Category Archives: Industry

IBC Executive Meets with Mexican Leaders

Featured Finance/Banking News Comments
IBC Bank Executive Vice President Gerry Schwebel and Chief of Staff designee and Liaison to the Mexican private sector Alfonso Romo

IBC Bank Executive Vice President Gerald “Gerry” Schwebel recently participated in a mission to Mexico City to meet with leaders of the incoming government of President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Organizer of the mission was the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue, an initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The group, made up of both U.S. and Mexican leaders, addresses core issues in the countries’ bilateral relationship. Schwebel and other representatives met with…

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Artificial Intelligence Can Help Save Time

Business Advice Featured News Technology Comments
artificial intelligence

When you think of artificial intelligence, your mind might conjure images of futuristic robots or computers that are able to act as humans do. But AI isn’t just an idea for the future. It’s making a real impact on businesses today and could factor even larger in the years to come. An Accenture Research study found that AI has the potential to boost profitability by an average of 38 percent across select…

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Custom Nets to Catch Clients

News Professional Services Retail Comments
SPI Nets owner Joe Rodriguez works at his desk in the company’s San Benito office. (VBR)

Joe Rodriguez’s father started SPI Nets more than three decades ago, relying on his fishing background to launch a business making fishing nets. But today, the company’s nets don’t catch fish. They catch balls – baseballs, soccer, golf and even lacrosse balls. “The fishing industry as far as net building is a very localized business,” Rodriguez said, meaning that fishing regions tend to have plenty of established businesses manufacturing the…

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Nutty Venture Cracks Through

Food & Entertainment Retail Comments
Nuts and Cows owner Elizabeth Davis with products she pitched in the H-E-B Quest for Texas Best competition. (Courtesy)

Standing at H-E-B’s corporate headquarters in San Antonio, and going head-to-head with some of the top entrepreneurs in Texas, Elizabeth Davis was undeterred. The Reynosa native and former maquiladora worker started her Nuts and Cows business just three years ago with $89 and a belief that “success can come out of a crisis.” Davis spoke English sporadically growing up as a child of the border, but with a grit and…

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Love of Fish Nurtures Success

Professional Services Comments
Isaac Ramirez, known as The Fish Guy, with a saltwater aquarium he designed and installed in a business in Edinburg. (VBR)

When his mother bought a goldfish in a bowl at a carnival, a young Isaac Ramirez found his future. “I went back the next day and got a couple more and I was hooked.” Beginning with that day, his youthful curiosity grew into a hobby and eventually his livelihood. With as many as seven aquariums in his home at one time, hobby aquarist Ramirez was making his living as a…

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Business that Beats the Heat

Featured Professional Services Comments
A Tenzo employee cleans a large shade structure prior to the new school year at Covenant Christian Academy in McAllen. (VBR)

Protecting people and property from the scorching South Texas sun and its potentially dangerous ultra-violet rays is the focus of a fast-growing Rio Grande Valley enterprise. Tenzo Architectural Solar Shades owner Christian Diaz built the business from scratch and works tirelessly to keep up with the demand as his business continues to expand. The Mission-based company designs, manufactures and installs custom outdoor fabric shade structures throughout the Valley. With more…

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Nonprofit Fosters Healing

Healthcare News Professional Services Comments
Cindy Perez-Waddle, a licensed professional counselor, stands on the stage of a mini-theater where children can use puppets and other props to act out their feelings. (VBR)

Coming to terms with the loss of a loved one is among life’s hardest journeys. For children, the path can be especially confusing and difficult. In the Rio Grande Valley there is only one organization that specializes in helping young people travel that road to healing. The Children’s Bereavement Center Rio Grande Valley in Harlingen opened in February 2017 to foster healing for grieving children and their families. “That’s really…

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Valley Roots Bind Brewers

Food & Entertainment Retail Comments
Mission native and Army veteran George Rice is one of the founders of 5X5 Brewery. (VBR)

The 5X5 Brewing Co. of Mission touts itself as being “Battle Born, Texas Made.” On both counts, the fledging beer production and distribution company fits the bill. Four of its five owners have a military background, and its original three founders are all hometown Mission boys who grew up together. “We all have an attachment to the community,” said George Rice, a veteran of the U.S. Army, who recalls as…

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Ambiance Enhances Care

Healthcare News Comments
Mid Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation in Mercedes offer hotel-like amenities as well as care provided partly by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine’s Family Residency Program. (VBR)

The sign outside reads Mid Valley Nursing & Rehabilitation. “I see it as a hotel,” said Alice Roel, the licensed nursing facility administrator for the Mercedes facility. “You register and have housekeeping, meals, activities, laundry and transportation provided round the clock with exceptional customer service.” The state-of-the-art complex, which Touchstone Strategies opened in November 2016, aims for a homey, hospitality ambiance rather than a medical or institutional atmosphere, Roel said.…

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VIA Welcomes Frontier Airlines

Events Featured News Transportation & Travel Comments
Frontier Airlines Chief Commercial Officer Daniel Shurz takes the podium in announcing the new Frontier Airlines service at VIA.

Chicago, Ill., and Denver, Colo., will soon be even more accessible as Frontier Airlines brings it non-stop service to these destinations from Valley International Airport. Regional officials and business leaders celebrated the announcement Aug. 28 with an official press conference. Here, Frontier confirmed the non-stop services will begin in November. The addition of flights to Harlingen represents the 100th city in the airline’s network. Frontier is currently offering a special introductory, one-way…

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