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Hispanic Chamber Delegation Seeking To Attract Jobs On Spain Trip

"Now Open" sign outside a business in downtown San Antonio
Ryan Loyd
/
TPR News
"Now Open" sign outside a business in downtown San Antonio

The San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce headed to Spain this weekend with a large delegation to talk about the business sense of San Antonio.

The 2013 Spain Trade Mission delegation includes two city council members, the Bexar County manager, the honorary consul of Spain in San Antonio, and 20 other business leaders including the vice-president of corporate banking of BBVA Compass bank.

Hispanic Chamber President Ramiro Cavasos said that the inclusion of BBVA Compass is important because the Spanish bank has already influenced another business from Spain to move here.

"The company of Atento, which is another Spanish-owned company, does all the back-office work for BBVA around the world," Cavasos said. "And so they have located since we started this trip, jobs here, close to 300 additional jobs in San Antonio."

Cavasos said the delegation also is planning to talk with Madrid-based cookie-maker Grupo Siro, whose largest account is HEB.

"And hopefully GrupoSiro will create a manufacturing facility in the U.S. and hopefully that plant would be in San Antonio to be closest to its largest customer,” Cavasos said.

Cavasos said the Hispanic Chamber makes the annual trip to keep trade ties strong with the country of San Antonio’s ancestors. Delegates will also explore opportunities in transportation systems, renewable energy and water technologies, logistics, aerospace, education, and downtown redevelopment.

Eileen Pace is a veteran radio and print journalist with a long history of investigative and feature reporting in San Antonio and Houston, earning more than 50 awards for investigative reporting, documentaries, long-form series, features, sports stories, outstanding anchoring and best use of sound.