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HARLINGEN — The city’s target industries might be changing amid a rapidly evolving economy.
For five years, Harlingen’s Economic Development Corporation has been targeting industries including health and biotech, industrial and automotive supply, aerospace and logistics.
During that period, the coronavirus pandemic’s impacts have been transforming the world’s economic landscape, Orlando Campos, the EDC’s chief executive officer, said as he referred to the agency’s target market.
Now, the EDC’s board of directors is calling for a study to help update the city’s list of target industries.
Next week, city commissioners are expected give Campos the go-ahead to enter into a $49,950 contract with Insyteful, a Dallas-based consulting firm, to conduct a target industry analysis.
“It’s a valuable guide for our efforts to ensure we are targeting the right types of industries that make sense for Harlingen,” Campos said in an interview. “It will be a data-driven study that will help justify the industries we need to target. It will help us be more strategic and competitive in our recruitment efforts.”
Consultants’ proposal
In their proposal, the consultants aim to match the city’s competitive edge with a nationwide pool of industries to pinpoint prospective targets.
The proposed study includes “a multi-step research and data analysis of the Harlingen-area laborshed to determine industry sectors in which Harlingen is at a competitive advantage against other communities and geographic areas of the U.S.,” the proposal states.
The consultants would work with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Trent Lott Economic Development Center, considering factors such as commuter flows, labor pools, existing industries, supply chains and workforce development.
“The goal of the analysis is to guide Harlingen in setting policies and strategies that position Harlingen to compete for projects and businesses that play to the community’s unique strengths,” the proposal states.
The study would consider the city’s employment base to help pinpoint prospects across a nationwide industrial pool.
“They will evaluate our local laborshed to determine the next level of industry we should target,” Campos said. “It will identify areas across the country that have high concentrations of these types of industries.”
Educational centers such as Texas State Technical College, whose welding program ranks among the nation’s top seven, would work with the EDC to help develop the labor force.
“It will help us (work) with local training institutions to identify upskilling programs,” Campos said.
‘Getting ready for tomorrow’
The EDC’s board of directors is calling for the study to help officials efficiently use taxpayer dollars to draw companies fitting the city’s mold while identifying new and emerging industries, Javier De Leon, the board’s president, said.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said, referring to the study. “We want to make sure we’re good stewards of taxpayer money. We’re getting ready for tomorrow. We’re trying to bring business and industry, not just from Texas, but outside of Texas.”
The city’s economic edge includes an international trade center featuring the Free Trade Bridge, Valley International Airport and the Port of Harlingen along with a large, young workforce and vast acreage, including two industrial parks.
On Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott spotlighted the EDC, hailing the agency for landing a $1.6 million U.S. Economic Development Administration grant aimed at helping develop the city’s second industrial park.
While touring ITD Precision Stampings, Abbott pointed to the company’s role in Texas’ expanding manufacturing economy, where it touts its “Made in Texas” brand around the world.
The proposed target industry study would help guide the EDC to the right prospects across a rapidly evolving economy, De Leon said.
“When we look at how do we bring economic development to Harlingen, how we reach future partners, we want to make sure that analysis guides us (to help determine) what are the demand occupations, what is the labor market analysis saying, what future emerging jobs are out there — to start creating the infrastructure to be prepared for these businesses,” he said.
