Economic development leaders travel to the Northeast to lure business back home

Economic development leaders travel to the Northeast to lure business back home

BY STEVE CLARK

THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD

Not content to wait for the world to come calling, Brownsville-Matamoros area economic development officials are calling on the world.

In a mission spearheaded by the Brownsville Economic Development Council, representatives of the BEDC, the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation, the Port of Brownsville and the Mexican National Maquiladora Association traveled to New York and other northeastern states earlier this month to meet with business leaders in an attempt to snag some economic development for the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

It’s the first time multiple organizations from the region have traveled together out of state to market the Brownsville region and recruit business, says Gilberto Salinas, vice president of marketing and public affairs for BEDC.

"The way we look at it is that it’s being proactive and making things happen," he says. "Unless we’re out there telling them who we are, they might not necessarily know who we are."

Most of what people outside South Texas hear about the region has to do with border and security issues, Salinas says. Joining him and BEDC president and CEO Jason Hilts on the trip were Rafael Carrasco, president and chairman of the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation; Donna Eymard, deputy director of the Port of Brownsville; Monica Gonzales Greer, president of the Mexican National Maquiladora Association; and Tony Rodriguez, director of cargo services for the Port of Brownsville.

Each group paid its own way for the trip, and they didn’t come back empty handed: After meeting with CEOs and vice presidents of more than a dozen companies over a span of five days, the Brownsville-Matamoros region made the short list of a major medical device manufacturer looking to set up shop outside the Northeast, Salinas says. About five countries are vying for the same manufacturer, which will provide up to 250 jobs wherever it decides to locate.

BEDC set up meetings with the various entities — none of which Salinas was at liberty to name — before making the trip, which was modeled on the state’s monthly economic development missions to other states and countries.

"They invite different economic development entities from the state to participate, and it gives you a chance to come in and talk about your community at the international level," Salinas says. "We started kind of emulating what they did. We said there’s no reason we can’t do it."

Salinas says marketing the region as a foursome carries more weight than if it were just one group knocking on doors by itself.

"By going in together as one it’s sends a very powerful message," he adds. "They see you’re coming in as a united group and not stepping on each others toes. It makes a difference. When they see there’s unity it puts them at ease."

As a bonus, Greer was interviewed on CNN’s Spanish-language economic and finance program. Team members also were interviewed by domestic and international news wires such as Bloomberg News, the Associated Press, Japan’s NIKKEI and Mexico’s Notimex. Salinas, still recovering from five days of back-to-back meetings, says stay tuned for more economic development missions to market Brownsville-Matamoros.

"We’re kind of taking a step back and assessing what we did," he says. "We’ve gotten some great feedback from the companies we met with, and locally from the respective boards, so now we’re going to try and go out there again. We’re trying to coordinate a few of these throughout the year — not just in the United States, but hopefully we’ll go international as well."