MCALLEN, Texas - Foreign Trade Zone No. 12, otherwise known as McAllen Foreign Trade Zone No. 12, has joined RioPlex in order to market itself better around the world.
RioPlex, a new group set up by private industry leaders, promotes the Rio Grande Valley and northern Tamaulipas as one region.
FTZ No. 12 services all of Hidalgo County.
“We think it is important that we, as a regional provider of not only the FTZ program, but also of services, continue to think regionally," said Mark E. Garcia, president and CEO of Foreign Trade Zone No. 12. "Whether that’s through RioPlex or through COSTEP, which we are also a member of. We want to work with everybody.”
COSTEP stands for the Council for South Texas Economic Progress.
In an in-depth interview with the RGG Business Journal, Garcia said he recognizes the importance of RioPlex and COSTEP.
“It took some time for RioPlex to get up and running. COSTEP has been around for a long time, and we've partnered with them for some time. They're important, and everybody has a different role,” Garcia said.
“RioPlex should be taking on the marketing network, whereas COSTEP they’re a little different. They're structured differently, and they can take on lead management and really focus on bringing these companies in.”
Garcia continued: “It's really nice to see that everybody is finally getting into the mentality that we have to market ourselves as a region, and that's where we come in. That's why we decided that it's important that we have a regional reach, and why not RioPlex.
Garcia said Foreign Trade Zone No. 12 previously relied largely on McAllen Economic Development Corporation to market the group’s program and services. But now, he said, it is time to think more broadly, not just about McAllen.
That said, Garcia said he is proud of his group’s success in helping attracting business to McAllen. By way of example he mentioned Zoho Corporation, the multinational technology company that first started in India.
“The Foreign Trade Zone, as you know, has always been part of economic development within the City, whether it was through MEDC or as a Foreign Trade Zone, and we continue to do so. That is our mission. That's our goal. We spent a lot of time and effort helping recruit some of these companies, in conjunction with MEDC, by providing free warehouse space. Zoho (Corporation) was a good example. When Zoho came in, they needed space. We provided them space free of charge. We remodeled a building for them on FTZ dime and look at what happened. They're here, they're growing. They're still doing well at the (McAllen) incubator. They're growing into Edinburg. So, I think that's a great story.
“There was also an aerospace company that we worked with to get into McAllen. The Foreign Trade Zone stepped up and finished out of a warehouse that we had to accommodate them free of charge as an effort to promote economic development in McAllen. So, it's always been part of our mission.”
In the interview, the Business Journal pointed out that Jorge Torres, a leading customs broker, had recently pushed McAllen EDC to do more to promote FTZ No. 12. He did so at a McAllen EDC Quarterly Stakeholders Meeting, saying FTZ No. 12 was an incredible asset.
Garcia said his group’s decision to join RioPlex was already in the works, with discussions taking place before Torres made his remarks.
“We hope that by becoming members of RioPlex, that they can help us get a bigger reach, because, as everybody knows, social media plays a big role in everybody's outreach and marketing, I think internally, we could probably do a better job on social media, but for the longest time, our sister company, which was the economic development corporation at the time, helped us do that.
“So, now that things have changed, I think we need to really kind of sit back and reassess our goals when it comes to social media and marketing. And one of the first steps was, of course, joining COSTEP and RioPlex to get that reach.
Asked if FTZ No. 12 would participate in more trade shows around the world, Garcia chuckled and said: "We're going to leave that to RioPlex. We did enough traveling in the past. I’ve got enough punches on my passport.”
He added: “Regardless, we can't just allow people to carry on and take care of our marketing. We understand that we’ve got to do our part as well.”
Editor's Note: this is the second in a four-part series about Foreign Trade Zone No. 12. Click here to read to read part one.
