It would have the footprint of about two Lakeline Malls
By Justin Sayers – Senior Staff Writer, Austin Business Journal
Jul 10, 2024
About a year after a key Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. supplier signed a memorandum of understanding to build a massive technology-oriented business park in Taylor, the Korean company has released more details about what it has planned for the 212-acre campus.
Representatives for iMarket America Inc. — which has also signed a lease to establish its U.S. headquarters at a small office in Round Rock, and is a subsidiary of iMarket Korea Inc. — revealed during a July 9 Taylor Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that the project will include more than 2.2 million square feet of industrial space for manufacturing, warehousing and research-and-design, as well as commercial space for retailers, restaurants and support services.
The project, which is being called the Taylor Technology Park, also will have communal areas for employees. It’s pegged to rise northeast of the intersection of Carlos G. Parker Boulevard Southeast and Farm to Market Road 112.
iMarket Korea was founded in 2000 by affiliates of Samsung Group. The company boasts annual sales of about $2.3 billion U.S. dollars as a leading player in the industrial business-to-business e-commerce market of industrial materials, primarily serving Samsung and other South Korean enterprises. iMarket America was established in 2012 and provides specialized maintenance, repair and operations services to Samsung’s existing operations in North Austin.
In July 2023, after local economic development officials visited South Korea, iMarket Korea inked a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the city of Taylor, officials said after the trip, and the company later purchased the 212 acres east of Taylor. The company in February signed a lease for a 2,300-square-foot office at 810 Hesters Crossing Road in The Summit at La Frontera in Round Rock that will serve as its U.S. headquarters.
“We’re very excited about this project partially because iMarket is such a partner to Samsung,” said Ethan Harwell, a planning analyst with Kimley-Horn and Associates, who represented the company during the meeting. “They are a subsidiary of Samsung, one of their primary suppliers and a partner in a variety of ways.”
iMarket’s plans for Taylor are part of a continuing migration of companies within the semiconductor industry to the region, spurred by the construction of the massive Samsung factory in Taylor. It was recently announced that the South Korea-based electronics giant will receive $6.4 billion through the federal CHIPS and Science Act, which supports the company’s plan to to widen its investment in Central Texas to $45 billion.
Other companies known to be expanding in the area include Wonik Materials North America LLC in Manor; Soulbrain Holdings Co. Ltd., HTNS America Inc. and ENC Inc. in Taylor; MSS International and KoMiCo Technology Inc. in Round Rock; Fine Semitech Corp. in Hutto; EcoMicron Inc. and Hanyang Eng USA Inc. in Cedar Park; LS Electric Co. Ltd. in Bastrop; and MGC Pure Chemicals America Inc. in Killeen.
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