INDEX Nacional Leads Effort to Connect Texas Industry with Mexican Manufacturers

Humberto Martínez Cantú, president of INDEX Nacional, highlighted the established industry behind the region’s efforts to connect manufacturers, suppliers, and new business opportunities across the border, during a gathering that combined COBIFER’s leadership transition with the signing of cooperation agreements between Mexican and Texas business organizations.

Asked about the industry’s economic activity, he pointed to its employment footprint. Martínez Cantú said the industry represented by INDEX accounts for 3.3 million direct jobs and another 6 million indirect jobs nationwide. His figures placed the discussion in a national context, underscoring the scale of the workforce connected to manufacturing operations.

That perspective gave particular relevance to INDEX Nacional’s participation in the agreements. Martínez Cantú represented the national organization. His involvement brought both national representation and local industry connections to a collaboration focused on strengthening relationships with manufacturers and economic development organizations in Texas.

Under Humberto Martínez Cantú’s leadership, INDEX Nacional brings national manufacturing representation to a collaboration that connects local industry with partners across Texas and Mexico. INDEX Reynosa, led by Alfredo Guajardo, contributes ties to Reynosa’s manufacturing community, while the Greater Houston Manufacturers Association (GHMA) and the San Antonio Manufacturers Association (SAMA) connect the initiative with manufacturers in their respective Texas markets. COSTEP, the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, contributes a regional economic development perspective, and the Tamaulipas Electrical–Electronics Cluster (CEET) adds specialized industry connections. COBIFER brings these organizations together through a cooperation agenda aimed at connecting suppliers with buyers, supporting investment, and developing talent. INDEX Nacional’s participation links those regional efforts with the broader priorities of Mexico’s manufacturing and export industry.

The signings extended that cooperation agenda to the Greater Houston Manufacturers Association, the San Antonio Manufacturers Association, COSTEP—the Council for South Texas Economic Progress—and the Tamaulipas Electrical–Electronics Cluster, alongside INDEX Nacional, INDEX Reynosa, and COBIFER. Together, the organizations connected manufacturing communities in Reynosa, Houston, San Antonio, and South Texas.

The purpose outlined in Martínez McDonald’s prepared inaugural speech was to turn those relationships into conversations between companies, introductions between suppliers and buyers, knowledge exchange, and opportunities for investment. He identified Reynosa’s experienced engineers, technicians, workforce, and businesses as capabilities that could serve companies in Texas and other U.S. markets.

The cooperation launched at the gathering builds on that existing capacity, creating an opportunity for INDEX Nacional and its regional partners to help connect Mexico’s manufacturing strengths with the needs and growth of Texas industry.