Lower Kirby’s strategic location in the Houston region provides convenient access to one of the nation’s largest and most talented labor forces. This, combined with Pearland’s outstanding business community and pro-business environment, makes Lower Kirby a premier business location choice for manufacturing and corporate headquarters.
Notable employers located in Lower Kirby include:
Millar, Inc.: Founded in 1969, Millar, Inc. pioneered the development of pressure sensor technology, directing its design and manufacturing expertise toward integrating that technology into catheters for life sciences and clinical applications. Today Millar is a leading developer and manufacturer of pressure sensor-enabled devices that partners with global leaders in technology, manufacturing and healthcare to turn breakthrough technologies into life-saving medical innovations.
In August 2023, the company opened its state-of-the-art 56,000-square-foot facility in Pearland’s Lower Kirby. Located on a five-acre site on Kirby Drive just south of Beltway 8, the facility is home to approximately 120 employees.
Endress+Hauser: Swiss-based Endress+Hauser is a global leader in measurement instrumentation, services and solutions for industrial process engineering, providing process solutions and optimizing processes in terms of economic efficiency, safety and environmental impact. Its customers come from various industries, including chemical, food & beverage, life sciences, power & energy, primaries & metal, oil & gas and water & wastewater.
In late 2020, Endress+Hauser opened a 112,000 square-foot Gulf Coast Regional Campus in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District. The facility houses teams to support Endress+Hauser’s products, solutions and services, along with partners SpectraSensors, Analytik Jena, and Vector Controls and Automation Group. The campus also offers areas for calibration, repair and training, including a state-of-the-art Process Training Unit (PTU).
Lonza: One of the world’s leading and most-trusted suppliers to the pharmaceutical, biotech and specialty ingredients markets, Lonza is a custom manufacturer and developer that harnesses science and technology to create products that support safer and healthier living and that enhance the overall quality of life. Founded in 1897 in the Swiss Alps, Lonza today is a well-respected global company with more than 55 major manufacturing and R&D facilities and approximately 15,500 full-time employees worldwide.
In April 2018, the company opened a 300,000 square-foot manufacturing facility located in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District. It is the largest dedicated cell-and-gene-therapy manufacturing facility in the world and is home to over 500 employees.
Tool-Flo Manufacturing: Tool-Flo Manufacturing, which is owned by IMC Group, is a manufacturer of tools and products for the oil/gas, automotive, aerospace and medical industries. The IMC Group, a Berkshire Hathaway-owned company, is one of the world’s largest companies for metalworking products and metal removal technology, supplying a dynamic comprehensive line of precision carbide metalworking tools. IMC also provides engineering and manufacturing solutions to major industries throughout the world.
In December 2018, Tool-Flo Manufacturing completed construction on its company headquarters, training and manufacturing facility in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District. The 80,000-square-foot facility is home to 140 employees, including management, engineering, sales, operations and administrative personnel.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation: In April 2015, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Compressor International Corporation (MCO-I) opened Pearland Works, its office, manufacturing and service facility in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District. It was the first U.S.-based manufacturing and service location for the Japanese-owned company.
The 181,000-square-foot facility, located on Kirby Drive, houses packaging and assembly, vertical and horizontal rotor storage, repair and maintenance services, administrative offices and a training center.
PT Solutions: One of the top 100 suppliers of industrial tools in the United States, PT Solutions is owned by IMC Group, a Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway company.
In late 2018, PT Solutions completed construction on its new headquarters and warehouse facility in the Lower Kirby District. The 46,000-square-foot facility is adjacent to Tool-Flo Manufacturing’s new operations on the same 15-acre site. It is home to 43 employees and also serves as a new warehouse and distribution center.
Merit Medical: Headquartered in Utah, Merit Medical Systems, Inc. serves hospitals worldwide by manufacturing more than 2,000 proprietary, disposable medical devices used in diagnostic and interventional cardiology and radiology procedures. Their products include inflation devices, various types of catheters, guide wires, fluid dispensing systems, angiography accessories and more.
In 2011, Merit Medical chose Pearland as the site for its new research and development and manufacturing facility. Approximately 300 of Merit’s 6,000 employees work out of the company’s 120,000-square-foot facility.
Dover Energy: Dover Energy is the energy division of diversified global manufacturer Dover Corporation, a Fortune 500 company with 200 locations and 34,000 employees worldwide. A manufacturer of specialized products and valves, the company provides highly-engineered solutions for the safe and efficient extraction and handling of critical fluids worldwide in the drilling, production and downstream markets.
In May 2014, Dover Energy opened a 150,000 square-foot manufacturing and operations facility in Pearland’s Lower Kirby District. The facility, which consolidated multiple Texas locations into one regional facility is home to over 300 employees.
Abbott: Formerly Cardiovascular Systems Inc., opened its 46,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facilities for the manufacturing of commercialized interventional treatment systems for vascular disease.
As the first primary employer in Lower Kirby, the recruitment of the CSI facility to Pearland was instrumental in setting the tone for development of the Lower Kirby District, paving the way for many additional employers in the coming years.
