Cartamundi, the Belgian company that manufactures trading cards for the Pokémon franchise and other collectible games, is seeking local incentives to expand production capacity at its Dallas facility, according to WFAA.
The company’s Dallas operation sits at the center of a collecting boom that has transformed trading cards from a hobby aisle staple into a multibillion-dollar global market. Demand for Pokémon cards in particular has repeatedly overwhelmed supply since the pandemic-era surge, with product shortages and resale markups becoming common at retailers. Expanding domestic printing capacity would let Cartamundi move more production closer to North American demand and shorten the supply chain that currently leans on overseas plants.
Cartamundi maintains a significant manufacturing presence in North Texas, and the expansion request follows a pattern the region has seen repeatedly: manufacturers choose Dallas for its central logistics position, large labor pool and comparatively low operating costs, then grow capacity as demand consolidates around them. Trading card production is a specialized business, combining high-speed printing, security features to deter counterfeiting and packaging lines tuned to collectible-grade quality.
The incentive request will be weighed by local officials against the jobs and capital investment the expansion would bring. Production-line work of this kind typically pays above local retail wages, and the project would add to a North Texas manufacturing base that has been growing alongside the region’s population boom.
The trading card industry’s economics have stayed remarkably strong even as other collectibles markets cooled. Pokémon’s parent company has continued to release new sets on a rapid schedule, and retailers including Target and Walmart have limited per-customer purchases to manage demand. Industry analysts estimate the global trading card market has grown to more than $10 billion annually, with collectibles resellers, grading services and storefront dealers forming a supply chain that now supports thousands of jobs.
A formal announcement with the size of the incentive package and expected job count has not yet been made public. Local economic development officials did not immediately respond to inquiries about the timeline for a decision.
The company’s Texas roots run deep. Cartamundi’s Dallas-area plant is one of the largest trading card production sites in North America, and the group operates a global network of factories that produces billions of cards annually for games including Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering and licensed sports sets. Production planning for collectible games is notoriously demanding: publishers guard release calendars closely, quality expectations are exacting because cards are graded and resold, and demand can spike overnight around viral moments and new set launches.
Local incentive packages for manufacturing expansions in the Dallas area typically blend property tax abatements, workforce training grants and sometimes infrastructure support, and officials weigh those costs against payroll and the multiplier effect of supplier spending. A printing operation of Cartamundi’s scale supports paper, ink, packaging and logistics vendors throughout the region.
The Pokémon franchise shows no sign of cooling. New set releases continue to sell out at major retailers within hours, the secondary market for graded cards remains robust, and collectibles fairs across North Texas have reported growing attendance. Satisfying that demand from domestic presses rather than overseas plants would mark a significant shift in how the industry serves American collectors.
