Westbrook Metals Leaves Developing North Austin for Industrial Spot

A family-owned metal supplier is relocating from its longtime site in North Austin to a more industrial area near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Westbrook Metals, an Austin-based company specializing in customized metal products,

has begun construction on a 41,000-square-foot facility at 8208 Burleson Road in Southeast Austin, the Austin Business Journal reported. It’s expected to open in early 2026.

The new facility will replace the 27,000-square-foot location on Canion Street, which has housed the company since 1960.

The shift comes amid significant urban development in North Austin, where the current facility is located, according to Terry Westbrook, the firm’s president.

“That area, it’s all going high-rise, multifamily residential,” Westbrook told the outlet. “It’s just harder and harder to operate an industrial-type business in that area, getting trucks in and out, and we’ve just outgrown the facilities.”

The company hasn’t yet decided whether it will sell its North Austin facility.

The new facility is closer to its customer base and major highways. The company’s core customers are machine shops, welders and fabricators, many of which are located in Southeast Austin and nearby cities like Bastrop and Lockhart.

The company currently employs about 20 people in Austin. Westbrook hopes the new facility will allow the company to hire additional staff to meet increasing demand. In addition to the Austin operation, Westbrook Metals runs a facility in San Antonio.

The transformation of the neighborhood from industrial to mixed-use is a familiar narrative in high-growth markets, like Austin.

The context is similar to the sale of Carl Icahn’s 45-acre scrapyard site in Nashville. The property is located in the city’s East Bank, surrounded by high-profile developments.

— Andrew Terrell