A 40-Year Foundation of Success

September 29, 2026

Over the course of four decades, the Baytown/West Chambers County Economic Development Foundation has endeavored to make the Baytown / Chambers County region the best move for corporate expansion and relocation.

Our work has focused on facilitating economic growth and the creation of wealth by collaboratively anticipating and addressing regional issues, resulting in many of the most prestigious companies selecting Baytown and Chambers County for new investments, creating broadbased employment for thousands, and a compelling story about continuous capital expansions, job creation, generational broadening and deepening of the tax base, and mastering challenges on behalf of business and industry.

We attribute our success to strong public-private leadership and supportive strategic partners. Guiding the EDF is a 35-member Board of Directors representing major industry, financial institutions, chambers of commerce, local media, citizens, the City of Baytown, Chambers County, and Harris County. Our financial partners include local businesses, Chambers County, Port Houston, the City of Baytown, the Cedar Port Navigation and Improvement District, and Chambers County Improvement District #2.

As we celebrate this important anniversary, we look forward to the future and shaping its evolving realities via the implementation of Project Horizon 2035, a framework of Five Vision Trends to guide our efforts over the next decade.

Vision Trend 1: Continued Strategic Growth and Investment Attraction

The Baytown-Chambers County region, also known as Metro East, has above-average employment growth and is projected to continue outperforming both Texas and national averages through the end of this decade.

Investment trends demonstrate active corporate interests, strong regional demand, and momentum in midstream and downstream petrochemicals, advanced manufacturing, logistics and distribution expansions, and diversified energy projects.

The EDF will continue to serve as an integrator and key intermediary between local government, industry, special purpose districts, and investors, stewarding the acquisition of new investments.

Vision Trend 2: Deepening Industrial & Logistics Cluster Development

Baytown-West Chambers County is already a strategic international industrial region, a core economic spine with substantial assets, i.e., Port Houston, Cedar Port, Ameriport, and Port 10, complemented by accessible integrated multimodal capacity (highway, rail, barge), which appeals to heavy industry and logistics. Central Chambers County acreage, potential colocation opportunities, and the advent of broadened deepwater capacity are additive to these existing structural advantages.

The EDF will reinforce Metro East’s competitive advantage prioritizing industrial expansion, and diversifying investment portfolios, targeting the following sector clusters:

• Energy and petrochemicals (continued expansion of existing complexes);

• Advanced manufacturing; and

• Logistics and supply chain infrastructure.

Vision Trend 3: Workforce & Talent Infrastructure Focus

The region’s workforce is described as young, diverse, and skilled, with a sizeable labor shed that extends far beyond Metro East. Workforce training partnerships — supported by Lee College, four ISDs, the Texas Workforce Commission, and industry will become even more central as the EDF helps employers access skilledlabor. EDF will play a central role in promulgating andarticulating workforce strategies that:

• Foster strategy & tactics to increase trainingincentives;

• Promote strategies to attract and retain talent; and

• Partner with education and vocational institutions toalign supply with demand.

Vision Trend 4: Strong Public-Private Partnerships

Historically, the EDF has leveraged multi-stakeholderpartnerships (i.e., cities, counties, industry, councils ofgovernment, regional economic development allies,chambers of commerce, and civic partners) to attract newbusiness and investment. Funding and sponsorship havegrown, supported by diverse sources.

The EDF will continue to act as a hub for collaborationacross public, private, and nonprofit sectors and engage inpublic-private programs which support strategic growththrough renewed public-private partnerships.

Vision Trend 5: Broader Regional Positioning & Branding

As global supply chains and energy markets continueto evolve, the EDF will highlight Foreign Trade Zones#84 & #171 to attract export-oriented businesses andcapital investment.

We will continue to distinguish Metro East withinthe Greater Houston economic ecosystem, and the GulfCoast / Texas Triangle megaregion.

Since the beginning, we’ve believed business –whether an industrial entity, petrochemicals, advancedmanufacturing, advanced recycling, wholesaledistribution, logistics, healthcare, retail, or commercialdevelopment – can tap its individual and integratedpotential in the region. We continue to endeavor to assistin that regard.