Rio Grande Valley economic development leaders have spent years chasing major industrial investments. At the 2026 North American Development Bank Summit, the conversation turned to what comes after companies decide to invest, especially in the manufacturing sector.
How do you attract their suppliers? Where will tens of thousands of workers come from? And can roads, utilities and other infrastructure keep pace?
Those questions surfaced during “Made in North America: Manufacturing Competitiveness,” a panel focused on strengthening supply chains, attracting investment and improving North America’s manufacturing competitiveness.
The discussion included two Rio Grande Valley leaders — Joaquin Spamer, founder and CEO of CIL Group, and Pete Sepulveda, Cameron County administrator and executive director of the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority — along with Christian Perez Giese, executive vice president and director at CBRE, and Emmanuel Loo, the deputy secretary of the economy for the Mexican state of Nuevo León – a major economic hub connected to South Texas.
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