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Gov. Rick Perry has announced the state is investing $1.8 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF) in CGI Group Inc. for the creation of the company’s new U.S. onshore delivery center in Belton. Contingent upon the completion of a local incentive agreement, this investment will create 350 new jobs and $7 million in capital investment.
“Employers from across the nation and around the world continue to look to Texas as the best state to do business thanks to our low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate, fair legal system and skilled workforce,” Gov. Perry said. “This TEF investment in CGI will create 350 jobs and millions in capital investment, strengthening the economy in Central Texas and creating a livelihood for hundreds of Texas families.”
“For more than 25 years in the State of Texas, CGI has been a trusted IT partner to public sector clients and some of the world’s largest corporations. We are proud to extend this partnership now with the City of Belton as the site of our newest IT Center of Excellence thanks to this TEF investment,” CGI U.S. President George Schindler said. “With a focus on recruiting veterans and military family members, this center will offer high-quality, onshore IT talent to our clients while providing good jobs to those who have served our nation so proudly.”
As one of the largest independent information technology firms in the world, CGI recognized industry’s role in fostering U.S. economic development, and pioneered a strategy to build full-service, IT centers of excellence based in rural America. The new state-of-the-art center in Belton will support CGI clients’ needs for software development, maintenance, and testing as well as network engineering, design, and data management support. Partnerships with Texas colleges and universities, including Texas A&M University Central Texas, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Temple College, will be key to recruiting skilled local talent.
“What an outstanding day for Belton, Texas, as we welcome CGI’s decision to bring 350 jobs to our community of 20,000 people,” Belton Mayor Jim Covington said. “Belton and TEF are investing in CGI, and CGI has chosen to invest in Belton as the site of its next corporate facility. Let me extend my deep appreciation to the numerous partnerships and hard work of many across the Central Texas Region that helped bring this dream to reality, especially the Belton Economic Development Corporation.”
“Thanks to this Texas Enterprise Fund grant, it is my hope that CGI will be the cornerstone of a blossoming industrial base for the City of Belton and Bell County,” Rep. Ralph Sheffield said. “I am glad that CGI was able to learn what I have known for a long time, which is Bell County is a great place to work and live, and I look forward to continuing to work with them for the betterment of the region.”
The Legislature created the TEF in 2003 and re-appropriated funding in 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011 to help ensure the growth of Texas businesses and create more jobs throughout the state. TEF projects must be approved by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the House. The fund has since become one of the state’s most competitive tools to recruit and bolster business. To date, the TEF has invested more than $439.8 million and closed the deal on projects generating more than 59,000 new jobs and more than $14.7 billion in capital investment in the state.
For more information about the TEF, please visit http://www.texaswideopenforbusiness.com/financial-resources/texas-enterprise-fund.html or http://www.governor.state.tx.us.
