Ak-Chin Indian Community Offer Long-Term Advantages to Food Processing Facilities
Food processing companies can benefit from locating on Native American reservations, such as the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s industrial park, with an established agricultural supply chain, close proximity to workforce and transportation, low electric costs, and unparalleled tax advantages.
2015 Food Processing

Concentrating a search only on conventional locations may lead companies to overlook the truly unique advantages offered by Native American reservations. Many federally recognized tribes can offer unparalleled tax advantages, incentives, and project fast-tracking abilities that most states, counties, and municipalities simply cannot. Any hesitancy may come from a lack of understanding of how reservations work. However, if companies look for reservations with an established agricultural supply chain, close proximity to workforce and transportation, and an in-house development and approval process to speed projects to market, even a build-to-suit facility can be completed in a short time frame.
This is what attracted Hickman’s Family Farms to the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s industrial park, Santa Cruz Commerce Center, in 2003. Located in Arizona’s agricultural heartland with its own successful farming operation, Ak-Chin offered Hickman’s advantages that never expire — like accelerated depreciation, low electric costs provided by the reservation’s own utility, and a structured lease that allowed for construction costs to be amortized over the length of the lease. As a result, Hickman’s built its first phase in 10 months and has expanded two times since.
When it comes to lowering long-term costs, considering locations like Ak-Chin’s Santa Cruz Commerce Center certainly is food for thought
Project Announcements
Busch Vacuum Solutions Plans Tempe, Arizona, Operations
08/18/2025
Moses Lake Industries Establishes Mesa, Arizona, Production-Research Operations
06/27/2025
GTI Energy Plans Goodyear, Arizona, Manufacturing Operations
05/26/2025
Apex Power Conversion Establishes Mesa, Arizona, Headquarters Operations
05/24/2025
Cyclic Materials Plans Mesa, Arizona, Recycling Operations
04/26/2025
Lucid Group Plans Phoenix-Coolidge, Arizona, Manufacturing Operations
04/19/2025
Japan-Based Komatsu Expands Mesa, Arizona, Operations
04/08/2025
UAE-Based Eternity Technologies Plans Phoenix, Arizona, Headquarters-Operations
03/24/2025
CC Patio Establishes Phoenix, Arizona, Manufacturing Operations
02/09/2025
Chlorum Solutions USA Plans Casa Grande, Arizona, Production Operations
12/26/2024
3D Barrier Bags Establishes Chandler, Arizona, Manufacturing Operations
12/23/2024
Taiwan-Based Sunlit Fluo & Chemical Establishes Phoenix, Arizona, Semiconductor Material Operations
11/07/2024
Blue Polymers Plans Buckeye, Arizona, Production Operations
10/03/2024
5C Data Centers Plans Phoenix, Arizona, Operations
09/23/2024
Most Read
-
Tariffs, Talent, and U.S. Expansion
Q3 2025
-
What We’re Getting Wrong About Gen Z’s Future in the Skilled Trades
Q3 2025
-
Data Center Demand Stabilizes Amid Changing Market Forces
Q3 2025
-
Powering the Next Generation of Projects
Q3 2025
-
A New Course for U.S. Shipbuilding
Q3 2025
-
How Consumer Trends Are Reshaping Food Facilities
Q3 2025
-
Optimizing Your Rail-Served Transportation Network: Strategy Before Steel
Q2 2025