McAllen, Texas
Metro area population: 716,000
5-year annualized job growth: 4.7%
Forbes magazine names McAllen Texas as one of the top cities in the nation to find a job and NAAMREI will tie together 41 industrial parks across the Rio South Texas Region, which borders Mexico. Services will be provided through a central complex being built on an 80-acre site donated by the City of McAllen. McAllen area called the new Silicon Valley.
The North American Free Trade Agreement has helped this Mexican border area explode. Numerous big multinationals like General Electric, Motorola and Sony set up operations in the region, causing Forbes Magazine to rank McAllen, Texas as one the best places to find a job.
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The Lone Star State shines brilliantly in a list of the best places to work in the U.S. when some economists peer into their crystal balls for 2008, with a 20 billion dollar oil refinery influx in
Port Arthur, Texas.
Austin, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio all rank high on the latest forecast data from
Moody's Economy.com.
McAllen, Texas is expected to have the highest job growth rate, as its leisure and hospitality, educational and health services and commercial construction jobs flourish throughout Texas.
Additionally it has been announced that the first phase of the NAAMREI plan was completed with the April 11 opening of the Rapid Response Manufacturing Center at The University of Texas-Pan American.
The center, directed by Dr. John Lloyd, provides services and expertise in four primary categories – research, development and demonstration (RD&D); education; innovation and entrepreneurship; and technology-based business incubation.
The center is an education component of NAAMREI. Joining UTPA as lead education agencies are South Texas College and the Region One Education Service Center. They, along with five neighboring colleges, will recruit and train the skilled workforce needed for the advanced manufacturing infrastructure.
Keith Patridge, president and CEO of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation, sees NAAMREI as a way to help his community and manufacturing companies compete in the global arena. “The world around us is dynamic and nations, communities, companies and individuals must also be dynamic to avoid being left behind,” he said.
U.S. Congressman Ruben Hinojosa shared his strong feelings for the initiative. “This will be the new Silicon Valley for manufacturing and technology,” he said.
NAAMREI will tie together 41 industrial parks across the Rio South Texas Region, which borders Mexico. Services will be provided through a central complex being built on an 80-acre site donated by the City of McAllen.
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