Everything Weslaco EDC's Steve Valdez said to investors from India

Rio Grande Guardian's Podcast

WESLACO, Texas - The Council for South Texas Economic Progress is working on an agreement with Startup Runway, a Frisco-based company that brings manufacturing and tech companies across from India.

COSTEP CEO Adam Gonzalez said his organization will make sure any potential companies are well-vetted. Then, he or his colleague Rick Carrera, the group’s director of economic development, will connect with economic development groups in the region to see if the companies are a good fit for their community.

Recently, COSTEP brought three Indian consultants to the Rio Grande Valley, including Jyothsna Kondapuli, executive director of Startup Runway. The consultants heard from the larger economic development corporations in Hidalgo and Cameron counties.

One of the Valley groups hoping to land an Indian tech or manufacturing firm is Weslaco Economic Development Corporation. In his pitch to the consultants, Weslaco EDC’s executive director, Steve Valdez, stressed the central location of his city.

“So, the first thing that we talk about (to prospective clients) is that we're centrally located in the region. If South Texas is one of your regions, then we like the fact that we're right in the middle,” Valdez said. He said Weslaco is popular with warehousing, distribution and food processing companies.

“I think our numbers are increasing in the Mid Valley because we're getting sandwiched in and now being centrally located means a little more because we're growing as a region all together,” he said.

With a population getting close to 50,000, Weslaco is one of the bigger of the small cities and one of the smaller of the big cities in the Valley, Valdez said. “We consider ourselves a small community but with large community amenities,” he said.

Most of the growth in Weslaco is happening in the north of the city, Valdez told the consultants from India. “Every five miles (in radio) we basically double our population,” he said. He also said Mid Valley International Airport, which is located in Weslaco, just received a $5 million grant to continue expanding.

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