BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The transformation taking place in Cameron County and in the City of Brownsville have turned the region into a new energy, aerospace and advancing manufacturing hub in South Texas.
And this is credited to the collaboration of a number of players from the public and private sectors.
The labor force is getting more skilled, wages are employment are up and people are choosing to a stay closer to home because of better opportunities.
Just two of the newest corporations - NextDecade and SpaceX – employ close to 10,000 people altogether and the two entities are planning to hire more people to work.
Other companies like Rich’s, a company that sells a variety of frozen products, employs 600 people and is trying to fill close to 50 openings in all areas of work.
During a roundtable discussion held Friday, April 10, at the Texas A&M Engineering and Advance Manufacturing Hub on Texas Highway 48, representatives from the public and private sectors met to hear about today’s educational opportunities and job creation.
U.S Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, spoke about the expansion of the Pell Grant program that now includes trade.
“We are here to tell you about jobs and about what has been done in Washington, D.C.” he said. “Jobs have been growing by leaps and bounds in the Rio Grande Valley, particularly in Brownsville.”
Cornyn said President Donald Trump was exuberant to announce that an oil refinery is going to be built at the Port of Brownsville - the first one in the country in the last 50 years.
Tom Ramsey, commercial officer with America First Refinery, said it took 12 years to work in the project that will only process domestic crude.
He said about 1,000 permanent and indirect jobs will be created by the new refinery that will set up along the gulf coast.
On another front, Marc Palazzo, senior vice president of policy and corporate affair with NextDecade, gave an update on his company’s LNG project.
“We are moving real well,” he said. “A year ago our project was in jeopardy but Senators Cornyn and Ted Cruz stepped in.”
Palazzo the company is building four trains right now, a fifth is next and four more are in the planning stages.
He said NextDecade is investing $30 billion in the project and has contributed to millions of dollars in the community, in funding to keep dredging the Brownsville Ship Channel and donated a $1 million plus truck to the Brownsville Fire Department.
Brownsville Mayor John Cowen, Jr., said SpaceX employs about 4,300 people and will soon increase its labor force to 12,000. Two students and an instructor spoke about the educational and job opportunities they obtained here – something they said wasn’t available a decade ago.
