Fields, Farms and Factories: How a Foreign Company Is Changing a Rural County Near Houston

By Rebecca Butler

Reporting Texas

Driving through Waller, Texas, the peaceful sight of grazing cows and sprawling farmland suddenly gives way to a massive factory, business parks and subdivided housing developments, a stark symbol of the town’s rapid transformation. 

What was once a quiet rural community 45 miles northwest of downtown Houston is now a booming industrial and suburban hub, reshaping both the landscape and the lives of its residents.

“Each time I’ve visited from Austin, it’s like a new building has been constructed out of nowhere,”  said Kevin Arratia-Diaz, a Hempstead High School graduate who now lives in Austin. “I’ve seen undeveloped, five-acre plots of land being sold for $750,000. It’s definitely not the same town I grew up in.”

The county saw a population increase of over 42 percent during the 2010s after the arrival of several large companies, most notably the Japanese air conditioning manufacturer Daikin Comfort. Although the city of Waller’s population is only about 4,000, Daikin employs over 9,000 people.

In 2014, the Texas-themed convenience store chain Buc-ee’s moved into the town, bringing new job opportunities and more tax revenue to the city. Three years later, Daikin built a 4.23 million square foot factory, roughly the size of 65 football fields — making it the third-largest factory in the United States at the time of its opening. Daikin’s technology park serves as its American headquarters. 

Daikin will soon increase its Texas presence. It announced in November that it has bought the naming rights to Minute Maid Stadium, home of the Houston Astros baseball team. 

Although the company is located within the city limits of Waller, it lies outside Waller County, in neighboring Harris County. As a result, Waller County does not receive tax revenue from the factory. However, the city still benefits in other ways from the corporation.

Rhonda Plata, the administrator of the Waller Area Chamber of Commerce, said Daikin “has poured time and effort into our community from stadium naming rights, school sponsorship, assisting with Toys for Tots, refurbishing the Waller City Park amongst other things.”

Natasha Jackson, a teacher and school counselor who has lived in and around Waller her entire life, said the company’s presence is widely seen.

“When I worked at H.T. Jones Elementary in Waller ISD, most of our students’ parents were employed at Daikin. They would come pick their kids up from school in uniform,” Jackson recalled. “Daikin provides many Waller residents with employment opportunities they did not have access to 10 to 20 years ago.” 

Jackson said Daikin has sponsored Waller schools many times, including buying toys, bikes, televisions and more as part of a program called Positive Behavior Intervention System. In August, the Waller school district announced that Daikin bought the naming rights for Waller High School’s stadium for $1 million. 

Additionally, she enjoys the conveniences that have come along with the growth of the area, like her new ability to stop at the new Starbucks in Prairie View on her way to work every day. 

“The Waller community has welcomed us, and we are genuinely proud of the relationship we built over the years,” said Kristi Pittman, Daikin’s senior vice president of human resources. “Giving back to our community is a core value at Daikin, and we are always looking for new and exciting ways to be an active partner and engage locally.”

In 2019, the Waller Area Chamber of Commerce partnered with Daikin to provide scholarships to Waller High School students pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The company also sends several students to Japan as a part of their Japanese Homestay Program every year.

But growth has also brought new challenges.

“I’ve been around long enough to see land that was once used for farming be transformed into small, flattened plots for cheap houses to be built, all within a few years,” said longtime resident Christine Herbert who lives with her extended family on about 50 acres near a recently developed subdivision. 

Herbert said she has seen an increase in wildlife on her property as land nearby became developed. 

“We’ve had a number of our cattle killed by coyotes and bobcats that have nowhere else to go,” she said. 

“Not to mention, all of these new subdivisions have been slowly increasing the value of our land. In turn, our taxes have increased,” she said, noting that as one of the main reasons residents that she knows are moving to areas even more rural than Waller County. 

Since 2010, Herbert’s land and home value has more than doubled. 

“The people that work at Daikin could’ve used that money in salaries – most are barely paid a minimum wage – a whole lot more than the Astros could have used that money for the name change,” said LinMarie Garsee, a private investigator based in Waller. “No other company is bringing more people to Waller County.”