation cited Chapter 380 of the Texas Local Government Code as the enabling authority for the relocation and tax-incentive tools discussed.