Manufacturing Company Takes Over Reese AFB’s Simulator Building

LUBBOCK, TX — Until its closure in 1996, Reese Air Force Base was home to the training of T-38 "Talon" and T-37 "Tweet" pilots, who honed their emergency procedures and instrument approaches in the simulator building. This stoutly-built structure also served as the headquarters for the Operations Group Commander, a bird colonel, who oversaw all flying operations at Reese's three runways.

Today, that same "sim building," as it was once called, is the new home of the Vulpes Corporation, a chemical manufacturing company founded in 2018. Vulpes relocated to Lubbock from Saint Louis this year and plans to initially focus on producing agrochemical products for the region's agriculture industry.

Billy Tiller, CEO of the Grower Freedom Alliance, a cooperative representing about 400 regional farmers, noted that the area has approximately 10,000 farming decision-makers who could benefit from locally produced herbicides with reduced transportation costs. Currently, most cotton herbicides are manufactured in China, 7,500 miles away. Tiller proudly declared that with Vulpes, Lubbock will be "re-shoring" the manufacture of generic agricultural chemicals to the U.S. from China.

The first product set to roll out of the old sim building will be a herbicide, according to Vulpes CEO Rick Shang. During a tour of the facility, Shang pointed out the large, open bays where T-37 and T-38 simulators and control panel desks once trained U.S. Air Force pilots during Undergraduate Pilot Training. He explained that the building's design is easily adaptable to his business model, with each of the four large sim bays capable of housing separate assembly lines for different chemicals. In the center of the building is a water purification operation, essential for manufacturing chemicals.

With the founding of Vulpes in 2018, Shang was a consultant for many of the largest global chemical companies. He earned his undergraduate degree in cultural anthropology, European history, and philosophy from USC in Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. in philosophy, neuroscience, and psychology from Washington University in Saint Louis.

Shang's education is evident when he discusses his business plans, breaking them down into specific use cases and explaining how his products can benefit customers. He also mentions the potential to manufacture generic prescription drugs or headache medications in the same building if a market emerges. Shang is bilingual in Chinese and English.

After searching for a suitable location around the South Plains, Shang found the Reese Technology Center. The built-in customer base provided by Tiller and regional agricultural product consumers was an added benefit.

On Wednesday, Shang introduced his company to the Lubbock Chamber Ambassadors as Vulpes prepared to manufacture its first batch of herbicides.

Agricultural herbicides likely won't be the only products Vulpes will produce in Lubbock in the near future.

"Vulpes means 'fox' in Latin, which signifies that we are quick and nimble," Shang said.