“I love working here,” said Tommy Villarreal, president of Nicho Produce Company in Edinburg. “It’s a thrilling environment.” The wholesale company is a hive of activity, fronted by a war room of agents negotiating orders for shipments from over 500 suppliers from around the country and backed by warehouse employees loading and unloading boxes of produce, and kitchen workers moving a variety of vegetables and fruits through the fresh-cut process.…
At the turn of the millennium, the U.S. fitness industry was on the cusp of a huge growth decade. Young adults in the 18–34-year-old range drove membership, helping to make it the fastest-growing job market by 2006. Large gyms, of more than 10,000 square feet, studded with endless rows of Nautilus equipment and treadmills, dotted the typical upscale suburban landscape. In recent years, however, the robust $20-billion-plus industry has undergone…
Are you ready for the Rio Grande Valley to become the epicenter of a space-based Silicon Valley? That’s a highly likely future, according to presenters at the first STARGATE Talk. The stars are, in fact, aligning to make the area near the SpaceX facility into a research and commercialization hub with a business incubator only two miles from the launch site. SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and…
“With a couple weeks of warm weather in a row, everyone is going to have flea and tick explosions,” said Arthur Wright on a rainy March afternoon. Wright, who operates Advanced Pest Control Services with his father-in-law Gary Maley, was braced for the resurgence of fleas, ticks, ants, bees, termites and other pests that thrive in our semi-tropical heat and humidity. The company advocates integrated pest management, a holistic method…
McAllen-Miller Airport this year has finally captured the majority market share of Rio Grande Valley air passengers. Double digit growth in the last two years propelled the urban airport to the 50% mark, according to Director of Aviation Elizabeth Suarez. “The trend overall is growth on existing routes. It’s great for passengers,” she said. Several critical elements have converged to position the airport for strong growth and satisfied, repeat travelers.…
McAllen attorney Bobby Ramirez grew up in Roma in the 1960s and 70s. He attended a parochial school, ‘the convent’ in Rio Grande City, the same school his father, noted physician Dr. Mario Ramirez, had attended. “Roma was a great place to grow up, a really great place to raise kids,” Ramirez recalled. So when Ramirez and his wife Irene, a lawyer with a mediation practice, were opening The Ramirez…
Leaving the Expressway, city streets and even county roads behind appeals to certain adventurous spirts. The owners of all-terrain vehicles, Jeeps, dirt bikes and mountain bikes roam the wide open spaces that many people never get a chance to see and enjoy. In rain and shine, dirt and mud, they find camaraderie, challenges and good times when out communing with Mother Nature, far from the trappings of civilization. Texas has…
If you missed seeing the massive aircraft carriers Forrestal, Constellation and Saratoga towed to their final berths at the Port of Brownsville, you can still see these behemoths up close. At least three Valley companies offer entertaining cruises of the Brownsville Ship Channel, taking you past the unique ship-breaking yards and the carriers as well as the shrimp basin and marine oil rigs under construction. I boarded the Osprey at…
“Franchising is a model for doing business, a recipe for success,” said Stephen Maeker, who has held director level positions at franchises such as Mr. Gatti’s, Mobile Oil and Jack-in-the Box. He and his wife own a franchise, and he is an independent franchise consultant. If you research the 3,000 franchises in the U.S., you will find that not all franchisors are created equal, Maeker told attendees at a SBDC…
By design and intent, any very small business (fewer than five employees) has had to learn to work smart. The owners can become generalists, willing to handle all types of challenges on their own, or they can choose to outsource non-core tasks. Most rely on technology to operate efficiently and to connect to potential and existing customers. In fact about 23 million of America’s small businesses have no employees other…