BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Following lessons learned from a presentation by William Dietrich, CEO of the Port of Brownsville, RioPlex wants to start running workshops for contractors wishing to do business with tier one companies operating at the port.
This was confirmed by Morgan LaMantia, a board member of RioPlex, at the conclusion of a high-level strategy meeting held by board members and visionary partners at the offices of Texas National Bank in Brownsville. One of the two top speakers was Dietrich.
“It was a great meeting,” LaMantia said. “I think his (Dietrich’s) remarks were incredibly insightful and useful for it gives RioPlex a new goal that we need to start striving for. That is, creating workshops where we can bring in contractors and service providers that can service these tier one companies that are coming to into the Port of Brownsville and having workshops to be able to train them (the contractors and service providers) on how to respond to requests for services, for quotes, how to conduct themselves in interviews.”
LaMantia gave an exclusive interview to the RGG Business Journal at the conclusion of the strategy meeting.
“We want to bring those groups together, those tier one businesses, with our local businesses, so that it is our local architects, our local contractors, our local subcontractors that are getting those jobs and getting those contracts (from the tier one companies),” LaMantia said. “So that we're keeping that value here in the (Rio Grande) Valley, and it's not leaving by going to companies out of San Antonio or Corpus.”
It was put to LaMantia that Dietrich successfully walked a fine line in giving advice to the RioPlex board members on what local contractors should be doing to secure contracts from the tier one companies while also explaining that as a government official, he had to adhere to certain rules and regulations. But it was clear Dietrich wanted local contractors to do well.
“Absolutely, and that is a role that RioPlex can play,” LaMantia responded. “So, when these companies are coming down here and they don't know the area, they don't know the RioPlex area, they can come to us and get a list of companies that offer those services. They can get those introductions. We can help them find the local entities and the local services that they need here.”
LaMantia said RioPlex can make those connections because it is an organization that brings companies from across the region together.
“It doesn't matter if you're Matamoros, Reynosa, Brownsville, McAllen or Edinburg, we're all one area, one region, and we want every company to be able to rise in that way. And that’s by bringing those entities together, having those conversations, and making sure everyone has that opportunity to bid for that contract to provide their services and achieve those goals.”
Asked how impressed she is with what is happening at the Port of Brownsville and the big projects Dietrich outlined, LaMantia said:
“I'm incredibly impressed. For too long, we've heard about the Port of Houston or what the Port of Corpus Christi is doing, knowing that we have this well-kept secret here in Brownsville. It's no longer a well-kept secret. People are learning about it. They're seeing about what we can offer here and what our unique area has to give. And that's why they're coming to Brownsville. And it is also because of the leadership and the team that they have over at the Port. It's really helping us grow as an area and as a region, and bringing us together. And can't wait to see what they have planned next.”
The other main speaker at the strategy session was former Texas Secretary of State Rolando Pablos. He recently joined the board of RioPlex and spoke about his experience running BorderPlex, a group similar to RioPlex that operates in El Paso, Las Cruces, and Ciudad Juarez. Pablos proposed RioPlex adopt a code of ethics. LaMantia said she wholeheartedly agreed with his recommendation.
“It was incredibly uplifting and wonderful to see that and to hear from Rolando because now we know we do not have to reinvent the wheel. This is something that has worked before in other areas, similar to ours, on the border, and if we just follow the best practices that they (BorderPlex) put in place and they followed, we can recreate that here. It's not going to be exactly the same. We'll have unique situations that they didn't run into. But that's why we want to bring the best of the best together under RioPlex and be able to solve those problems and really elevate this area throughout the world, and really bring up our perception in the state of Texas.”
LaMantia said it is important that, going forward, RioPlex makes sure that tier one companies understand that the region has all the attributes necessary to attract them.
“We need to make sure that we are seen as equals when it comes to companies looking to move to Texas, that we have the workforce, that we have the skill set, that we have the professional services that they need and they are looking for.”
LaMantia said UT-Rio Grande Valley can play its part by helping provide the data and research tier one companies need.
“We talked about the private sector, we talked about the government and how we're going to need those areas working together. But UTRGV and our other universities and colleges are going to play a huge role in that, because the data, the research, the numbers that truly reflect what's happening here in the RioPlex area, that's going to come from our partnership with them. And so we have a lot of tasks and a lot of goals from this meeting that we want to achieve. But with such an amazing group and such wonderful resources here, with our universities, our colleges and our elected officials, I think we can achieve it.”
