CALDWELL, TX — A police vehicle customization business is coming to Caldwell.
CAP Fleet Upfitters specializes in detailing and customizing law enforcement and other government vehicles.
The business is owned by larger and locally-based company, Caldwell Automotive Partners, who operate several dealerships across the Brazos Valley.
Caldwell Automotive CEO Zach Hester said CAP Fleet has been looking to add a new shop and company headquarters location for some time, and the city of Caldwell looked to be a perfect fit.
“[Caldwell] is most pro business community I’ve seen anywhere," Hester said, noting several members of local leadership worked to accommodate his business. "They were very welcoming, and helped us literally every step of the way. They opened up the conversations with the school district to help build our field of employees for the future. And obviously it’s enticing for the county because we’re bringing a lot of people in that don’t live here now.”
Ground was broken this Monday on the soon-to-be 100,000 square foot facility, which will be located off Industrial Boulevard in Caldwell.
Hester said CAP Fleet will bring, at minimum, 90 jobs to the area.
It will also offer mechanical training and educational opportunities for Burleson County high school students looking to enter the automobile industry - starting with Caldwell ISD.
“The superintendent [of Caldwell ISD] has been really helpful in allowing us to set up a shop program that’s going to be inside the school," Hester commented. "We’ll have 22 kids per semester... We have a really big training system that we use, and get the techs from zero experience, to full blown tech.”
Hester says cap fleet up-fitters services up to 1,800 police and government customers both in and outside of Texas, including numerous law enforcement entities in the Brazos Valley.
The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office has been using CAP Fleet for their vehicle needs for at least ten years.
“We’ve been very satisfied with the vehicles," said Burleson County SO Chief Deputy John Pollock. "You always want to have reliable equipment, you always want to have it wired right.”
CAP Fleet owners hope to have the facility completed as early as June of 2022.