Category Archives: Manufacturing/Industrial

Port of Brownsville Internships Build Bridges

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Summer interns Samuel Hinojosa, Pierce De La Cruz Grove and Antonio Gutierrez stand at Dock 15 at the Port of Brownsville, where they gained hands-on experience in maritime operations, finance and cargo services as part of the port’s commitment to workforce development. (Courtesy)

Looking over the turning basin from the Port of Brownsville’s Harbor Master’s Office, Maritime Business Administration major Samuel Hinojosa spent this summer preparing for his final semester at Texas A&M University – Galveston, as an intern gaining valuable hands-on experience in the maritime industry. Hinojosa was one of three college students selected to intern at the Port of Brownsville this summer as part of its ongoing workforce development efforts. Alongside…

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Port of Brownsville Receives Export Merit Award

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

The Port of Brownsville has received the 19th annual Rodolfo Garza Export Merit Award from COMCE Noreste, recognizing the port’s performance building strong export partnerships with Mexico. The award was presented recently during COMCE Noreste’s 64th Ordinary General Assembly at the Industrial Club in Monterrey, Mexico. Accepting the honor on behalf of the port were William Dietrich, port director and CEO, and Guillermo Rico, director of Business Development and Marketing.…

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Port of Brownsville Honors High School Graduates

Community e-Brief Features Giving Back Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
2025 Port of Brownsville Scholarship

The Brownsville Navigation District has awarded 34 graduating high school seniors the 2025 Port of Brownsville Scholarship, recognizing academic excellence, community service and leadership. Each recipient will receive a $1,000 scholarship upon enrollment at a college, university or technical school. Students were selected based on their academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, community engagement, work experience and a personal essay. Recipients represent 17 public and private high schools within the navigation district.…

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Port of Brownsville Rises in U.S. Port Rankings

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Port of Brownsville

The Port of Brownsville is now 41st in the ranking of 150 U.S. maritime ports for waterborne cargo tonnage. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ most recent annual report, in 2023, the port’s waterways handled more than 11.2 million tons of cargo. This is a 23 percent increase from 2022’s 9.1 million tons, launching the port from 50th position to 41st in the nation. This latest ranking signifies…

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Port of Brownsville Thrives

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Westa at Port of Brownsville

Food manufacturer Westa Inc., the first tenant of the Port of Brownsville’s 118-acre business park, is finalizing the layout for its $20 million facilities at the port. Taking advantage of the port’s maritime access, Westa Inc. will receive grains via barge from the Midwest, enhancing the company’s supply chain operations for its high-capacity flour mill and sunflower seed processing plant set to employ 120 people. Last April, the company celebrated a…

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BRG Celebrates 40 Years of Service

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

OmniTRAX, the rail and real estate affiliate of The Broe Group, recently commemorated the 40th anniversary of its Texas rail affiliate, Brownsville and Rio Grande International Railway, at a ceremony of economic and community partners in Brownsville. Dignitaries from the Port of Brownsville, state and local economic partners, community leaders, and rail customers joined a leadership delegation from OmniTRAX and BRG to recognize the railroad’s pivotal role in keeping North…

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TPA Releases New Economic Impact Study

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Port of Brownsville

Texas ports contribute more than $713.9 billion in economic activity for the state accounting for 28 percent of Texas’ gross domestic product, further advancing ports as a catalyst for state economic growth and job generation, according to a recent economic impact study by the Texas Ports Association. TPA’s most recent economic impact study was conducted by Martin & Associates, using data from fiscal year 2023. Since the association’s last report,…

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Port of Brownsville Breaks Ground on Channel Deepening

e-Brief Features Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments

The Brownsville Navigation District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held a groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 6 for Phase 2 of the Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project. The project will deepen the 17-mile-long Brownsville Ship Channel from 42 feet to 52 feet, improving navigational safety and enabling larger commercial vessels to access South Texas. “The Brazos Island Harbor Channel Improvement Project is paramount to the Port of Brownsville’s…

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New CEO Finds Harbor In Brownsville

Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
William Dietrich came to Brownsville in the mid-1990s to work as a police officer and today finds himself at the Port of Brownsville as the harbor’s chief executive officer.

William Dietrich was fresh out of college after serving in the U.S. Army when deciding he wanted to be a police officer.  That ambition brought him to Brownsville. The city’s police department was hiring and Dietrich went to where the job was being offered. Starting as a police officer, he saw the job as a stepping stone that would soon enough take him out of Brownsville. The first scenario may…

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Port of Brownsville Leads the Valley’s Economy

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Port of Brownsville

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Annual Report features the Port of Brownsville’s ascension to 50th position among 150 U.S. maritime ports for waterborne cargo. In 2022, the port handled 9.1 million tons of cargo, up from 8.9 million tons in 2021, moving from 55th to 50th place. The port’s comprehensive logistical network comprised of rail, trucking lines, vessel and barge services and pipeline connectivity are key to the transportation…

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