– Laredo Economic Development Corporation (LEDC) recently hosted a Familiarization Tour for several nationally recognized site selector consultants from various parts of the country. The visit and facility tours with business leaders on both sides of our binational community involved consultants from Angelou Economics, Kupperman Location Solutions, Jones Lang LaSalle America, Inc., and Maxis Advisors.
The tour commenced with a meeting with staff at the LEDC offices which entailed a presentation on the community’s demographics, business environment, strategic advantages, industrial development trends, and infrastructure projects. In addition, business meetings with key leaders in our sister city were held that ended with a tour at Productos Medline S.A. de C.V. in Nuevo Laredo. After a brief break, a community meeting with stakeholders continued at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) where the City of Laredo’s Economic Development, TAMIU, Laredo College and Workforce Solutions South Texas made a presentation, respectively.
Day 2 of the tour began with business meetings and tour at Mission Produce in Laredo, Texas. Thereafter, a visit and tour of the World Trade Bridge facilities were conducted from our great partners at U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Our goal and objective of this tour was to create strong relationships with site selectors, such as these, as it is key to our community when it comes to capital investment and job creation from Fortune 500 companies. With these types of investors, it will provide the Laredo region and beyond with diversification in our industry base.
Gene Lindgren, President and CEO, states “Site selectors are the key players for receiving prospects from large companies looking for their next expansion or relocation. Having not just one, but four of these consultants spending 3 days in Laredo is significant, and we anticipate that we dispelled any pre-conceived notions about our region as we demonstrated that Laredo is a safe city where businesses thrive due to our location, hardworking employees, pro-business policies, and close relationships throughout the public and private sectors.”
The site selectors complemented our strong collaborative efforts between the LEDC, City of Laredo Economic Development Department, Texas A&M International University, Laredo College, and Workforce Solutions South Texas. We are confident that the consultants took their positive experience back to their organizations along with information that shows “Laredo is the place to be”, and expand their clients’ businesses.
A special thanks to COSTEP and AEP Texas for their sponsorship to this site selector’s familiarization tour. “AEP Texas has been a long-time supporter of the economic development efforts of the communities we serve. This event was an excellent opportunity for Laredo to highlight community attributes that help industry leaders choose Laredo for their next big investment. Mission accomplished!” states Dale Fowler of AEP Texas.
The LEDC’s mission is to promote and foster the economic and industrial development of the Laredo region and continues its motto “Connecting Business To Global Markets”.
