Category Archives: Manufacturing/Industrial

Texas A&M to Build $30M Training Center at PoB

On Feb. 8, Regents of The Texas A&M University System approved building a $30 million advanced manufacturing training facility at the Port of Brownsville. The announcement comes after the Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a lease amendment at a recent regular board meeting, allowing the Texas A&M University System to expand its existing footprint at the port. The South Texas Workforce Development Project is proposed…

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Dietrich Assumes Interim Director at Port

William Dietrich

The Port of Brownsville begins 2024 with Port Chief of Police William Dietrich succeeding former Port Director and CEO Eduardo A. Campirano as interim port director. The Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners began a national search for a new port director and CEO in August. Dietrich was named interim in December while the search continues. “Building upon record achievements, the Port of Brownsville is on the path for tremendous…

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Port of Brownsville Recognizes Norma Torres

Former Brownsville and Rio Grande International Railway President and COO Norma Torres recently received the prestigious 2023 Chairman’s Award in recognition of her exemplary career. The presentation took place during the Port of Brownsville’s Annual Customer Appreciation Luncheon on Dec. 14 at the Ambassador Event Center. The event highlights the achievements of port tenants and customers throughout the year. Torres has played a pivotal role in the short line’s success,…

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Colleges Create Programs To Fit Needs

A wide array of technical skills are in demand as industrial activity ramps up in the Rio Grande Valley. (Courtesy)

SpaceX has more than gained a foothold in southern Cameron County with its imposing rockets looming over Boca Chica Beach. More than 2,000 employees work at Starbase, a production and launch site just across the Laguna Madre from South Padre Island. Keeping such a large operation going as it pursues audacious goals related to space travel requires vast amounts of skill and know-how from its teams of employees. South Texas…

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SpaceX, LNG Put RGV On Industrial Map

RGV students receiving technical training will be in high demand in the region with emerging companies setting up large operations in Cameron County. (Courtesy)

For decades, the scenario was the same for Rio Grande Valley residents when it came time to make job choices after receiving their technical training and education at area colleges. The better jobs and higher pay were elsewhere. Be it at the Port of Houston or jobs at aviation manufacturing facilities in California, Valley natives searched nationwide for careers that could match their aspirations. That equation is beginning to change…

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Supply Chains Shifts May Benefit RGV

Shifts in global supply chain operations may bring light manufacturing opportunities for the Rio Grande Valley economy.

The fallout from the economic upheavals of 2020 when coupled with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have frayed supply chains from Asia and put global energy markets on edge.  Two buzzwords are making the rounds of economic development talk as industries readjust and calculate what lays ahead. One term banding about is reshoring. This is the reestablishment of manufacturing operations in the United States after being previously located…

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Port Receives $11.5 Million for Dock Reconstruction

The Port of Brownsville's Cargo Dock 3. (courtesy)

The Port of Brownsville’s Cargo Dock 3 reconstruction project has secured an $11.5 million grant under the Texas Department of Transportation‘s new Maritime Infrastructure Program. On Sept. 28, the Texas Transportation Commission approved a historic $240 million in funding for Texas ports to help increase trade, improve safety, and provide a more robust supply chain for the state and the nation. The Port of Brownsville’s Cargo Dock 3 project is…

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LNG Puts Brownsville On Global Map

An artist rendering of the Rio Grande LNG plant under construction at the Port of Brownsville. (Courtesy)

The official word finally came in late June with the announcement that Houston-based NextDecade was building an $18 billion-plus liquefied natural gas plant at the Port of Brownsville. For port executives and community at-large leadership, the announcement was a combination of relief and elation in definitively knowing they overcame all obstacles and last-minute legal challenges. Site work began the same day of the announcement. The dirt started moving on the…

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Port Of Brownsville Once Again A Magnet For Trade

FTZ No. 62

The Port of Brownsville‘s Foreign Trade Zone No. 62 saw a boost in the value of goods transported in 2022, reaching a record total of $13.9 billion in exports and imports. It is a notable increase from the $9.7 billion recorded in 2021. The U.S. Foreign-Trade Zones Board’s 2022 recent report to Congress revealed that FTZ No. 62 held its position as the second highest-ranking FTZ in the country for…

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BIH Project at Port of Brownsville Gets a Boost

The Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project continues to move forward, as Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation recently announced the receipt of Notice to Proceed to perform essential improvements to the Brownsville ship channel for NextDecade Corporation’s Rio Grande LNG project at the Port of Brownsville. Great Lakes will commence Phase 1 of the project later this year. The historic BIH project will deepen the 17-mile-long Brownsville ship channel…

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