Moving Forward!

Steve Vierck, President & CEO


Good team effort at AUVSI
New Mexico delivered an impressive team effort earlier this month at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVSI) North America conference in Las Vegas. Representatives of 12 communities and regions participated along with Cabinet Secretary Jon Barela and leading private sector and institutional players in the unmanned vehicles sector such as White Sands Missile Range, Sandia National Labs, New Mexico State University/ Physical Sciences Lab, Silent Falcon, and Mistic. The financial support of the event sponsors (see the list in the inside AUVSI article) made it all possible.

The AUVSI effort is precisely the type of unified statewide approach that many participants had in mind when they attended the Partnership’s June 26 strategic planning session. More than 30 economic development professionals from throughout New Mexico joined the Partnership’s Board and staff in examining ways to strengthen the Partnership’s marketing. Key recommendations going forward included the following:
  • Significantly ratchet up the Partnership’s marketing and business development activities
  • Fill in those gaps where target industries are not covered by trade shows and industry conferences
  • Actively engage economic development professionals from throughout the state.
We’re progressing on all three fronts. First, the marketing calendar has been significantly expanded to include an aggressive array of over 30 sales missions, trade shows, industry conferences and other lead generating functions covering everything from digital media to advanced manufacturing. Second, we’ve filled in some critical trade show and industry conference gaps where we didn’t previously have any marketing event coverage including adding the following:
New sales trips to Houston and Denver were also added.

We best market New Mexico when there is strong engagement of community and regional economic development professionals on sales missions and trade shows/industry conferences to help convey our state’s distinctive regional assets and strengths. We’ve seen very good participation thus far – not only at AUVSI but also on sales missions.  We’re already preparing to use a similar, collaborative New Mexico marketing approach at several additional trade shows this year.

New Mexico’s Competitiveness
Although the start of the Legislative session is still several months away, there is much behind-the- scenes work going on to assess economic development incentive programs which could have major impact, both pro and con, on New Mexico’s competitiveness for new and expanding businesses.

There is a lot at stake. Along with the continuing, urgent need for improved job growth in a slow economy is the risk of federal sequestration with heavy potential impact on New Mexico. The University of New Mexico has estimated potential employment loss of 20,000 jobs due to our inordinate reliance on the federal government.

Much of the attention has necessarily focused on the potentially massive impacts to the federal labs; however, many other communities could also be seriously impacted by reductions to other federal agencies with a relatively strong presence in New Mexico such the National Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Homeland Security. With such a backdrop, it is a particularly critical time to closely examine and pursue, where warranted, economic development initiatives aimed at improving in a meaningful way our state’s competitiveness and ability to attract, expand and grow businesses.

Departures and Arrivals
Business Development Manager Kathleen Connors left the New Mexico Partnership on August 1 for a position with the University of New Mexico Foundation. Kathleen’s versatility and organizational skills served the Partnership well and we regret seeing her go, but recognize that it is an excellent opportunity for her to get back into fundraising. We wish her the very best.

However, we are pleased to announce that Hilma Chynoweth has re-joined the Partnership. Hilma was with the organization previously as the Vice President of Administration during the first few years of operation. Hilma, who is beginning her final year graduate school at UNM, will be with us part time and will handle billing and other administrative responsibilities. We're happy to have her back.

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New Mexico News

In July, Interceramic, one of the largest tile manufacturers in North America, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for their new distribution center in the Santa Teresa Business Center. Governor Susana Martinez was on hand in Santa Teresa for the event hosted by the Border Industrial Association.

Headquartered in Chihuahua, Mexico, Interceramic leased an 80,000-square-foot facility and will create 30 jobs at its new operation. According to New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela, “A major factor in the company’s selection of Santa Teresa was the establishment of an overweight cargo zone north of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, which allows trucks with weights up to 96,000 lbs into this limited zone. The establishment of this zone was a joint effort between the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Legislature, the New Mexico Partnership and the Border Industrial Association. Interceramic is the second company to take advantage of this unique zone on the U.S.-Mexico border within the past seven months.”

