The Lubbock Economic Development Alliance

(LUBBOCK) – The Lubbock Economic Development Alliance (LEDA) announced the expansion of four local companies, creating more than 500 jobs and $11.4 million in capital investments at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 

VXI Global Solutions LLC, an international company which designs and supports customer engagement platforms, is creating over 350 new jobs with an hourly wage of $16.50 to serve the long-standing customers of one of the foremost leaders in global communications today. Upon the employee’s hire date, there will be 30 days to enroll in the benefits offered including dental, visual and medical as well as a 401k program. 

“We are so excited to announce our initiative over the next three months to hire over 350 employees in the city of Lubbock,” said Byron Johnson, director of site operations at VXI Global Solutions LLC. “VXI and the city of Lubbock, have a long-standing relationship dating back over 14 years, and it is my desire to see that relationship grow and strengthen in the very near future. If you have ever heard about VXI in the past or if this is your first time, I encourage you to visit our site and see for yourself the passion for people we have here at VXI Lubbock.”

In 2020, CEV Multimedia, a multimedia company which produces and provides Career & Technical Education content and instructional materials for both students and teachers, expanded the number of teachers served through their online platform, iCEV, by 200%. Over 1.2 million students from across the United States and internationally utilize CEV’s curriculum. Today, the multimedia company based in Lubbock, Texas announced the creation of 89 new Lubbock-based positions adding over $229,555 of capital investment into the Lubbock community. The company also announced plans for facility improvements to its 11,670-square-foot building. 

“We cannot say enough about our partnership with LEDA, and what they do for the entire Lubbock business community,” said Gordon Davis, chairman of CEV Multimedia. “We are also grateful to Texas Tech University, Lubbock Christian University and South Plains College for producing eager, hardworking employees with a wide variety of talents and skills to meet our needs for significant growth.”

Starnik Systems, headquartered in Lubbock, Texas, is on a mission to deliver next generation technology to the global utility industry. After two decades of growth, Starnik continues to meet the needs of an ever-evolving technology market. Following the effects of the global pandemic, demand is at an all time high. To meet this growth, Starnik announced the groundbreaking of their new 20,000-square-foot headquarters building located in southwest Lubbock. This expansion represents a capital investment of $5 million into the Lubbock community, and will bring nearly 75 new jobs ranging from entry-level specialists to executives.

“We are very excited to announce our expansion to a new larger facility in Lubbock”, said Balu Viswanathan, CEO of Starnik. “Lubbock provides a great opportunity to succeed in all areas of family, education and business. We will continue to invest in this community that we love so much.”

SIMFLO, a leader in the vertical and submersible turbine markets, is expanding its current facility, adding an additional 35,000 square feet of production, storage, office and training space. The company also announced the construction of a new, enclosed testing facility, which will be one of the largest test pits in North America. This announcement is followed with the creation of 12 full-time positions. This expansion will have a collective $5 million impact on the Lubbock economy. 

“We are excited for this new chapter of SIMFLO,” said Woody Boyd, president of SIMFLO. “Our decision to expand our presence in Lubbock was an easy choice. Lubbock has always been a very business-friendly city and we are very appreciative of the help and support we have received from LEDA, Mayor Dan Pope and other city officials and staff. This new facility will provide us the opportunity to further expand staffing and capabilities in our engineering, production, and sales departments, and will increase our ability to not only better serve our customers but also expand our product and service offerings.”

John Osborne, President and CEO of LEDA, is thrilled to see the continued growth of Lubbock’s business community, especially after the challenges presented over the past year to our local companies.

“This past year brought economic hardships for our local business community, and yet, we see the resilience of Lubbock citizens as we announced the expansion of four companies,” said Osborne. “A common thread among these expansions continues to be Lubbock’s well-trained workforce. And, with the addition of over 500 jobs and millions of dollars of investments, the opportunity for personal and collective growth in the market affirms Lubbock as a premier location for business development.”

“We are centered primarily around workforce to ensure we have a future trained workforce available for our businesses.”

John Osborne
Lubbock Economic Development Alliance