Torchmark Moving Corporate HQ to McKinney

Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams announced that a $2 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund will lead to 500 new jobs in North Texas.

Torchmark Moves HQ to McKinney

Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams recently announced the health insurance firm Torchmark Corp. is moving its corporate headquarters to McKinney from Alabama, creating 500 new jobs. A $2 million grant from the Texas Enterprise Fund helped lure Torchmark to Texas.

"I am honored and pleased by Torchmark's decision to move their corporate headquarters to the great state of Texas," Williams said.

Torchmark is planning a $27 million, 150,000 sq.-ft. facility at its McKinney location that is the first stage of a major consolidation program of its subsidiaries' marketing and administrative functions including a centralized computer processing and customer service center. The company currently has more than 600 full-time positions in McKinney, and will add at least 500 jobs over the next five years.

"We have found McKinney, the DFW area and the state of Texas to be conducive to the growth and success of our businesses," Torchmark chairman and CEO Mark McAndrew said. "With the business-friendly environment, easy transportation access and a family-oriented community, it just makes good business sense to consolidate our administration here. The Texas Enterprise Fund, along with local incentives, was instrumental in our decision to relocate to Texas."

To date, the Enterprise Fund has helped Texas close the deal on projects that will create more than 37,500 new Texas jobs and add nearly $7 billion in capital investment to the state's economy.

Williams said the Torchmark announcement is further proof that the efforts Governor Perry and the state of Texas have taken with economic development are paying off. Since 2003 Texas has created more than 330,000 new jobs, and Gov. Perry recently received the Governors' Cup from Site Selection magazine for the second consecutive year.

BOP Announces Intent to Issue RFP

Corrections Corp. of America, the nation's largest provider of corrections management services to government agencies, recently announced that the Federal Bureau of Prisons, through a presolicitation notice, intends to issue a request for proposal for Criminal Alien Requirement 6. The BOP expects to contract for approximately 7,000 inmates currently located in a number of facilities in West Texas.

The RFP would include inmates currently housed at the company's owned and operated 1,225-bed Eden Detention Center in Eden, as well as inmates housed in facilities operated by other private correction providers.

The company currently manages approximately 1,400 inmates on behalf of the BOP at its Eden Detention Center under the terms of an Inter-Governmental Service Agreement between the city of Eden and the BOP. The Presolicitation Notice indicates that the BOP expects to fulfill the RFP requirement through multiple awards that provide for fixed-price contracts with a potential term of 10 years, consisting of one four-year base period with three two-year renewal options.

"CCA has managed the Eden Detention Center under the current IGA since 1995," said John Ferguson, president and CEO. "As stated in many BOP requirements, past performance and experience will be significant factors in the evaluation process. Based on CCA's long- standing relationship with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the quality service we have provided to the BOP and the limited number of prison beds available in this region, we believe the company is well positioned to enter into a direct contract with the BOP for the continued utilization of the Eden Detention Center."

Walter P Moore Celebrates 75

Nationally recognized engineering and consulting firm Walter P Moore recently celebrated 75 years of success. Growing from a one-man firm to a company of more than 350 professionals, Houston-based Walter P Moore has shaped memorable and lasting structures while it built critical infrastructure.

"The company has grown because it has been able to attract professionals who thrive on finding innovative solutions to the hardest engineering challenges," said Ray Messer, president and chairman of Walter P Moore since 1993.

Tall buildings, long-span roofs, deep foundations and buildings that have to withstand high winds and seismic activity are some of Walter P Moore's specialties. The firm's civil engineers are acknowledged experts in the solution of infrastructure challenges in the most complex and congested urban areas, including flood management and intelligent transportation systems.

Walter P. Moore Sr. launched his one-person structural engineering firm during the Great Depression in 1931. Perhaps best known for the innovative engineering that created the Astrodonme, the world's first domed stadium, Moore started out designing foundations for River Oaks mansions.