Industry, in its various forms, is the lynchpin of cities the world over, for without it citizens would have nowhere to work, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with anyway. The absence of the finance industry would cripple New York and Toronto. Event catering businesses would fold up because there would be no swanky parties that needed food. Plano has a crucial economic support pillar as well, but it's not finance, it's headquarters offices. That's right: Plano's industry is controlling industry in other cities. To read more about the companies that make their homes in Plano, just take a ride down Legacy Drive. If you're not currently in Plano, reading this article will do just as well.
Food Services
The kind of food service companies whose headquarters offices you will see lining Legacy Drive in Plano aren't the type you would normally call up to fill your Mississauga wedding venues with stuffed chicken and candy-coated almonds. Plano's food service companies include such world-recognized junk food giants as the Frito Lay Company, known for their potato chips, the Dr Pepper Snapple Group, famed producer of sugary beverages, and the Metromedia Restaurant Group, who are responsible for the proliferation of such restaurants as Bennigan's, Steak and Ale, and Ponderosa.
Tourism and Conventions
The presence of so many headquarters offices for major multinational companies has created, as a by-product, a thriving tourism industry. You probably wouldn't rush here on your honeymoon after the returning the wedding rental. Brantford might even be a more likely destination in that regard, because 80% of travelers coming to Plano are coming for business meetings or attending a trade convention. Area hotels offer business amenities like wireless internet and shoe shining while the city owns and operates a convention center. Tourism literature does mention entertainment options like the hot air balloon festival, but mostly focuses on promoting the region as the obvious place for business conventions.
There are many companies that have their headquarters in Plano, Texas. They include:
Adams Golf, Brinker International (Chili's), Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (formerly Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Inc.), Cinemark Theatres, Countrywide, Crossmark, DealTaker, Electronic Data Systems, Frito Lay, Highland Homes, Metromedia Restaurant Group (Bennigan's, Steak & Ale), Microtune, PFSweb, JCPenney, MotionZoneHD, Perot Systems, Prodea Systems, Rent-A-Center, Rug Doctor, Safety-Kleen, Tattooking, Triad Hospitals, UGS, and ViaVienté
Plano also has a large number of semiconductor and telecommunications companies in its Research and Technology District (RT) due in part to its proximity to the Telecom Corridor. They include:
Alcatel-Lucent, Genband, Raytheon, Texas Instruments, Flextronics, Ericsson, Infosys Technologies and Metasolv Software (being acquired by Oracle Corporation)
The median income for a household in the city was $78,722, and the median income for a family was $91,162.
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