According to Gabriel Grijalva, Interceramic’s Director of Supply Chain and Logistics, “The overweight zone and the rapid crossings at the Santa Teresa Port will allow us to transport our product into our U.S. market more economically and efficiently. In the future, we hope to expand our operations in Santa Teresa.”

With annual sales of approximately $500 million, Interceramic is a leading manufacturer of ceramic tile, bathroom fixtures, setting materials, and natural stone. The company uses 240 franchise stores to distribute its product in Mexico, 14 stores in the south region of the U.S. located across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Georgia, and 65 independent distributors for the rest of the U.S. and Canada. In addition to their North America operations, the company also has distribution centers in Panama and Guatemala and an interesting venture in China to produce high design ceramic tile and offer it through exclusive local distributors.

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NM Partnership Activities

Sales Missions & Trade Shows

In July, Andrew attended Intersolar N.A. in San Francisco with Deb Inman of Albuquerque Economic Development. The solar industry is under duress and Andrew and Deb heard from vendors that the market is saturated with product with surplus projected for 18 months. Further industry consolidation is anticipated. There is much competition for any viable projects as numerous solar facilities have been recently vacated.

The Partnerhsip attended the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America conference in Las Vegas in early August where we exhibited and hosted a reception. We had excellent community participation at both events. There were representatives from 12 communities that included economic developers and city officials from Albuquerque Economic Development, Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, Clovis Industrial Development Corporation, Roswell-Chaves County EDC, Artesia Chamber of Commerce, Gila Economic Development Alliance, Deming-Luna County EDC, Rio Rancho Economic Development Commission, Eastern New Mexico Economic Development Alliance, Sierra County Economic Development Organization, SWNM Council of Governments, and the City of Roswell and the City of Deming. NMEDD Cabinet Secretary Jon Barela attended, as well as Joe Bullington from Jacobs Technology at NASA’s White Sands Testing Facility. We received assistance from the participants in manning the booth as well as answering questions about New Mexico and our resources at each of the events.

Seven of the communities and Jacobs Technology helped to sponsor the events and received level-appropriate recognition in return:
  • Platinum: Albuquerque Economic Development
  • Gold: Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance
  • Bronze: Artesia Chamber of Commerce
    Clovis Industrial Development Corporation
    Deming-Luna County Economic Development Corporation
    Gila Economic Development Alliance
    Jacobs Technology
    Roswell-Chaves County Economic Developemnt Corp.
The first evening of the conference, we hosted a private reception in a members-only area of the House of Blues, called the Foundation Room, on the 43rd floor of Mandalay Bay. It was well attended by all of the New Mexico representatives, including people from White Sands Missile Range, Sandia National Laboratories, and the Physical Science Laboratory at New Mexico State University who helped answer questions about the state’s resources and capabilities. From the private sector, Mistic and Silent Falcon Technologies were on hand to share their experiences of doing business in New Mexico. Our guests included more than 30 executives from 12 companies.

It was a great success for New Mexico. With the support and participation from our communities, we were really able to increase New Mexico’s presence and share with company executives all the state has to offer to support the UAS industry. We look forward to similar efforts in the future.


Marketing

In addition to the events at AUVSI, the Partnership developed a brochure of the state’s assets serving the UAS industry in collaboration with the New Mexico Economic Development Department, particularly the valuable contributions of Elizabeth Davis who provided the research and copy. It proved to be an excellent resource to have at the conference. We also had a cost comparison from Jack Alston that outlined the costs involved for a manufacturing project that favorably compares three cities in New Mexico to those in California and Arizona.

The latest installment of our direct mail campaign was just sent to site consultants and corporate executives. It discusses New Mexico's infrastructure advantages for the logistics, distribution and transportation industries.

Additional mailings will continue to focus on the state's competitive advantages and will be distributed on a bi-monthly basis.


Upcoming Events

Here's a quick look at what the Partnership will be doing as we move into fall: Please contact Allison Smith if you are interested in joining the New Mexico Partnership at future trade shows or on sales missions. They're great opportunities to represent New Mexico and your communities in one-on-one situations. Please note, however, that space is limited as we seek to keep the size of our sales team down to an effective level.

