From Reynosa to Pharr: Emerson’s Cross-Border Advantage

Kent Hanson, Emerson Tool Company’s director of operations in Pharr, explains how Reynosa production, Pharr distribution and regional talent support a shared industrial operation.

PHARR, Texas — For Emerson Tool Company, the manufacturing connection between South Texas and Mexico is a daily operation: products made in Reynosa move across the border to support distribution in Pharr and reach customers. Kent Hanson says that relationship depends on capable people, efficient transportation and continued investment in workforce skills.

Hanson spoke with Pro Texas Industry at the Pharr EDC Roundtable Live on October 22. He described the event as a valuable opportunity to tell education and business leaders what employers need as their operations evolve.

Automation and artificial intelligence are changing those requirements, he said. Finding employees with the right skills is challenging, and businesses need partners to help develop and sustain the talent their operations require.

“As challenges evolve, our demands also evolve with that,” Hanson said.

The scale of Emerson’s cross-border activity makes that coordination tangible. Hanson said the company’s manufacturing plant in Reynosa employs close to 1,100 people and produces goods that cross the border daily. He described traffic reaching 20 truckloads a day in some cases, illustrating the close operating relationship between the Mexican plant and the Pharr distribution operation.

Hanson welcomed efforts to improve bridge capacity and traffic flow, explaining that the ability to move products quickly matters directly to customer service. The company often ships the same day based on products arriving across the border, he said.

“It’s all about speed,” Hanson said, emphasizing the importance of getting products to market quickly after orders are placed.

While labor costs in Mexico are part of the business equation, Hanson emphasized that the quality of the workforce on both sides has been critical to the company’s success. His experience in Reynosa and South Texas has given him confidence in the people who support the operation.

“The workforce is fantastic,” he said.

The roundtable also offered a chance to discover resources and ideas that might otherwise remain outside an employer’s day-to-day conversations. Hanson said hearing from other participants helped him better understand the support available in the region.

“Every time you have a conversation with others, it opens the door to ideas and thoughts that you otherwise wouldn’t have had,” he said.

Emerson’s experience shows how manufacturing in Mexico and industrial activity in South Texas can reinforce one another. Strong production, responsive distribution and a skilled regional workforce create a shared advantage—one that grows more valuable as businesses, educators and infrastructure partners work together to keep products moving and capabilities advancing.