Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
What a grand celebration it was! Three exciting days included an evening mixer, a convention, an entrepreneur challenge, a banquet, and a golf tournament to finalize CiL’s 30th Anniversary Celebration.
Thirty years in business is easy to say but doing it is a great accomplishment. In a few words, this is a milestone in business.
Joaquin Spamer, the president of Commodities Integrated Logistics LLC (CiL), is a tireless businessman with a vision to help streamline transportation among nations. His career has amazed everyone since the opening in 1992 of his first company that bore the name of Century Forwarding Agency.
Thirty years have passed, and during that time, he has had many different businesses, all related to import and export, storage, inspection points, transportation, construction, and real estate. All those services now make what it is today CiL.
During the celebration for being in business for three decades, Joaquin invited many distinguished individuals representing this continent. He said that the common ground that unites us all is that we participate in the trade among nations in one way or another.
CiL is a sophisticated company that provides services within the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), NAFTA, and everything related to the USMCA Trade Agreement.
Joaquin was elated that night to see how the McAllen Convention Center’s elegant ballroom was packed with industry guests who participated in the three-day convention celebration.
He was accompanied by his wife Lucy, his sons and daughters, and his mother-in-law, whom he respects and appreciates dearly.
“Friends, it is a pleasure to see you here in our house in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, just north of Tamaulipas,” Joaquin greeted his guests. “We recognized that you have made a great effort to get out of your routine and celebrate with us.”
Joaquin also acknowledged his team, who invested time and effort organizing and coordinating three days of intense activities to celebrate CiL’s 30 Years in Business.
He noted the presence of many of his clients. After years of working together, their business relationship has created a bond of friendship.
“Our mission has always been to facilitate the international trade of our clients. The objective is to give them the competitive edge in their respective markets,” Joaquin stated.
Among the guests, there were elected officials—one of them Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. “I appreciate Joaquin’s friendship and all his endeavors to make our area special. Things don’t happen by themselves. They always happen with proper leadership,” Judge Cortez said.
Texas State Senator Dawn Buckingham, (R-24), said at the podium, “I think we are counted among our friends, and I want to say that what you have built in 30 years is amazing. It doesn’t just happen naturally. It happens with an internal passion and leadership.”
Sen. Buckingham made history in 2016 as the first Republican from Travis County to ever be elected to the Texas Senate and the first woman ever elected to represent Senate District 24.
Joaquin Spamer to Empower Businesses Throughout the Continent
This special occasion was also the frame to announce a new business venture on how Joaquin plans to serve the United States, Mexico, and Canada. After 30 years in business, he readapts CiL to a new horizon. “The future logistic industry is new compared to the one we know.”
He said emphatically, “What happened to us? Everything changed, and everything will continue to change.”
He mentioned that the last two years of the pandemic had a global effect of misfortunes. But in his case, he took the opportunity to plan CiL’s new future. Aside from his logistics expertise, technology plays a significant role in the new company.
He predicts that providers of export and import services are going to disappear for the simple fact that there is a new way of doing things. He asks, “who are the new market leaders? Who is dictating the how, when, and where?”
He pointed out that companies like Amazon, Alibaba, and Mercado Libre are encroaching on the markets. Anyone doing business in E-commerce in a global scale is also part of the threat.
For some, technology is still an enigma. However, for the majority it represents the easy way of doing business like buying anything, your vacation time abroad, and even purchasing big ticket items like a car or a home.
“I’m from the Amazon generation… I want results, I want to do everything online, and I want to feel in control,” Joaquin said. “There is no question, E-commerce is growing, but it has left out the Americas. Mostly, global companies deliver products from the Asian markets.”
CiL’s offer is a solution for small and medium-sized manufacturers. For example, if a pool table producer starts selling on digital platforms, how will they deliver? “If a consumer in Chicago places an order with us, how do I send it to them? If it doesn’t fit in UPS or FedEx package?” That’s where CiL comes in with Technology, Franchises, and Corporate Governance.
His company will empower those small and medium producers, and entrepreneurs willing to take advantage of the benefits of digital commerce and the treaties in place with Mexico, the United States, and Canada.
He is right to say that in today’s world you are nobody if you are not using technology for your company. “For that reason, we’ve created a unique platform developed with a talented group of Mexican programmers.”
He said that the program enables the user to carry out the entire documental process of an import or export within their system.
“Now, with our CiL Deliveries System, manufacturers will be able to make a delivery throughout North America personally.”
To complete the master plan, Joaquin hired the services of a leading company in the franchise market in Mexico. “A group of experienced legal consultants worked throughout the pandemic to finish the project.”
“What happens when an entrepreneur invests in a CiL Franchise?”
He said that with a small investment, they could participate in international trade within the framework of the USMCA trade agreement.
According to Joaquin, many talented entrepreneurs cannot start a logistics business due to a lack of infrastructure. He is talking about not having warehouses, trucks, customs broker services, etc.
The CiL franchise empowers the new generations of entrepreneurs. “We offer a proven method that quickly drives to profit.” He said, “CiL is looking for strong, active, enthusiastic partners because they will be CiL’s growth engine.”
CiL guarantees its clients, franchise partners, system users, suppliers, employees, and financial partners the stability they seek in a long-term relationship.
“We are creating structures with talented leaders. It is our responsibility that the company’s future is in the hands of entrepreneurs with the same values that characterized us.”
Joaquin Spamer is always thinking ahead. “The future is the responsibility of the businessmen. For the same reason, I am grateful that everyone has given me their time to come and celebrate with us these 30 years of Commodities Integrated Logistics CiL and this new vision of the future that we wanted to share with all of you,” he finalized.
CIL Honored Guests. The celebration is a milestone for Joaquin Spamer President and founder of Commodities Integrated Logistics (CiL). 
Joaquin and Lucy Spamer 
Joaquin, Rigo Villarreal, and Everardo Villarreal Hidalgo County Commissioner 
Pictured above from L-R: Lucy, Margarita, and Margarita Escobar, Lucy and Luisa Posada 
Joaquin and Marcela Spamer, Texas State Senator Dawn Buckingham, Carlos Margo and Luisa Fernandez from STC 
Spamer Family
