The Pharr Economic Development Corporation hosted a groundbreaking ceremony Thursday for the new Maquila Automotive Service and Logistics facility.
“We looked at statistics and data, and it showed that what makes the city grow is not just the new businesses but the ones that are expanding — your reinvestors that are already there and continuing to reinvest in your community,” Pharr EDC Executive Director Victor Perez said.
“When you have visionary individuals like we have, we can see what’s coming, and we can prepare for what’s coming,” he continued.
The new 150,000-foot facility will be located at 1500 W. Produce Drive in Pharr. It will serve as a storage and distribution site for produce that comes across the border from Mexico.
“Cold storage is big right now, and that’s why they’re expanding,” Perez said. “(Garza) has clients already, and these clients are huge clients that invest a lot in Mexico. They get their produce here, and then they go on and ship them out to the rest of the states.”
MAS Logistics serves Maquiladora plants in Mexico. They provide services in the distribution, inventory control, storage and clearance of their supplies, raw materials, tooling, equipment and finished goods.
“Basically, they assist in the distribution, their inventory control, their storage, clearance of their supplies and raw materials, equipment and all the finished goods that the maquiladoras produce,” Pharr Economic Development Manager Karina Lopez said. “It’s more of the facilitation of moving that product, those goods here within the United States and of course throughout the state.”
The company already has a facility with a total warehouse space of 210,000 square feet. The facility, located at 9601 International Blvd. in Pharr, is divided into four building complexes with 150 trailer parking spots and over 130 docks.
Perez estimated that the new facility will be ready in roughly a year and a half.
