For more than 30 years, the Brazos Valley Economic Development Corporation, or BVEDC, and its community partners have worked diligently to attract investments and jobs to continuously improve this place we call home. Our Category I partners — Brazos County, the cities of College Station and Bryan, and Texas A&M University — are joined by almost 100 private companies under our Invest Brazos Valley umbrella in supporting our unified efforts.
Our economy is primed for growth, while being well-suited to withstand economic downturns, including the recession anticipated during 2023. We are confident in the strength of the local economy, in part because of the monthly report “Economic Indicators of the College Station-Bryan MSA,” which is published by Texas A&M University’s Private Enterprise Research Center, or PERC, and sponsored by the BVEDC.
This report includes the College Station-Bryan Business-Cycle Index, which indicates the overall health of the local economy by evaluating factors including the current unemployment rate, taxable sales, and wages. The index recently exceeded its pre-COVID level for the first time and has also increased at a faster rate during 2022 than since the onset of the global pandemic. Our non-farm employment has reached the level it was anticipated to reach prior. Moreover, real taxable sales are 6.5 percent higher than in February 2020. Each month’s “Economic Indicators” report is available on both the BVEDC and PERC websites.
The BVEDC’s focus is working with business-to-business companies, primarily those without local operations. The economic sector taking up the most room in our project pipeline in 2022, with seven-out-of-ten projects, is manufacturing. We are not surprised because of the significant push nationwide to bring production back to our shores, as well as the advantages our community offers to manufacturers.
Companies are recognizing that our region has strong talent and incredible workforce training led by the Texas A&M University System and its flagship university, the Blinn College District, our local school districts, and Workforce Solutions. Plus, our geographic location is increasingly attractive to manufacturers, and all companies for that matter, as we conveniently sit close to five of the nation’s largest cities and an overwhelming majority of the state’s population. Former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary and San Antonio Mayor Henry Cisneros spoke at the BVEDC’s Executive Luncheon in September. The Texas A&M alumnus and co-author of a book on the power of the Texas Triangle called the Brazos Valley the “diamond in the middle” of the megaregion.
“I can’t think of another community in that entire area that is right smack in the center of the Triangle with an asset like A&M,” Cisneros says. “This picture is almost a guaranteed future of economic opportunity.”
Within manufacturing, but with implications for various other industries, defense is emerging as a key component of our community’s efforts. This is largely resulting from A&M System efforts at the RELLIS Campus. Development continues at the recently opened George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex, a partnership with U.S. Army Futures Command to serve as an ecosystem for the research and testing of the latest military technologies. Defense-focused companies can locate in the Brazos Valley and benefit from the proximity to a leading force in equipping our servicemembers.
Our region is also the hub of the Texas Defense Aerospace Manufacturing Community, or TDAMC, of which the BVEDC is a community partner. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation program through the Defense Manufacturing Community initiative, the TDAMC’s mission is to improve manufacturing in Texas by introducing smart skills and technologies. With a focus on the Texas Triangle and the state’s coastal regions, TDAMC’s efforts to supercharge aerospace manufacturing will help position the Brazos Valley as a desirable option for companies in this sector.
In addition to defense, life sciences remain one of our partnership’s key focuses, and this year saw continued momentum on that front. Matica Biotechnology, an affiliate of South Korean-based CHA Biotech, opened its facility for cell and viral vector manufacturing in May. Matica Bio leaders have already expressed a desire to grow here. FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies broke ground on an expansion at its Biocorridor campus in October. Once completed, this expansion will double the company’s nationwide capacity to manufacture advanced therapies and vaccines. Again, the elements of the A&M System play a key role in spurring the success of these and other local companies as well as those companies that will relocate here in the future.
Each year, Area Development Magazine commissions two separate surveys: one of top corporate leaders across the country and another of top site selection professionals who help guide companies to the best locations for them.
For corporate leaders, the polling showed (in order of ranking) labor costs, availability of skilled labor, energy availability, shipping costs, highway accessibility, and raw materials availability as the biggest factors in their location decisions. The Brazos Valley has advantages among these criteria, but we excel in factors the influential site selectors think are most important: proximity to major markets, availability of skilled labor, highway accessibility, state and local incentives, proximity to suppliers and available land.
The BVEDC has made great efforts in recent years to build strong relationships with site selectors who regularly bring businesses to our attention. These businesses are recognizing our proximity to major metros, our sizable and well-trained workforce, our local and state pro-business policies, and the ample green fields we feature on which to grow their futures.
Our public and private partners are working to achieve greater prosperity for everyone in the Brazos Valley. We are thankful for the opportunity to work together for our fellow citizens, and we look forward to competing for greater opportunities in 2023 and beyond.
