Business is Booming in Tomball, Texas
Combining the best business, lifestyle, education and transportation, the city of Tomball’s economic development is thriving with additional expansions in the making. Because of the city’s unique community, local business support system and partnerships and transportation access, Tomball is and has been a prime area for economic development investments.
“We are in a fortunate position right now,” said Tomball Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Kelly Violette. “With the growth in the Houston region and our accessibility and location… this is a huge driving force for our community.”
In addition, Violette credits Tomball’s community and sense of family for the city’s “connectedness.”
In addition, the Tomball Economic Development Corporation works with the Greater Tomball Area Chamber of Commerce creating a business resource center for the city, Violette said.
“We work closely with the chamber and are even co-located in the same office, in an effort to best serve Tomball’s business community,” she said. “The idea is for us to be the business resource center for the area.”
‘Together the Chamber of Commerce and TEDC work to grow Tomball and assist in times of challenges’, Violette said.
“We are similar in mission but different,” Violette said. “Our partnership really builds the core strength of business in Tomball.”
TEDC’s primary goal is to promote job creation by encouraging attraction, expansion and retention of businesses through: assisting with site selection; identifying incentives; connecting to workforce resources; and providing business and industry data.
Tomball has a strong history of innovation, thriving business and economic partnerships large and small. Building off those roots, the Tomball Business and Technology Park, a project of the TEDC, encompasses 99.5 acres of land within the city of Tomball.
“Having the Park ready and waiting available for businesses gives Tomball a great advantage,” Violette said of TEDC’s effort to stay competitive on a national level.
She said the TEDC expects the Park to spur growth for both the companies inside the Park and the city of Tomball itself.
The Park is master planned and deed restricted with a light industrial zoning classification. The Park is fully served with all utilities and provides off-site detention. There are approximately 37 usable acres still available for purchase in the Park.
In May 2018, Colliers International has announced a 6.1-acre land deal with Nickson Tomball Industrial Ltd. at the Park. Nickson Industrial is constructing two office warehouse buildings totaling more than 55,800 square feet. Once fully leased, the project will create 30 to 50 new full-time jobs in Tomball.
The following September, Nickson purchased the adjacent 2.94 acre tract of land for its second speculative project in the Park. The future plans consist of an office-warehouse building totaling approximately 25,200 square feet and creating 15 to 25 new full-time jobs.
Most recently, the TEDC approved a land contract with Hoelscher Property Management Ltd. and Hoelscher Weatherstrip Manufacturing Co., Inc. for the sale of approximately 16.9 acres in the Park. The company plans to relocate from the Sam Houston Business Park to Tomball, Violette said. The company, which specializes in custom doors and weatherstripping, will construct an approximate 193,000 square-foot building with a capital investment of $10.6 million.
Other tenants at the Park include SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions with 95 employees occupying an approximately 50,000 square-foot laboratory facility and Packers Plus Energy Services with more than 65 employees in its 50,000 square-foot Rapid Tool Development facility.
In addition to the new developments in the Park, the Tomball area has recently seen a significant growth in culinary inspirations including craft breweries, coffee shops and related businesses.
Most recently, Tomball has welcomed a new craft brewery called Fire Ant Brewpub, which officially opened in October of 2018. The pub serves all the best brews the original Fire Ant Brewing Company offers plus some great eats.
With a mission of creating and distributing the “best” craft beer while maintaining the integrity and respect that the brewing industry deserves, Fire Ant Brewing Company’s three originators combined their love for beer and watching football with their years of beer brewing experience and started the brewery and have now opened the pub. Brothers, Kurt and Carl Hohnholt and Bruce Kissinger have more than 25 years of brewing experience between them and they have progressed from brewing five gallons at a time over an open flame to a more sophisticated 165-gallon Braumeister brewing system.
Another newcomer to the Tomball area is DeNovo Coffee, originally founded in Spring, Texas, by Caleb Tommasini and his founding partners Jake Vandermeer and Jon Hibler. After falling in love with the Tomball area and its people, the founders opened their second location in the city in 2016.
DeNovo was founded on the pillars that the customer and the community were the main focus. DeNovo also prides itself on the quality of its coffee and its speed of service.
“As we have grown, we have also seen the community grow with us,” said Tommasini. “We continue to focus on our main pillar, the people.”
DeNovo added Nolan Holland, a Houston-area native with coffee expertise, as an owner in 2018 and has received great support with his addition, Tommasini said.
Another culinary inspiration in Tomball is Copan Coffee Roasters. Collaborating with farmers in Honduras, Copan Coffee Roasters started purchasing specialty green coffee beans in order to create a premium quality roasted coffee and the company’s success has resulted in the family accomplishing the dream of roasting premium shade grown coffee and raising it to a new standard.
That is how CAFE COPAN and SAN MARCOS SUPREMO were born, said Copan Coffee Roasters Sales Operations Manager Daniel Dunaway.
“Both coffee brands have gained renowned acceptance among locals in Honduras and tourists,” Dunaway said.
With this success, the company leaders soon realized they had to find a way to get closer to the public and share their passion.
“This led to the launch of our Tomball branch where today our master roaster handcrafts the best small batch coffee blends and enhances the flavor of our traditional brands,” Dunaway said.
In addition, the company trades directly with the farmers and exporters from each country.
“We keep enhancing our products, as well as our services to provide you with a variety of single origin coffees which include coffees from Central America, Brazil, Colombia, and specialty coffees from Indonesia, Ethiopia and others,” Dunaway said.