Arizona

Sahuarita, AZ - The Town of Sahuarita’s economy is heavily dependent on the mining industry. The mining industry employed approximately 1,300 people and had a total impact of over 3,600 direct and indirect jobs in the region. In 2016, a local mining company announced a reduction in operations which would affect over 1,000 jobs and severely impact the mining dependent regional economy. In addition, 560 employees were laid off due to economic fluctuations which had a severe impact on the community. In response, the town recognized that it needs to diversify its economy and reduce its reliance on mining due to the cyclical nature of the industry.

In July 2017, EDA invested $3 million in Public Works funds to the Town of Sahuarita to construct a 32,000 square foot, multi-tenant manufacturing center that will provide the necessary infrastructure for the expansion and growth of an emerging technology cluster. The center’s amenities include private and shared office spaces, meeting and conference rooms, a manufacturing area, a warehouse, a dry and wet laboratory and loading dock space. Sahuarita Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Center (SAMTEC) will help further technological innovation and advanced manufacturing and increase the commercialization of developed products.

The EDA grant will help provide a flexible high technology space for new and expanding businesses to mitigate the impacts of recent local job losses in the mining industry. Several companies have expressed interest in locating in the SAMTEC. These include Hydronalix, a leading developer of technology products for maritime robotics and Control Vision, Inc., an optical and control systems company, among other prospective companies. It is anticipated that SAMTEC will create 75 new jobs, retain 31 jobs and leverage $500,000 in private investment. This will lead to the diversification of the regional economy while reducing reliance on the mining industry.