Newsletter - McAllen Economic Development Corporation

McAllen Economic Development Corp
McAllen EDC • South Texas Job Zone
Explore McAllen • Manufacturing Is Green
Subscribe to Newsletter • Newsletter Archive

Kazam Powder Coating, Inc. - If You Build It, They Will Come

As the saying goes, "Good help is hard to find." Such was the case for KARLEE, a certified woman-owned Contract Manufacturer providing customized integrated manufacturing services such as sheet metal fabrication, precision 5-axis machining, cabling, and electromechanical assembly. KARLEE found itself in need of a consistent and reliable powder coater for much of their metal processing. After searching within a 250 mile radius of their Sharyland Business Park location in Mission, Texas, they were unsuccessful in finding such a company.

After realizing that a reliable powder coater could not be found to fulfill their processing needs, they were forced to provide such service themselves. They also realized that a need existed to provide same service to other manufacturers in the area. Kazam Powder Coating, Inc. was then created to provide this service.

In 2011, Kazam leased 25,000 square feet of industrial space in the same building as their sister company, KARLEE, in Sharyland Business Park. As their state-of-the-art equipment began to arrive, they began looking for potential clients. Kazam’s Chief Operational Officer, Rick Cherry pointed out, although Karlee’s powder coating needs are being addressed, Kazam continues to have extensive open capacity and is pursuing potential customers on both sides of the border.
Click to read more.

Answering the 'Call' for Job Creation in the Rio Grande Valley

Traditionally, much of the employment in the Rio Grande Valley has been credited to the retail, education, government and industrial sectors. However, as the Valley has quickly evolved into a progressive area with a bilingual labor force of an average age of 27 years, Customer Care Centers have quickly been establishing operations and growing while offering career options of all levels to its existing and new employees.
Click to read more.

Adapt or Become Obsolete - Searching for Growth in Today's Economy

Back in early 200's the McAllen MSA and Reynosa, Mexico metroplex underwent what some may consider a sudden industrial revolution. In a span of six years, this metroplex saw a modest industrial market boom to house over 200 domestic and international manufacturers and logistics companies. Now, this area includes over 40 million square feet of industrial space and exhibits over 250 industrial residents from all over the world. However, as any boom has shown, the aftershock is usually followed by a drastic halt.
Click to read more.

Cross-Border Market Summary - Reynosa & McAllen Industrial Transaction

As 2011 comes to an end, McAllen & Reynosa were able to sustain positive absorption in their respective industrial markets. For the most part, this binational industrial area was able to introduce both new operations with new technology and new processes and provided many others with expansion options.
Click to read more.

Headlines from McAllen EDC Blog

November 28, 2011: Recession Caused 93% of Markets to Lose Businesses - The pattern was even more pronounced among the 100 biggest markets. Ninety-seven major metros lost businesses in 2009. The only gainers were three Texas markets - Austin, McAllen-Edinburg and Houston.
Read More.

November 28, 2011: McAllen beats state, U.S. rates for bachelor’s degrees or higher, according to Census Bureau - "Spillover" is a term all too familiar to many Deep South Texas officials. But when McAllen City Manager Mike Perez used it, he referred not to border violence but to data that reveal his city’s residents are more educated than those in nearby cities and even the state and nation
Read More.

November 23, 2011: McAllen Unemployment Down for 3rd Consecutive Month - With an unemployment rate of (7.7), McAllen was a bit below the state and national rates and lower than cities such as Houston (7.9), Fort Worth (8.2), Waco (8.4), Tyler (8.4), Dallas (8.7), El Paso (9.4) and Beaumont (10.5). It also displayed the lowest unemployment rate in the RGV, and had the second lowest rate among all Texas border cities.
Read More.

November 22, 2011: Feds Award McAllen $1.9 million for Electric Bus Pilot Program - KAIST, the Korean Advanced Institute of Science & Technology, also a partner of McAllen Economic Development Corporation in the efforts to raise the education level in rapid response manufacturing in our industrial community, developed the technology for the electric bus
Read More.

November 22, 2011: Guatemala to Open McAllen Consultate Dec. 1st - In addition to providing services to illegal immigrants, the new consulate will handle passports and visas, and help build business ties between Guatemala and McAllen, said Jose Barillas, Consul General of Guatemala in Houston.
Read More.

November 21, 2011: Border Town Factories Give Manufacturers an Edge - As it has been reported in the past, manufacturing in Reynosa, Mexico continues to grow through expansions of existing operations. This translates into supporting companies setting up new divisions in the McAllen MSA..
Read More.

Rewards for Referrals