State
Texas: defense, firearms, energy equipment, and the deepest manufacturing labor pool in the country.
Lockheed F-35 in Fort Worth. Sig Sauer in Houston. Daniel Defense, Sturm Ruger, Henry, Beretta. Aerospace, defense, firearms, oilfield, automotive.
Texas runs on the assumption that manufacturing is a normal way to make a living. Walk a shop floor in Fort Worth or Houston and the operators know the difference between a thirty-year machinist and a thirty-day machinist, and they treat the difference like the trade fact it is. The ownership culture in Texas plants knows what it costs to run a profitable mid-market operation, and the regulatory environment leaves the operators alone to do the work. Brass & Bench engagements in Texas are usually about taking what is already working and making it scale.
Quick answer
Texas is the largest manufacturing economy in the U.S. outside California, with a labor pool of roughly nine hundred thousand manufacturing workers and a regulatory environment that ranks among the most favorable for firearms, ammunition, and defense manufacturers anywhere in the country. The state hosts deep aerospace and defense clusters in Fort Worth and the Dallas metroplex (Lockheed F-35 line, Bell, Raytheon, L3Harris), a growing firearms manufacturing base in Houston (Sig Sauer pistol assembly, Daniel Defense regional logistics), and a substantial energy-equipment manufacturing base across Houston and Midland. Brass & Bench engagements in Texas typically fall into operational rebuilds for established defense suppliers, acquisition readiness for owners considering a transaction, and Greenfield Plant Standups for firearms or ammunition manufacturers relocating to a more favorable regulatory home.
By Mike Fox · Founding Partner. Business Development & Operations · Updated May 14, 2026State regulations
State regulations that affect manufacturers in Texas.
Texas has one of the most favorable regulatory environments in the country for firearms and ammunition manufacturers. State preemption applies to nearly all firearms regulation, restricting local jurisdictions from layering additional restrictions. Texas has not enacted manufacturing or component restrictions of the kind seen in California (AB 1263, SB 704), Washington (Initiative 1639), New York (SAFE Act), or Illinois (Protect Illinois Communities Act). Texas-based manufacturers routinely host out-of-state firearms companies relocating from California, New York, and Washington for regulatory reasons.
Federal ATF, ITAR, and EAR requirements apply in full regardless of state environment. Texas does not impose state-level firearms manufacturing licensure beyond federal FFL requirements. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation handles standard business licensure.
Incentives
State incentive programs for manufacturers.
- Texas Enterprise Fund (TEF). Discretionary cash grants for projects creating significant high-wage jobs, often used for headquarter relocations and major plant expansions
- Skills Development Fund. State-funded customized training grants through Texas community colleges, used heavily by manufacturers for incumbent worker upskilling
- Manufacturing Sales Tax Exemption. Sales and use tax exemption on equipment used directly in manufacturing
- Texas Economic Development Act (Chapter 313 successor). Local school district property tax limitation agreements for qualifying capital investments
- Foreign Trade Zones. Multiple FTZs across Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and El Paso provide duty deferral and inverted-tariff benefits
- Governor's University Research Initiative. Matching funds for university-industry R&D collaborations
Major manufacturers operating in Texas.
- Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (Fort Worth)
- Bell Textron (Fort Worth, Amarillo)
- Raytheon / RTX (McKinney, Plano)
- Sig Sauer (Houston pistol facility)
- Daniel Defense (Houston regional distribution)
- Henry Repeating Arms (Texas operations)
- L3Harris (multiple Texas sites)
- General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (regional)
Workforce
The labor reality.
BLS data places Texas manufacturing employment near nine hundred thousand workers, second nationally and growing. Texas community college and technical school capacity is the largest in the country, with deep partnerships between school districts and major manufacturers. The labor pool is unusually balanced across aerospace, automotive, energy equipment, electronics, and firearms manufacturing. Houston metro carries the deepest skilled-trades base in petrochemical equipment manufacturing in the world. Dallas-Fort Worth metro carries the deepest aerospace assembly base in the country.
The state's right-to-work status, broad-based vocational education funding, and favorable housing cost of living relative to California, New York, and Massachusetts have made Texas the leading destination for manufacturing relocation activity for the past decade.
OSHA + environmental
OSHA and environmental posture.
Texas operates under federal OSHA jurisdiction (no state-plan OSHA program). State environmental quality administered by TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality). Air quality permits required for emissions sources above federal thresholds and state-specific permit-by-rule limits. TCEQ has its own water quality program. Lead exposure rules per 29 CFR 1910.1025 apply directly to ammunition and battery manufacturers, with substantial compliance burden in plate, swaging, and casting operations.
International + FMS
Foreign Military Sales + export logistics.
Texas-based defense and firearms manufacturers carry significant FMS and DCS opportunity given the depth of the defense industrial base. The state hosts multiple ITAR-registered freight forwarders and a deep bench of export compliance specialists concentrated in Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. Texas international trade offices provide market-entry support for international sales activity, particularly in Latin American and Middle Eastern markets.
How we work in Texas
Brass & Bench engagements in Texas.
Texas engagements typically route through Dallas-Fort Worth International (DFW) for defense and aerospace work, Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) or Hobby (HOU) for firearms and energy work, and San Antonio (SAT) for South Texas defense and ammunition work. Hotel base depends on the specific metro. The team has direct experience with aerospace assembly operations, firearms manufacturing, and energy equipment fabrication.
The kind of work we do in Texas falls into four patterns: operational rebuilds for established defense suppliers running into labor, supply chain, or program cost pressure; acquisition readiness for owners considering a transaction; Greenfield Plant Standups for firearms or ammunition manufacturers relocating from less favorable states; and Conformance Reality Checks ahead of OEM or government program audits.