Villalobos: McAllen EDC deserves great praise for going after the $2 billion silicon wafer project

MCALLEN, Texas – McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos has paid tribute to his city’s economic development organization for the effort it mounted to land a $2 billion high tech manufacturing firm.

Had Massachusetts-based CubicPV gone ahead with plans for a 1.5 million square foot silicon wafer factory, the McAllen area would have benefitted from an additional 1,500 high-paying tech jobs. 

But, at the 11th hour, Cubic, which is partially funded by Bill Gates, chose to go in a different direction. It no longer plans to develop silicon wafers for the solar industry.

Villalobos spoke about the project when appearing as a panelist at a Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce “Intergovernmental Update” luncheon held at the DoubleTree Suites By Hilton in McAllen.

“The cat is out of the bag. There was a company that was going to invest about $2 billion,” Villalobos told the audience.

“We worked it for about a year, almost two years. We were so close, 99 percent. But, there were some changes in the federal system and we lost it.”

Villalobos was referring to changes in legislation that allowed more foreign parts to be used in the manufacture of silicon wafers.

He said it was testament to the esteem in which the Rio Grande Valley is held that a high tech company would now look at the region.

“Before, they would never have even look at our area,” Villalobos said. “But our area is changing. We have a dynamic area. And you know what I like to say when they call McAllen a border town? I like to say, we are strategically located right in the middle of two powerful countries. And that’s the perspective we should utilize. That’s what I say. And that is what we should say.”

Villalobos shared the stage with U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, state Sen. Juan Hinojosa, and Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez. The moderator was Lone Star National Bank Senior Vice President Julian Alvarez.

The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service asked Villalobos to elaborate on his comments about the Cubic project once the panel discussion had ended.

Asked if McAllen EDC deserved praise for getting so close to landing such a big project, Villalobos said:

“Certainly. As a matter of fact, we (the City of McAllen) worked tremendously with the EDC. We were in Austin, changing the statute. We met with the company. We were all over the place. Our EDC is second to none, no question about it.”

Villalobos continued: “We did what we had to do. The company did what they had to do. But, unfortunately, the change in federal policy kind of killed the project. And not only here, but in Oklahoma too.”

Oklahoma was the other location Cubic was considering for its silicon wafer manufacturing plant. But, Villalobos said, McAllen was the front runner.

“They were set to come here to our McAllen area, I just know it. Pretty much it was a done deal.”

Asked how big a blow it was, when he heard news of Cubic’s change of plan, Villalobos said:

“After working so hard on the project and knowing what the potential was, it was a blow, a big blow. But, we are old enough to understand that these deals are never done until the ink dries. So, we always knew there was a possibility that something might fall through. And, unfortunately, it did.”

Asked if the experience of going after such a big project – McAllen EDC President Keith Patridge had called it a potential game changer for the Upper Valley – would stand McAllen in good stead for the future, Villalobos said:

“Most definitely. We are now on the map. Like I said in my speech today, people are now paying attention to McAllen. They don’t see it as a dusty little old town. No, they see McAllen as a thriving community.”

Villalobos added: “One of the beautiful things is, as was stated today, the development of human capital that is happening now in the Valley. The cooperation between UTRGV, Texas A&M, STC, everybody working together. Our population is young. And if you have a young educated population, you have nowhere to go but up.”

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