Merrick Engineering Inc., a large maker of injection molded hangers and closet shelving accessories, is relocating its corporate headquarters from Corona, Calif., to Waco, Texas.

The company is spending $33 million to build a 400,000-square-foot manufacturing and distribution facility and corporate office, according to the Waco Chamber of Commerce.

Merrick Engineering already had a plant in Waco, and the chamber said Merrick will retain its current workforce of 150 employees, plus create 20 new jobs. Ten of the new positions will be at the headquarters.

The $33 million investment includes the building and new equipment on a 71-acre parcel in Texas Central Park. The Chamber of Commerce said Merrick was acquiring the land from the Waco Industrial Foundation.

Construction will start this year and should be completed by the end of 2021.

Company officials were not available for comment. In the announcement, Ali Jawady, operations manager for Merrick Engineering, thanked officials for helping make the expansion happen.

"This is a great example of a partnership between our business and the city of Waco in which we will bring more jobs to the community and gives us, Merrick, a chance for further growth in business," Jawady said.

Merrick runs plants in Waco, Corona and Clarksburg, W. Va.

Melett Harrison, executive director of economic development for Waco, said Merrick will receive $950,000 in a grant from the Waco-McLennan County Economic Development Corp. to purchase the land, help the company get a rail spur and money that is contingent on the company meeting job creation goals and generating new real and personal property taxes. The city and the county also approved tax breaks.

Merrick, a family-owned business founded in 1973, sells its tubular hangers to most major retailers in North America and Latin America. According to the company's website, in the early 1970s the company's president and chief engineer, Abraham Abdi, designed the all-purpose tubular plastic hanger, which became a household staple.

Abdi invested in high-cavitation injection molding, allowing him to double the industry standard of eight mold cavities to 16. Today the company's injection presses run with 96 cavities.

"Merrick Engineering is a long-tenured corporate citizen of Waco, and we are proud they have chosen our community as the location for their future growth," Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver said in the announcement. "That they will also move their corporate headquarters to Waco from California further affirms this city as an emerging destination for professional talent and business growth."

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