Decatur Economic Development Corporation

What Decatur Economic Development Corporation does

Decatur Economic Development Corporation (DEDC) is a Type A Economic Development Corporation organized under Texas law and established in 1993 following a voter referendum authorizing a half-cent sales tax for economic development in Decatur, Texas. The organization is a public non-profit entity governed by a Board of Directors and operated by a small staff of seven, including Executive Director Matt Runnels, Business Development Director Leigh Ferguson, and Executive Administrative Assistant Raeli Nation. Its mission is to attract, retain, and expand businesses in Decatur and Wise County through industrial site development, performance-based incentives, workforce development, and partnerships with local school districts.

DEDC's core offerings are the 530+ acre Eagles Landing Business Park, a Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program with dedicated staff, and a package of negotiated business incentives including capital investment reimbursements (e.g., 7% to Cardinal Paint and Powder up to $280,000), land discounts (e.g., $170,000 to Hawthorne Machinery), and job creation grants. Supporting services include the Decatur Manufacturing Day workforce program and active site-selector outreach. The corporation's customer base is concentrated in advanced manufacturing, aerospace and defense, logistics and distribution, energy, healthcare and life sciences, and retail. Recent notable tenants include Omega Research, Onyx Specialty Processing (Goff Aerospace subsidiary), International Aviation Composites LLC, Cardinal Paint and Powder, Hawthorne Machinery, Industrial Diesel, GT Products, and Aqualine Plumbing + Irrigation Products.

The revenue model is funded primarily by the voter-authorized half-cent municipal sales tax, with no equity investment or venture capital. Distribution of services occurs through direct enterprise field sales to site selectors, prospective relocating companies, and existing local employers; marketing channels include the firm's website, LinkedIn, Instagram, press releases, the Scout economic development platform, and the annual Manufacturing Day event. DEDC has received eight consecutive years of Texas Economic Development Council Economic Excellence Recognition, the 2026 Economic Development Excellence Award from Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, and a "Top Texas City for Business" designation from Scout.

Name

Decatur Economic Development Corporation

Legal name

Decatur Economic Development Corporation

Website

https://decatur-edc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Decatur Economic Development Corporation is a Type A EDC (established 1993) that attracts, retains, and expands business in Decatur, Texas, via its 530+ acre Eagles Landing Business Park, performance-based incentives, and workforce development programs funded by a voter-approved half-cent sales tax.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Economic Development Services

NAICS

Administration of General Economic Programs (92611)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Non-Operating Establishments (9995)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN)

Keywords

• Economic development services
• Business attraction programs
• Industrial business park
• Business retention expansion
• Workforce development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Decatur

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Sales Tax Revenue (Type A): The DEDC receives funding from a Type A half-cent sales tax collected for economic development purposes, authorized by a 1993 voter referendum. This is the primary ongoing revenue stream for the organization.
2. Capital Investment Reimbursements: DEDC provides capital investment reimbursements to companies that meet performance benchmarks, such as the 7% reimbursement to Cardinal Paint over 4 years (capped at $280,000) and land discounts to Hawthorne Machinery ($170,000 discount on 5.51 acres). These are one-time expenditures contingent on company performance.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Decatur Economic Development Corporation is a Type A Economic Development Corporation that drives business attraction, retention, and expansion in Decatur, Texas, through a 530-acre industrial business park (Eagles Landing), a Business Retention & Expansion program with dedicated staff, and negotiated incentive packages (capital investment reimbursements, land discounts, job creation grants). It supports workforce development via partnerships with local school districts and delivers site-selection data and concierge support to prospective companies and site selectors.

Product overview

Decatur Economic Development Corporation offers a unified suite of economic development services centered around business attraction, retention, and expansion. The core offerings include the Eagles Landing Business Park (a 530-acre industrial development), a Business Retention & Expansion Program with dedicated staff, and Business Incentives including capital reimbursement and job creation grants. Supporting programs include workforce initiatives like Decatur Manufacturing Day and various business resources. The organization functions as a Type A Economic Development Corporation established in 1993 to drive local economic development through support of existing business and recruitment of new business.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Eagles Landing Business Park A 530-acre publicly-owned industrial business park offering development-ready land with heavy industrial zoning, utilities, rail access via BNSF mainline, and highway frontage on US 287 for manufacturing, distribution, and industrial operations.
• Business Retention & Expansion Program Proactive program with dedicated DEDC staff conducting regular check-ins with local employers, providing expansion assistance, Texas state grants, financing alternatives, sites/buildings information, and workforce development grants.
• Business Incentives Program Negotiated incentive program offering capital investment reimbursement, job creation grants, infrastructure investment reimbursement, and development cost reimbursement for companies meeting performance benchmarks tied to capital deployment and hiring.
• Decatur Manufacturing Day Annual workforce development program connecting Decatur ISD CTE students with local manufacturers, exposing students to manufacturing careers and building the future workforce pipeline.

