Harlingen Businesses Enjoy Skilled Workforce, Convenient Location
brad baumunk, business, echostar communications, harlingen, harlingen industrial park, norwood fedie, skilled workers, workforce,
Keeping in touch with customers is critical‚ a link that reigns supreme in technology-rich environments. In Harlingen‚ two high-tech arrivals illustrate how technology serves as a customer touchstone.
In 2004‚ EchoStar Communications launched a call center to support its Dish Network base of millions of satellite TV customers. In 2000‚ Gibbs Die Casting moved to the Harlingen Industrial Park to craft precision steering wheel components for a customer in Matamoros‚ Mexico.
“Since then‚ we’ve seen three or four other major steering-wheel manufacturers move to Mexico‚” says Norwood Fedie‚ Gibbs regional marketing manager. “So right now we’re really well-positioned. Mexico is essentially where the steering wheel manufacturing is all going‚ simply because the finishing of the steering wheel – as far as mounting the electronics and the leather-wrapping – is pretty labor-intensive.”
In Harlingen‚ Gibbs established a 38‚000-square-foot manufacturing center to stamp out steering wheels. The precise aluminum and magnesium alloy armatures are created through computer-controlled presses‚ a 720-ton machine and a pair of 930-ton presses.
Gibbs employs a highly skilled team of 60 people to make the steering wheel backbones shipped to suppliers in Mexico‚ such as Key Safety Systems‚ Autoliv‚ TRW‚ KS Centoco and Delphi.
“We hope this plant expands‚” says Fedie‚ and there’s a good chance it will. Harlingen is minutes away from the four-laned Free Trade Bridge at Los Indios‚ a key link for the future Interstate 69 corridor from Canada to Latin America. For connecting to Gibbs’ Kentucky headquarters or to customers‚ the Valley International Airport aids travel as the region’s busiest airport – nearly 1 million passengers annually – with the longest runway at 8‚200 feet.
Harlingen also offers significant quality of life in a city of 66‚000‚ Fedie says‚ with convenient retail and services but traffic that’s not overbearing.
Like Gibbs‚ EchoStar tapped local education resources to train a crew of 1‚000‚ the largest Harlingen workforce outside the education and health-care arenas. Through a vocational program with Harlingen high schools‚ EchoStar pays seniors as they experience the call center environment in part-time training positions. Each year‚ a student from each school earns a $1‚000 scholarship‚ and every student and employee receives career-path planning.
Such programs and incentive packages have doubled the average call center agent’s tenure to 19 months‚ something that boosts service quality for Dish Network customers.
“We plan to continue to work toward helping as many people as possible in Harlingen find a career with benefits and a future‚” says Brad Baumunk‚ the company’s director of customer service operations.
Local firms also benefit from Harlingen Manufacturers Association that helps harness relationships across the border‚ Fedie says.
“It’s growing by leaps and bounds there‚” he says. “I could take you to an industrial park that was just getting started three years ago. Today‚ it’s full.”
Story by Gary Perilloux
Photo by Antony Boshier
