Aerospace Manufacturer Begins Work on Base at Kerrville Airport Commerce Park

Oct. 26—KERRVILLE — Kerrville's aerospace heritage deepens as North Dakota-based manufacturer Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing begins renovation of a 40,000-square-foot facility to be its Hill Country home.

It's a "game-changing project," said Gilberto Salinas, executive director of the Kerr Economic Development Council.

A fact sheet from the KEDC stated the manufacturer will create "400 direct jobs, 68 indirect and 92 induced jobs with an average hourly wage rate of $20.47 with full benefits, including retirement."

"This is our Toyota," Salinas said. "This is Austin's Tesla. This is Brownsville's SpaceX."

KMM produces commercial and military cables, circuit card assembly and fiber optic bundles for various aerospace companies, and its renovation at Kerrville Airport Commerce Park is officially underway, the company announced in a news release. No new ground will be broken for the company's move, Salinas said.

The company aims for 400 permanent jobs "over the next 10 to 20 years," Salinas said. The permanence of those 400 jobs led to the Kerr EDC favoring KMM's proposal over other prospects offering jobs that eventually could "dissipate."

KMM arrived in Kerrville in December 2021 and created 70 permanent jobs since then, Salinas said.

The manufacturer is a direct supplier to aerospace giants Boeing, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, Salinas said, and will draw subcontractors to the area.

"I like to say that big fish draw other fish," Salinas said.

KMM is one step in the county's vision for economic growth, Salinas said

Kerrville and surrounding Kerr County are no strangers to aviation. They've hosted several manufacturers and aircraft-related companies for decades while continually fostering "aerospace and aviation clusters," Salinas said.

Longtime resident Mooney International Corp., founded in 1929, shuttered operations in 2019, purging the 60 jobs remaining from its turbulent final years. Gulf Avionics moved into the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport in 2021, expecting to create over 50 jobs in five years.

"Within a one-hour flight of Kerrville are more than 1,500 aircraft owners and operators, which is up to five times the same market breakdown for cities of comparable size to Kerrville," the release said.

The Kerr EDC described Kerrville as a "stone's throw away from the burgeoning growth of the Austin- San Antonio economic corridor."

The relationship between Kerrville and KMM will be symbiotic, Salinas said, as the company needed to look outside of its native North Dakota to expand its workforce.

Local school districts already offer aviation and manufacturing programs and are working with KMM to establish a "talent pipeline," allowing high school seniors and graduates to enter something akin to an internship, Salinas said.

Salinas said Kerrville will see the results of KMM's arrival in five to 10 years, comparing it to the companies flocking to San Antonio and Austin in Toyota's and Tesla's wakes, respectively.

"Economic development is a long, never-ending game," Salinas said.

[email protected]

___

Visit the San Antonio Express-News at www.mysanantonio.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.