About a year after Jim Perschbach was named CEO of Port San Antonio, the Air Force base-turned-industrial park appears to be set for growth thanks in part to its vision for Tech Port San Antonio, which works to leverage connected systems to build the campus' ecosystem.
The port added more than 1,100 jobs to its campus last year, and so far in the port's fiscal year, it has added an additional 1,000 positions to the more than 13,000 jobs there. Perschbach credits the growth to what he calls the "Innovation center concept," which involves placing complementary businesses near each other.
"We're moving, frankly, faster than we thought we would," Perschbach said.
Perschbach said Plus One Robotics, for example, benefits from being near cybersecurity capabilities that protect the connected network and self-learning machines that the company produces, which in turn can help with workforce development in the area.
San Antonio's Museum of Science and Technology has also contributed to the port's vision, bringing more than 10,000 students to the area to inspire the next generation.
"We've seen companies actually get attracted to what we are doing with this property because of what we are doing with education," Perschbach said. "Those robotics meetups have led to really great things with outfits like Reckon Point and Plus One Robotics coming here because of that type of environment being created."
Before its Tech Port vision, Port San Antonio focused largely on logistics and aircraft maintenance, despite having Air Force Cyber Command nearby since 2008.
"Anybody can do traditional logistics work. Anybody can do traditional maintenance work, but the next generation is going to be taking advantage of connected systems," Perschbach said.
As technology continues to move into smart cities and smart cars, a campus like Port San Antonio needs the capabilities on the technology and mature industry sides, Perschbach said.
"What we are seeing is we're really one of the leaders — if not the leader, even on a national basis right now — in providing an actual environment where you can bring the best of breed and put them right next to each other," he said. "You can see it in the results. To announce 1,000 jobs in a year is major news, but to do it year over year is something we think is pretty impressive."
CNF Technologies opened its new cyber lab July 10 at Port San Antonio on the ground floor of the Project Tech – Building 1 at 3203 General Hudnell Drive. The new building is expected to be a flagship for the company's future.