The Connect July 2025

First of Its Kind Education Partnership

A new partnership between Alliance Corridor, Inc. and the University of North Texas (UNT) and its prestigious Department of Supply Chain Management is helping the future workforce better understand global trade, commerce and foreign trade zones.

The partnership marks Hillwood’s latest collaboration with area high schools and top-tier universities, focusing on providing tailored workforce training and support.

Students in UNT’s senior-level Logistics and Supply Chain Management class tour AllianceTexas companies located within Foreign-Trade Zone #196, gaining real-life experience from industry executives. Joshua Griffith, Hillwood’s Managing Director of Foreign-Trade Zone #196, is a consultant to the class, which launched at the beginning of the 2024-25 school year.

“Our longstanding relationship with Hillwood allows us to tap into the resources at FTZ #196,” says Brian Sauser, professor and chair of UNT’s Department of Supply Chain Management. “Our region’s employers depend on an agile workforce that can evolve with the ever-changing technology in supply chain management.”

UNT is the first major university to partner with a foreign-trade zone. Alliance Corridor, Inc. administers the foreign-trade program within FTZ #196, which is located within Hillwood’s 27,000-acre AllianceTexas mixed-use, master-planned community.

“Regardless of their industry following graduation, each student in this class leaves with a deeper understanding of the importance of foreign-trade zones and their role in facilitating commerce,” notes Griffith.

FTZ #196 consists of more than 9,600 acres and ranks among the top general-purpose, foreign-trade zones in the United States for the value of foreign merchandise admitted to the zone. Economic benefits include improved cash flow, reduced inventory tax, elimination of export duty, ease of expansion, job creation and more.

Discover how Hillwood has collaborated with UNT on other endeavors.