‘Major player’ to spend $20M on new operations at Port of Brownsville

Food manufacturer Westa Inc., the first tenant of the Port of Brownsville’s new 118-acre business park, said it is finalizing the layout for a state-of-the-art wheat flour mill and storage silos at the site.

Westa, with corporate offices in Miami and Toronto, said it will invest $20 million in the facilities, to be located on more than 10 acres within the park at the turning basin of the Brownsville Ship Channel.

The port, which has described the company as a “major player in the agriculture industry,” hosted a groundbreaking for the company’s projects one year ago. Westa President Zaur Kafkas said last year that the port’s “strategic location, world-class facilities and commitment to reliable service make it the ideal partner for our expansion plans.”

Once operational, the new facilities will employ 120 people, according to the port, which said the operation will receive via barge from the Midwest, “enhancing the company’s supply chain operations for its high-capacity flour mill and sunflower seed processing plant.”

The said the business park, in the final phase of construction, is “designed to support industrial growth for existing businesses at the port while attracting new opportunities.”

“With direct connections to key transportation networks and international trade hubs, the business park provides an ideal location for companies looking to optimize logistics and strengthen their global presence,” according to the port.

In addition to the coming Westa investment, the port noted that long-time business partner Ternium is investing $200 million to expand its operations at the port, including an a new 180-acre marine terminal.

“This facility is part of the company’s broader multi-billion-dollar expansion of its steel industrial center in Pesqueria, Mexico,” the port said.

The new terminal is expected to boost the volume of steel and metal the port handles to more than 9 million tons per year, with “further project details to be announced,” according to the port.

Spurred by steel content requirements contained in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Ternium is building an electric steel-making plant in Pesqueria, “ensuring compliance with the 70 percent regional steel-melting mandate for the automotive industry,” the port said.

The new Ternium terminal at the port will be able to receive 3.1 million tons of imported iron ore annually, and will feature two mobile port cranes, a conveyor belt system, train-loading station and storage dome, according to the port.

“Located adjacent to the fishing harbor, this facility will play a crucial role in Ternium’s growing operations,” the port said.

The Port of Brownsville is the top exporter of steel to Mexico, moving more than 6 million tons of steel products annually.

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