LeToureanu University no longer plans to renovate a building in Longview to expand its industrial robotics welding program.
In 2023, the Longview Economic Development Corp. awarded a $350,000 grant to LeTourneau to help launch the Longview Robotics Training Center. That money went toward purchasing all the needed equipment to kick off the robotic welding program. It was anticipated to be the only Yaskawa robotics training center in Texas.
In addition to paying for the equipment, the LEDCO funding paid to renovate the space for the program, in particular making sure it met all the electrical needs for the lab, said Dr. Alan Clipperton, the university’s vice president of global initiatives and industry engagement.
The program was launched in August 2025,
“I think we’ve trained, up to this point, around 40 industry people on robotic welding. We’ve probably done another dozen or so of … our own students and faculty, and so on. And then, in June, last month we did — what we called it — WeldEd Robotics Camp for local high school students.”
It was one of the numerous summertime camps offered to students of various ages.
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“The high school kids moved through the curriculum pretty quickly. They were actually able to weld a couple of different projects to take home,” Clipperton said.
It went so well that the university might offer two weeks of the camp next summer instead of just one week.
The program is housed in the Kielhorn Welding Engineering Lab, which has five non-welding robots and two welding robots.
Clipperton said the university is working with a broad range of companies. One of those companies is the Toyota plant in San Antonio, which was expected to send seven students to LeTourneau for training.
One part of the university’s plans has changed. LeTourneau had planned to expand the robotics program into a vacant building it owns at 2015 S. Mobberly Ave., across the street from the university. LeTourneau had hoped to renovate that building and expand the robotics training program there.
It’s been determined, though, that renovating that building would be cost prohibitive. It needs a new roof, and vandals have stripped all the copper from that building. The university determined the building would need to be razed.
“That doesn’t mean we won’t build something else there,” Clipperton said, but no decisions have been made.
Mazzio’s in Kilgore closes
After more than four decades, Mazzio’s Italian Eatery on U.S. 259 Business in Kilgore has closed.
“After 41 incredible years of serving this amazing community, the time has come for us to say goodbye,” the company said in a statement. “This isn’t just the closing of a pizza restaurant — it’s the end of a chapter filled with family dinners, first dates, birthday parties, team celebrations, late-night cravings, and countless memories shared around our tables.”
The Kilgore location was the last Mazzio’s in Texas. Mazzio’s previously closed a location on Gilmer Road in Longview.
Christus, Lifepoint create partnership
Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center – Longview and Lifepoint Rehabilitation, an operating division of Lifepoint Health, have formed a joint venture to operate Longview Rehabilitation Hospital.
The jointly owned rehabilitation hospital, which is at 701 E. Loop 281, has been renamed Christus Health – Rehabilitation Hospital.
“This partnership reflects our continued commitment to delivering integrated, high-quality care that meets patients where they are in their recovery journey,” said Todd Hancock, president and CEO of Christus Good Shepherd Health System. “By expanding access to specialized rehabilitation services in a setting designed for healing, we are ensuring care that is not only accessible and reliable, but also deeply personal for each patient and family we are blessed to serve.”
With 36 private rooms, Christus Health – Rehabilitation Hospital increases capacity for treating rehabilitation patients beyond the rehabilitation unit at Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center – Longview, allowing the current inpatient rehabilitation unit to be repurposed to support acute care demand.
The hospital is specially designed to create a therapeutic environment for patients and is equipped with leading-edge amenities and adaptive units, including multidisciplinary therapy gymnasiums, a specialized “activities of daily living” suite and outdoor courtyards designed to encourage patient movement and activity, Christus said in a statement.
Rehabilitation professionals providing care at the hospital will be joined by caregivers who previously supported the rehabilitation unit at Christus Good Shepherd Medical Center – Longview.
“Together, this expert team will provide care for adults who have experienced a loss of function or disability due to stroke, brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurological disorders, orthopedic surgery, amputation and other conditions,” Christus said.
Lifepoint Rehabilitation will continue to manage day-to-day operations of the rehabilitation hospital.
— Business Beat appears Wednesday. If you have items for the column, email to newsroom@newsjournal.com; mail to Business Section, Longview News-Journal, P.O. box 1792, Longview, TX 75606; or call (903) 237-7744.