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By RGG Business Journal Staff
McALLEN, Texas — The Rio Grande Valley has a major opportunity to capitalize on the growing Texas-Mexico automotive supercluster, particularly as Toyota expands its manufacturing footprint in San Antonio, according to a local international trade expert.
Jorge Torres, president of McAllen-based Interlink Trade Services, briefed members of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Stakeholders Committee on the potential economic windfalls for South Texas resulting from shifts in regional manufacturing supply chains.
Torres recently participated in a panel discussion hosted by San Antonio public television station KLRN for a six-part series titled “The Business of Business in San Antonio.” Hosted by former HUD Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros, the final segment focused specifically on the Texas-Mexico automotive supercluster region.
The panel also featured David Marquez, former director of Bexar County Economic Development and a pivotal figure in originally bringing Toyota Motor Manufacturing Texas to San Antonio.
According to Torres, Toyota’s upcoming expansion in San Antonio—which includes moving truck assembly operations from Tijuana to South Texas—places the Rio Grande Valley firmly within the automaker’s strategic supply chain radius.
“They’re really looking at South Texas,” Torres told the MEDC committee. “I talked to Mr. Cisneros and to David Marquez and said we need to engage with South Texas because we need suppliers within a 400-mile radius.”
Torres noted that industry leaders in San Antonio are already taking notice of McAllen’s existing industrial assets, citing the local Valeo operation as a key example. He urged regional economic developers to actively target Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 automotive suppliers looking to establish or expand operations within that 400-mile zone.
“We need to engage with them and with South Texas, including our efforts to attract Tier 1, 2, and 3 suppliers,” Torres said.
The geographic footprint being evaluated extends across South Texas and key northern Mexican states, including Coahuila, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.
Beyond automotive manufacturing, Torres emphasized that cross-regional partnerships between San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley could yield opportunities in other high-growth sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and medical technology.
“There are other industries and other projects I’ve been working on in San Antonio in the automotive industry, but also the pharmaceutical and medical industries,” Torres said. “I think that’s something that we really need to look into and maybe engage with them and see how we can partner up because that’s going to benefit our region.”
Torres encouraged local stakeholders to explore deeper cross-regional collaboration with Bexar County and San Antonio business leadership to maximize long-term manufacturing growth along the border corridor.
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