Quantifiable outcome

• 570% return on city's $6 million initial business park investment, generating $40 million in new capital investment
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Hawthorne Machinery Co.coreOthers · 1 February 2026San Diego-based CAT dealer entering performance agreement for 5.51-acre facility at Eagles Landing Business Park. DEDC provides $170,000 land discount in exchange for $4.325M+ capital investment and 10 jobs by 2031.
• Workforce Solutions for North Central TexascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Regional workforce development organization that awarded DEDC the 2026 Economic Development Excellence Award, recognizing leadership in workforce development and DEDC's partnerships with local school districts.
• Cardinal Paint and PowdercoreOthers · 1 January 2025Manufacturer expanding corporate headquarters to Eagles Landing Business Park. DEDC providing 7% capital investment reimbursement (up to $280,000) over 4 years. Cardinal exceeding original 2021 performance agreement expectations.
• Texas Economic Development CouncilminorOthers · 1 January 2025State-level economic development organization that recognized DEDC for the 8th consecutive year through its Economic Excellence Recognition program honoring professional development and organizational effectiveness.
• International Aviation Composites LLC (IAC)coreOthers · 1 January 2025Aerospace company selecting Decatur for new rotor-blade testing facility at Eagles Landing Business Park, over $2.6 million investment serving defense and commercial aerospace sectors.
• Decatur Independent School District (DISD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2024Partnership connecting CTE students with local manufacturers through Decatur Manufacturing Day. DEDC collaborates with DISD to expose students to manufacturing careers and build future workforce pipeline. Award recognized by DISD School Board.
• Onyx Specialty Processing (Goff Aerospace subsidiary)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024Aerospace organic and chemical processing company entering performance agreement with DEDC. Occupying 29,000 square feet adjacent to Omega Research, committing to 30+ jobs and $3.5M capital investment in Wise County.
• Altschuler and CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Real estate advisory services firm that helped negotiate the 364-acre land purchase expanding Eagles Landing Business Park to 529 acres. Worked alongside Jay Davidson to facilitate the strategic investment for DEDC.
• Jay DavidsoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2023Co-negotiated the 364-acre land sale with Altschuler and Company, facilitating DEDC's expansion of Eagles Landing Business Park.
• Omega Research Inc.coreOthers · 1 January 2022Aerospace company that entered performance agreement with DEDC in September 2022, investing minimum $7 million, creating 43,000+ square foot facility and 13+ jobs at $75,000+ average salary. Third tenant at Eagles Landing Business Park.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas: Regional workforce development board that awarded DEDC its 2026 Economic Development Excellence Award. Comparable as a workforce-pipeline partner and ecosystem participant relevant to DEDC's Manufacturing Day and CTE programs.
• Texas Economic Development Council: Statewide industry association for Texas EDCs that has awarded DEDC its Economic Excellence Recognition for 8 consecutive years. Comparable as the ecosystem/peer organization for benchmarking professional standards across Texas Type A and Type B corporations.

Direct peers

• Plano Economic Development Corporation: Type A EDC for Plano, TX — comparable as a North DFW sales-tax-funded economic development corporation, though operating at a significantly larger scale with broader corporate HQ attraction focus.
• Conroe Economic Development Council: Texas Type A EDC for Conroe, TX — comparable as a mid-sized Texas municipal economic development corporation pursuing industrial and manufacturing growth in a different but structurally similar mid-Texas metro-adjacent market.
• Frisco Economic Development Corporation: Type A EDC for Frisco, TX — directly comparable as a North DFW competitor pursuing business attraction, retention, and expansion using a half-cent sales tax funding model on a similarly sized or larger tax base.
• McKinney Economic Development Corporation: Texas Type A EDC serving the McKinney community in the DFW metroplex. Direct comparable because both are voter-approved, sales-tax-funded Type A corporations competing for industrial and aerospace tenants in the same DFW North submarket.
• Denton Economic Development Partnership: Denton's regional economic development organization in North Texas, comparable as a DFW-adjacent peer pursuing industrial and manufacturing attraction with similar workforce-development orientation.
• Allen Economic Development Corporation: Texas Type A EDC for the City of Allen in Collin County — directly comparable funding model and DFW North submarket positioning to Decatur EDC.

Regional players

• Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce: Regional chamber/economic development body covering the broader DFW region. Comparable as a regional-scale peer that Decatur EDC engages with for site-selector referrals and regional promotion, though it operates at a much larger geography.

Broad incumbents

• Hillwood (AllianceTexas): Perot family's master-planned industrial and logistics developer behind Alliance Global Logistics Hub — DEDC explicitly markets proximity to AllianceTexas as a competitive advantage, making it the dominant incumbent logistics/industrial developer in the same North DFW geography.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/decatur-economic-development-corporation
• Instagraminstagram.com/decaturedc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Decatur Economic Development Corporation