HARLINGEN, Texas — Highlighting rapid expansion in defense, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing, Jerry Briones, executive vice president of the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation (GBEDC), declared that the Rio Grande Valley is entering a transformative economic era driven by massive capital investments and regional workforce potential.
Speaking on a panel dedicated to capital projects and infrastructure during a conference hosted by the Institute for Leadership in Capital Projects (I-LINC) at the Harlingen Convention Center, Briones outlined how Brownsville and surrounding communities are capturing high-value industrial growth that was historically concentrated on the East Coast.
The conference, titled "Powering Texas and Regional Growth," brought together regional business leaders, municipal officials, and infrastructure developers to discuss the demands of the Rio Grande Valley's expanding economy.
"One of the things I want to start off with is this: I read a recent article in Area Development Magazine, and in 2025, the top three categories were aerospace, energy, and digital data," Briones told attendees. "We are doing very well in the defense and aerospace industry."
Briones highlighted the critical partnership between the GBEDC, the Port of Brownsville, and Saronic Technologies—a defense firm specializing in autonomous maritime vessels. The city, county, and economic leaders collaborated closely on workforce development, supply chain logistics, and local tax abatement incentives to secure Saronic’s presence.
"We met with Saronic in various terms on workforce, on supply chain, on a lot of different areas," Briones noted. "We incentivized them coming to the area, and we also provided some assistance at the county level on tax abatements."
That successful attraction, Briones explained, has created a major ripple effect across the defense industry, prompting inquiries from defense consultants, contractors, and national defense firms seeking new operational bases in South Texas.
"If you look at the East Coast, it is filled with submarines, shipbuilding, and defense infrastructure that wants to make its way down here. The one piece missing elsewhere that we do very well on is workforce," Briones said.
Briones shared details of a recent study by an independent site selection consulting group that evaluated Valley municipalities for defense sector readiness. The consultants left the region highly confident in local capacity.
Key to winning Saronic was an intensive workforce alignment effort immediately following the holidays. "Right the week after Christmas, we put together a roundtable with all our industry partners and training facilities—STC, TSC, TSTC—everybody in one room," Briones said. "We had Saronic come in, made presentations individually with our training partners one by one, and when they left, they looked very comfortable."
Turning to aerospace, Briones addressed the relentless expansion surrounding SpaceX at Starbase. With SpaceX currently employing over 6,000 workers and aiming to pass 8,000 by the end of the year, demand for local supply chain infrastructure has escalated dramatically.
"If they want to launch two rockets every week, they need parts the next day," Briones emphasized, noting that GBEDC is currently moving past "Phase 2.0" in bringing critical suppliers online.
Two major Tier-1 space industry suppliers have already established operations in the area:
To proactively address labor demands, GBEDC works directly with partners like Workforce Solutions Cameron, Texas Southmost College (TSC), South Texas College (STC), and Texas State Technical College (TSTC) to craft customized job descriptions and training pipelines before companies break ground.
Growth, however, brings logistical challenges. Briones candidly acknowledged the toll on local traffic and infrastructure, particularly along corridors like Highway 48 leading toward the Port of Brownsville and South Padre Island.
"I tell people: you're going to love me, and you're going to hate me," Briones joked. "You're going to love me because we're bringing good-paying jobs to the area. But you're going to hate me because you're going to have congestion, wait times, and a longer commute. But those infrastructure needs are being addressed directly with our mayor, planning department, and county engineers."
Closing his remarks, Briones underscored that industrial growth in South Texas can no longer be viewed through the lens of a single municipality.
"When you leave Brownsville at 5:30 in the morning, all you see is headlights coming in. When you leave the other way, it's headlights going out," Briones said. "We don't just say Brownsville or Cameron County—we look at this as a four-county region of 1.3 million people. That scale makes our workforce potential look immensely stronger to global investors."
Briones revealed that a national industrial observer recently told his team: "Brownsville is going to be the next major industrial hub—you guys don't even realize how big it's going to happen."
