COSTEP close to landing two big manufacturing projects for South Texas

MISSION, Texas - The Council for South Texas Economic Progress is close to landing two big manufacturing firms, one in the food industry and the other in aerospace.COSTEP cannot reveal many details just yet but CEO Adam Gonzalez has confirmed that, if South Texas wins out, one of the companies would be making a $50 million investment and the other anywhere between half billion dollars and 1.5 billion. Gonzalez gave the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service an exclusive and wide-ranging audio interview.“We are working on some projects, of course, because that's our main focus - to bring industry and bring new businesses here to the region that create well paying jobs for our residents,” Gonzalez said.“And, since we work regionally from Laredo to Brownsville, we feature a vast array of assets that are at our disposal.”Gonzalez said his colleague, Rick Carrera, is working with the two companies. Carrera is director of economic development for COSTEP.“One of them is a pretty large investment, $50 million investment. The other one could potentially be starting at a half a billion dollar investment up to $1.5 billion investment,” Gonzalez said.“I can't divulge a whole lot. You know how this works. But, we are getting some traction, we are getting some leverage. We appreciate the support from all the EDOs in the region that have given us their support in order for us to do our job. And, we welcome any other opportunities to collaborate, regionally.”EDO stands for economic development organization.The Guardian asked Gonzalez whether he could confirm that both prospective companies are manufacturers. “Yes, they are,” Gonzalez replied. “One is in the food industry and the other, all I can say, is in the aerospace industry. So that's about as much as I can give out at this point. But, you’ll start hearing about it in the near future or even sooner.”So COSTEP is close to landing one or both projects, Gonzalez was asked.“Yes, we are. We're close,” Gonzalez confirmed.On its website, COSTEP says it is “advancing regional prosperity through the addition of a strategic framework for economic development.” This framework, the website says, is “data-driven and market-validated, with a strong emphasis on job creation and building a regional talent pipeline, all working toward the goal of creating a virtuous circle of education and employment to drive sustainable economic growth and prosperity for the region and its citizens.”Editor's Note: Go to the Rio Grande Guardian website to read the full story.Go to www.riograndeguardian.com to read the latest border news stories and watch the latest news videos.