Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González | Texas Border Business
McALLEN, Texas — The Clúster Eléctrico-Electrónico de Tamaulipas is working to strengthen collaboration among manufacturers, suppliers, educational institutions and government agencies to improve competitiveness and support long-term economic growth across northern Tamaulipas and Rio South Texas, President Sergio Arturo Treviño Ayala said during a meeting in McAllen.
Treviño spoke before signing a memorandum of understanding with the COSTEP, Council for South Texas Economic Progress, establishing a partnership to expand cooperation between the two organizations.
“Our goal is to bring together leaders from the private sector who share a common vision of helping the region grow and strengthening relationships among companies,” Treviño said. “This team will focus on building connections and turning ideas into reality.”
Treviño said the cluster represents more than 100 electrical and electronics companies in Tamaulipas, including firms such as LG and Corning. Although centered on that industry, he said the organization also supports suppliers that provide components, materials and raw materials essential to manufacturing.
He said one of the cluster’s priorities is to improve collaboration among companies that often operate independently.
“One of the challenges we face is that connections among businesses are not always as strong as they should be,” Treviño said. “Too often, companies work independently instead of leveraging the strengths of the entire sector.”
The cluster promotes cooperation among industry, academia and government while advancing workforce development, innovation, digitalization and supplier development, he said.
Treviño identified workforce availability as another major challenge facing manufacturers as industrial activity continues to expand.
“Many sectors of the economy are growing, but we do not have enough skilled people to support that growth,” he said. “Without the necessary talent, it becomes difficult to sustain economic development.”
He said the cluster’s mission is to connect companies, encourage professional training and strengthen local supply chains, adding that future competitiveness will depend on collaboration as much as production capacity.
“Competitiveness will no longer be measured solely by the size of a factory, the scale of a business, or the volume of imports and exports,” Treviño said. “Instead, it will be measured by how effectively organizations collaborate, how successfully they innovate, and how well they build strong, interconnected ecosystems.”
Following the signing ceremony, Treviño said the agreement with COSTEP reflects a shared regional vision rather than the interests of individual organizations.
“It’s easy to get to this agreement because we are looking at the region, not only looking for one side or one company,” he said. “It’s for the region, the people, the teams, the families and how to grow this area.”
Adam Gonzalez, COSTEP’s chief executive officer, said the memorandum extends beyond the two organizations and is intended to involve manufacturers, educational institutions, economic development organizations and communities throughout the border region.
“This MOU is much more than the signing of a piece of paper,” Gonzalez said. “It represents a meaningful commitment to collaboration—not only with the Electronics Cluster of Tamaulipas, but with all of northern Tamaulipas, the interior of Mexico, and partners around the world.”
Gonzalez said the partnership will help connect stakeholders across both sides of the border and strengthen manufacturing opportunities throughout the region.
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