The consensus of panelists at Friday’s U.S.-Mexico border manufacturing summit was that opportunities exist for the Rio Grande Valley to attract advanced manufacturing, as long as the challenges can be overcome.
Topping the list of challenges is the lack of a local workforce with the technical and vocational training necessary to lure companies here — not a new complaint by any means. Nonetheless, changes in how supply chains are managed and other economic shifts stand to position Brownsville and the region well.
U.S. Rep. Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and Rio Grande Valley Partnership President and CEO Sergio Contreras hosted the event, dubbed “Future Opportunities and Challenges for Manufacturing on the U.S.-Mexico Border” and held on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley campus in Brownsville.
On hand were dozens of representatives from U.S. and international manufacturing firms, economic development organization officials and others. Two groups of panelists fielded questions from moderator Ron Garza, executive director of the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council.
The first panel featured Mark Kroll, dean of the UTRGV Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship; Danny Teixeira, general manager for Cardone Industries; Sergio Villarreal, general manager of Humanetics Precision Sheet Metal; and Jason Wolfe, president and CEO of NovaLink Inc.
The second panel featured Alexander Domijan, dean of the UTRGV College of Engineering; Gilberto Salinas, interim executive director of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation; and Chris Wilson, deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute.
Introducing the panel discussion, Vela said the region has significant manufacturing sectors on both sides of the border, though they’ve faced challenges in recent years. While plenty of companies have floated the idea of bringing manufacturing operations to the Valley, a much smaller percentage has followed through, he said.
“The idea of coming down is different than actually coming down and making that investment,” Vela said.”