Dear Friends,
The coronavirus pandemic has been a wake-up call about the dangers that can occur when essential items like medicines, medical devices, and critical PPE are not manufactured right here in the U.S. One such item that many of us don’t immediately think of is electric motors. Even as many companies work towards an electricity-powered future, America’s electric motors—powering everything from our electric scooters, cars, and one day, our helicopters and planes—are still mostly made overseas, primarily in China. Here in our state, many highly-skilled and hardworking Texans haven’t had the opportunity to benefit from careers in this vast and increasingly vital industry. Motors made in America—and better yet, right here in Texas 12—create high-paying jobs, save money and the environment, and strengthen America’s supply chains and even our national security.
One company looking to fill that role is based in my District. This summer, I toured the new Fort Worth headquarters of Linear Labs, a smart energy company behind a cutting-edge electric motor system, conducting oversight on production and discussing America’s motor security with its founders, Fred Hunstable and his son and CEO Brad Hunstable. Brad is a West Point graduate and Army veteran from here in Tarrant County, and is turning his hometown into the proving ground for Linear Labs’ potentially revolutionary technology, what a business magazine calls ‘the most powerful electric motor on the market today’. The company is getting there with some help from our city: a recent, first-of-its-kind public-private partnership with the City of Fort Worth provides the company nearly $70 million in economic incentives to design and build the next generation of electric motors here in Fort Worth. The program is estimated to generate over $3 billion in economic activity, and bring over 1,200 new jobs to our District alone over the next 10 years.
Our metroplex’s aerospace, manufacturing, and defense industry has always been at the forefront of innovation. It’s no surprise that our city is now lighting the way in electrification, or that it’s making America safer and stronger in the process. As I discussed at Linear Labs, electric motors made in America secure our transportation needs, electrical grids, and more against being weaponized by our enemies, like the phones and telecommunications systems made in China. In fact, Linear Labs is already engaged in conversations with the Department of Energy and the Department of Defense about strengthening our national energy and motor security. Meanwhile, Fort Worth-based Bell is also flying into the future by developing electric aircraft, while Lockheed Martin is engineering a more sustainable tomorrow through its leading research in energy storage.
Everywhere you look these days, innovation is changing our Fort Worth metroplex. Start-ups and the spirit of entrepreneurship have found a strong foothold in our community, one of the fastest-growing regions in America. I look forward to seeing how companies like Linear Labs will continue our metroplex’s strong development in a new industry powering the technology of today—and tomorrow.
Sincerely,
Kay Granger
Member of Congress