COSTEP Links Texas-Mexico Industrial Growth with Workforce Development

Attracting industry and preparing the workforce to sustain it are connected priorities for COSTEP, the Council for South Texas Economic Progress. In an interview during the COBIFER gathering in Reynosa, Adam Gonzalez, CEO of COSTEP, explained how cooperation with manufacturing associations in San Antonio and Houston could expand the relationships already supporting economic development in South Texas and northern Tamaulipas.

Gonzalez said the San Antonio Manufacturers Association (SAMA) and the Greater Houston Manufacturers Association (GHMA) had approached COSTEP about collaborating. He described the purpose as extending South Texas’s existing network, bringing more organizations together to attract industry, strengthen supplier relationships, and grow binational operations in the Rio South Texas region.

Asked about recent activity, Gonzalez highlighted Cameron County. He said SpaceX’s presence had drawn attention to the area, while emphasizing that the wider region’s appeal also rests on its investment opportunities and workforce. He credited coordinated economic development efforts in South Texas and northern Tamaulipas with helping raise that visibility.

His comments presented the collaboration as a way to connect that regional momentum with a broader group of industrial partners. Bringing San Antonio and Houston associations into the effort, he explained, would help the organizations work as a larger team and develop more opportunities to supply one another.

Gonzalez offered a specific example of how COSTEP is approaching workforce development through its Binational Higher Education Advisory Council. He said the organization was cataloging higher education institutions in South Texas and northern Tamaulipas to better understand the capabilities of each institution and connect them with employers seeking workers.

The purpose, he explained, is to help institutions develop programs and curricula that respond to advanced manufacturing needs. Understanding what each institution offers can make it easier to connect educational resources with the skills companies require as operations develop on either side of the border.

This work gives a practical dimension to Gonzalez’s argument for regional cooperation. Investment promotion brings attention to an area; closer relationships between education and employers help prepare the talent needed to support industrial activity. His interview placed both responsibilities within COSTEP’s approach to binational growth.

The cooperation agreements connected COSTEP with SAMA, GHMA, INDEX Nacional, INDEX Reynosa, the Tamaulipas Electrical–Electronics Cluster (CEET), and COBIFER. Humberto Martínez Cantú represented INDEX Nacional as its president, while Alfredo Guajardo participated as president of INDEX Reynosa. The organizations bring national and local manufacturing representation, specialized industry connections, and Texas business networks to the collaboration.

The gathering also marked the arrival of Rosendo Eduardo Martínez McDonald as COBIFER president, succeeding Luis H. Cantú. In his prepared inaugural speech, Martínez McDonald called for closer ties between industry and education, alongside supplier connections and support for new investment and the expansion of existing companies. Those priorities complement the workforce and partnership efforts Gonzalez described.

For Gonzalez, Texas–Mexico integration depends on connecting industrial opportunities with the people and institutions that can sustain them. COSTEP’s work with manufacturers, economic development partners, and higher education provides a practical route toward that goal: a region better connected to potential investors and better prepared to meet their workforce needs.