Press Items: Senator César Blanco — District 29

Austin, Texas — Today, State Senator César J. Blanco and State Representative Claudia Ordaz announced recommendations from the Texas Task Force on Modernizing Manufacturing, established through Senate Bill 2925 during the 89th Legislative Session to identify barriers to modernization and help ensure Texas manufacturing remains competitive in a rapidly changing global economy. Senator Blanco and Representative Ordaz authored and passed the bill.

The 15-member task force brought together manufacturers, labor representatives, technology experts, and state agencies to identify barriers to modernization and develop recommendations for legislative and other action.

The task force identified several key challenges, including the cost and complexity of adopting digital technologies, limited access to modernization assistance, and the need to better prepare workers for an increasingly automated manufacturing sector.

The task force’s recommendations include:

1. Expanding technical assistance for manufacturers by providing neutral, state-supported resources to help businesses connect with needs-based workforce training programs, identify appropriate technologies, and develop modernization strategies.
2. Improving access to financing and incentives that can help manufacturers, particularly small and mid-sized businesses, invest in automation, digital systems, and other modernization technologies.
3. Strengthening workforce training and upskilling by expanding opportunities for workers to gain the technical skills needed to operate alongside emerging technologies and advance into higher-skilled manufacturing jobs.
4. Building stronger workforce pipelines by better connecting manufacturers with schools, colleges, workforce programs, and other training providers to prepare students and job seekers for in-demand manufacturing careers.
5. Promoting a people-first approach to automation by recognizing that modernization can augment workers and improve productivity rather than simply replace jobs, while ensuring employees have opportunities to reskill and advance.

Together, the recommendations are intended to help Texas manufacturers increase productivity, adopt new technologies, create and retain good-paying jobs, and maintain the state's position as a global manufacturing leader.

Senator Blanco issued the following statement:

“Texas didn’t become a manufacturing leader by standing still, and we won’t stay one by standing still. The technologies changing manufacturing today are moving quickly, and our policies need to keep pace.

Our job is to make sure a manufacturer in El Paso or anywhere else in Texas can access the tools, financing, and skilled workforce needed to modernize and compete. And as the work changes, we have to make sure Texans are prepared to grow with it and not get left behind. This task force brought industry, labor, education, and technology leaders to the same table to identify what is holding manufacturers back. These recommendations give us a practical roadmap to remove those barriers, strengthen our workforce, and keep Texas building what the world needs.”

Representative Ordaz issued the following statement:

“Manufacturing is changing, and Texas has an opportunity to make sure our workers and businesses are ready for what comes next. Modernization should be an opportunity for manufacturers of all sizes and the workers who power them.

“These recommendations give us a practical roadmap to help manufacturers adopt new technologies, strengthen workforce training, and create more pathways into good-paying, high-skilled jobs. If we want Texas to remain a leader in manufacturing, we need to invest in both the technology that drives our industries forward and the people who make that progress possible.”

Andre Marino, SVP of Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric issued the following statement:

“Texas has long been a leader in manufacturing, and this report clearly identifies that staying competitive will require continued investment in modernization, workforce development, and automation and energy technologies that enable organizations to innovate without disrupting existing operations.”

“From our globally recognized manufacturing campus in El Paso, to our service on this task force and our work with customers across the state, Schneider Electric is proud to advocate for open, software-defined automation and related policies to futureproof Texas industry. By supporting open, interoperable approaches to modernization that give manufacturers greater flexibility to innovate and grow, Texas can set the national benchmark for how states across the U.S. can strengthen competitiveness and create high-quality jobs for generations to come.”

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