CASE STUDIES
Case Studies
Major projects move on access, follow through, and trust. Here is what that looks like when it works.
Apple Houston Advanced Manufacturing Facility
Incentives and Foreign-Trade Zone approvals across seven jurisdictions for Apple's 250,000 square foot AI server facility, built with Foxconn.
Houston City College and Foxconn
An employer to college workforce partnership framework that brought a Chancellor and a global manufacturer to the same table.
Natura PCR Recycling Campus
A $150 million campus in Waller, Texas. Site selection, power, rail, permitting, incentives, and construction oversight, owned end to end.
CASE STUDY 01
Apple Houston Advanced Manufacturing Facility
Apple, with Foxconn. Houston, Texas. Incentives, Foreign-Trade Zone, Government Affairs.
The situation
Apple committed to a 250,000 square foot advanced manufacturing facility in North Harris County to build American made AI servers, with Foxconn as the manufacturer. The project needed an incentive package and Foreign-Trade Zone approvals across every affected taxing and governing jurisdiction, on a schedule that left no room for a stalled vote.
What Collinnova did
Opened executive access at Foxconn for the construction partner, then ran the incentives and approvals process end to end, including the FTZ structure, power, and permitting. Secured approvals from Harris County Commissioners Court, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Lone Star College System, Harris County Emergency Services District, the Port of Houston as FTZ No. 84 grantee, and the North Houston Management District, and drove the federal approval through the U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board.
The outcome
The facility is operating ahead of its 2026 schedule and shipping servers to Apple data centers. The FTZ delivers duty deferral and inverted tariff relief. Savings figure is confidential and verifiable on request.
CASE STUDY 02
Natura PCR Recycling Campus
Natura PCR, a WM company. Waller, Texas. Site Selection, Site Development, Incentives, Permitting, Construction Oversight.
The situation
Natura PCR needed to develop a $150 million recycling campus in Waller, Texas: five buildings on 150 acres, with a 270,000 square foot main facility. Site, power, rail, permitting, incentives, and construction all had to land together.
What Collinnova did
As Senior Vice President of Development, Adrian Collins owned the full location lifecycle, starting with the site selection itself. Evaluated and selected the Waller site. Site development and expansion. Power and electricity strategy, including the manufacturing predominant use study for the Texas sales tax exemption. Rail infrastructure. Civil and environmental permitting. Owner side construction oversight. Negotiated and secured a $500,000 incentive package approved by the City of Waller Economic Development Corporation.
The outcome
WM's largest recycling facility by square footage. Started up late 2024 and ramped through 2025 with initial capacity of 7.5 million pounds of resin per month.
CASE STUDY 03
Houston City College and Foxconn Workforce Partnership
Houston City College. Houston, Texas. Workforce Strategy, Employer Partnerships.
The situation
Foxconn's Houston expansion created a hiring need the region's training pipeline could not yet meet. The skills required did not exist locally at scale. Houston City College needed a direct line to Foxconn's decision makers and a partnership framework it could take to its board and reuse with other major employers.
What Collinnova did
Brought HCC's Chancellor and Foxconn's leadership to the same table and worked alongside the Chancellor's team to shape an employer to college partnership framework: training aligned to the equipment students will operate in production, a facilities approach the board could support, and a deal structure built as partnership rather than procurement.
The outcome
A board ready partnership concept with Foxconn as the lead application and a template HCC can use with any large employer entering the Houston market.