{"id":161599,"date":"2026-02-12T13:36:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:36:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161599\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T13:36:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:36:23","slug":"japanese-plastics-company-is-the-latest-to-move-into-south-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/161599\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese plastics company is the latest to move into South Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

Japanese company Sanko broke ground on a new Southside facility Wednesday, adding to the area\u2019s reputation as a manufacturing hub.<\/p>\n

The proposed $40 million factory could employ as many as 300 people, according to company officials, and will be built on a 43.7-acre property on the corner of Applewhite and Watson roads, across the street from the entrance to Toyota\u2019s South Side manufacturing facility.<\/p>\n

The factory is in the design stage right now, said Sanko president and CEO Toshihiko Goto. He said it would be completed in 2027.<\/p>\n

Sanko makes plastic pallets and containers for logistics operations.<\/p>\n

\"\"Rendering of Sanko\u2019s planned factory on Applewhite and Watson roads. Credit: Courtesy \/ GreaterSATX<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest Japanese company to set up shop in San Antonio. Bexar County officials offered the company a 10-year tax abatement in June 2025<\/a>, valued at $850,000.<\/p>\n

Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai said the tax incentives, a 75% tax abatement on real and personal property investments over the course of a decade, were worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe return on investment with that money is astronomical,\u201d he said. \u201cLook at what we\u2019re going to do here by bringing high paying jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Documents submitted by the company said Sanko could hire 50 employees with salaries of $60,000 or more by using the savings the incentives provide.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sakai is a sansei, or third-generation Japanese American, and said he has pushed to connect with Japanese business leaders. He spoke with Sanko leaders during a 2024 economic development trip to the country and pitched them on San Antonio\u2019s infrastructure and growth on the South Side, as well as TX Fast Track, the county\u2019s workforce education program.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for Sanko\u2019s new plastic manufacturing facility on Feb. 11, 2026. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

The program is one of San Antonio\u2019s workforce programs focused on manufacturing roles. Graduates of the program have been hired by companies like JCB, which is building a factory near Sanko\u2019s site, and County Clerk Lucy Adame Clerk allocated more funding last year to expand the program<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sanko plans to supply plastic products to Toyota, Goto added. Toyota currently uses imported Sanko products at its San Antonio facility, he said, and local production of those products could be beneficial.<\/p>\n

Sanko has an office in San Diego and a factory in Mexico, according to the company\u2019s website but this is the company\u2019s first U.S. factory. Goto said Sanko was eager to build recognition and relationships in San Antonio as the Japanese manufacturer targets the Texas market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe top priority is business development here in Texas first,\u201d Goto said through a translator. \u201cThen [we] would like to expand to the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manufacturing grows on the South Side<\/p>\n

City and county officials talked up the South Side\u2019s growing advanced manufacturing industry at the groundbreaking. Toyota broke ground in 2003 and started operations at the 3,700-employee factory in 2006.<\/p>\n

The Japanese carmaker plans to open a new rear axle plant this year.<\/p>\n

Other Toyota suppliers flocked to the area since the company\u2019s arrival. Now, more manufacturers are coming to the South Side.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sanko Texas Corporation\u2019s plastic manufacturing facility will cover nearly 44 acres of land on the corner of Applewhite and Watson roads on the Southside near Toyota Texas. Credit: Amber Esparza \/ San Antonio Report<\/p>\n

British construction equipment company JCB is building a factory nearby<\/a> and Silicon Valley manufacturer Industrial Electric Manufacturing is considering<\/a> could build a 1 million-square-foot facility at Brooks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been a lot of development here, but now Toyota and JCB have a good neighbor,\u201d said County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores (Precinct 1), who represents the area. \u201cProjects like these support small businesses and strengthen the workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakai said he is committed to supporting education and infrastructure in the area, though the Bexar County Judge, who is in a tight race for reelection<\/a>, said he wanted to do that without raising property taxes.<\/p>\n

Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones also spoke after the groundbreaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the kinds of good-paying jobs we want in our community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Jones said San Antonio\u2019s growing manufacturing workforce, affordability and quality of life are attracting foreign investment. She added that affordable housing and infrastructure projects like the South Texas Parkway were important, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would argue we\u2019re a little bit behind, but we\u2019ve got to do as much as we can to address some of the traffic concerns,\u201d she said. \u201cThe more that we can show that our infrastructure can support that, I think the more competitive we\u2019ll be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japanese company Sanko broke ground on a new Southside facility Wednesday, adding to the area\u2019s reputation as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[24985,698,11532,2112,7292,15275,3025,3026,82,84,83,66202,4937,52472,41275,92,21936,66203,3028,6251],"class_list":["post-161599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-advanced-manufacturing","tag-bexar-county","tag-city-of-san-antonio","tag-gina-ortiz-jones","tag-jcb","tag-manufacturing","tag-peter-sakai","tag-rebeca-clay-flores","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-sanko","tag-south-side","tag-south-side-growth","tag-tax-incentives","tag-top-story","tag-toyota","tag-toyota-motor-manufacturing-texas","tag-typedaily","tag-wc-500-750"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}