REYNOSA, Tamaulipas – Index Reynosa, the maquiladora industry trade association, has published a coffee table book about its 52 years in the city.
Titled “Valor es Index,” the 96-page book contains data and stories on the impact maquilas have had on Reynosa and South Texas, as well as information on the first manufacturing firms to arrive in the city, in the late 1960s.
Enrique Castro, former president of Index Reynosa, unveiled the book at a recent meeting of the McAllen Economic Development Corporation.
“We wanted to produce a book to tell the public our story and the impact we have had. We are very proud of it,” Castro told the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service.
Today, the book states, there are 154 manufacturing companies operating in Reynosa in 14 industrial parks. They employ more than 131,000 workers. Fifty-eight percent of the workers are men and 42 percent women.
One of the largest maquiladoras in Reynosa is LG Electronics. There are two pages in the book devoted to the electronics giant. The book says LG’s Reynosa plant has the ability to produce more than 15,000 television sets per day, mostly for the U.S. market. The company directly hires 1,000 people in Reynosa but the presence of nine local supplies brings the number of workers related to the company in the city up two 6,000.
Some of the chapter titles in the book include, “The Industry Today”, “Why Reynosa?”, and “Industry Growth in the 21st Century.”
Under a section titled “Infrastructure”, the book provides in information on the population of Reynosa, its economy, transportation, and local international bridges, airports, energy, tourism, hotels, education, careers, and universities.
Another section looks at Index itself, with a gallery of its presidents, its history, its objectives, the benefits of membership, and the services and programs it provides.
There is also a story on the Index Reynosa Foundation, which raises money for local charities, and a feature on one of the nonprofits it helps, Miradas de Esperanza.
Under a section titled Valor es… Nuestra Gente, the book has a feature on two key players in the maquiladora industry who have passed away, Mike Allen and Alicia Almanza.
Valor es Index has equal commentary in English and Spanish. The book’s editor is Aldo Hernández Jacques. Its English editor is Arianna Vazquez-Hernández.
The current board of directors of Index Reynosa are: Humberto Martinez (president), Darrel Renfrow, Mike Myers, Enrique Castro, Alfredo Guajardo, Héctor Lara, Antonio Marines, Enrique Ramírez, Raúl Setien, and Marcial Zapata. Its director is Martha Ramos.
Editor’s Note: To obtain a copy of Valor es Index contact editor Aldo Hernández Jacques at (956) 522-9535 or email: [email protected].
Editor’s Note: The main image accompanying the above story shows Janie Cavazos, vice president of McAllen Economic Development Corporation, and Enrique Castro, board member of Index Reynosa.
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