Check the calendar to see what's coming up!

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Special Notice


NMIDEA Annual Meeting

The NMIDEA Annual Meeting will be held September 25th & 26th at the Ruidoso Convention Center. Please mark your calendar now & plan to attend!
 
At this event the NMIDEA Awards are also given. If you know of a deserving individual, please nominate him or her.

You may register now for the NMIDEA Annual Meeting 

Registration: $100 (IDEA members); $150 (Non-Member - includes one year membership). 


New Century Economy Summit

Help Position New Mexico for Economic Growth Over the Next 100 years
 
As we celebrate our centennial year, we look to how we can move the state forward by leveraging the state's assets, promoting investments into sustainable industries, and diversifying the state's economy. The summit will be a unique opportunity to focus on issues that will have a major impact on the quality of the life in our communities and produce a platform of recommendations that can:
  • Eliminate structural barriers to economic growth
  • Prepare a competitive workforce
  • Facilitate tech-transfer and entrepreneurship
  • Leverage emerging economic opportunities
Date: Tuesday, October 2
Time: 8 am-5:30 pm
Location: CNM Workforce Training Center, Albuquerque
 
Register For The Summit Today
There is a $25 registration fee that helps cover meals and snacks breaks. Seating is limited. The summit can accommodate a maximum number of participants. Early registration is highly recommended.

The summit is convened by the New Mexico Economic Development Department. It will be facilitated by New Mexico First.

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Community News


Bernalillo County

Albuquerque This month Ideum, Inc., creators of interactive computer-based exhibits, multitouch installations, rich Internet applications, and social networking sites for museum and Web visitors, received $119, 437 in JTIP funding for six jobs. The company works closely with museums, nonprofit organizations and socially responsible companies to create memorable visitor experiences.
 
Albuquerque CRE-MED, founded by Dr. Kenzo Kase, received JTIP funding in the amount of $27,610 for seven jobs in July. Dr. Kase developed the Kinesio Taping® Method and Kinesio® Tex Tape Gold™ in his chiropractic clinic in Japan in the 1970’s. He was able to work with engineers to develop a tape that is gentle, flexible and elastic and works in conjunction with his Kinesio Taping Method, which has become a treatment used by medical and sports professionals worldwide.

Albuquerque In 2010 Ardent Healthcare transitioned the Lovelace Health Care Central Business Office in Albuquerque into a regional business office taking over transactions for four large Oklahoma-based health care facilities. Because of the success of the Albuquerque Central Billing Office, the company will be transitioning all billing and collection efforts from two additional hospitals based in Oklahoma to Albuquerque, which will result in an expansion of 22 jobs. Lovelace has received $116,072 in JTIP funding for these new jobs.

Curry County

Clovis Beauty Health and Science Innovations, founded by Brian Sperber, is a manufacturer of skincare and beauty products. BHSI’s primary target market segments are the Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals and Health and Beauty Aids industries. The BHSI product line includes over 300 private labeled skin care products and Nutraceutical drinks for 100 clients. The company received $244,797 from JTIP in July for 35 jobs.

Luna County

Deming Compass Components is a privately held manufacturing services & distribution corporation. In April 2007, Compass Manufacturing Services (CMS) opened its 40,000 sq. ft. harness manufacturing facility in Deming, New Mexico. CMS specializes in cable, harness and electro-mechanical assembly and system integration. This business unit supports a variety of industry leaders in the transportation, semiconductor, capital equipment, and medical markets as well as network and telecom, test and measurement and metal fabricators. For eight jobs, they received $76,204 in JTIP funding last month.

Otero County

Alamogordo  Western Baking Corporation owns 12 separate companies in Mexico in the manufacturing, agricultural and distribution businesses. Those companies include a cookie and cracker manufacturer, an oils and fats company, a personal care company and a distribution company servicing over 300,000 stores in Mexico. The Alamogordo location provides access to national shipping routes with its close proximity to both I-10 and I-40 and includes a rail spur on-site. This month, the company received $95,202 in JTIP funds for 36 jobs.

San Miguel County

Las Vegas Martinez and Sons Processing was founded by Timoteo Martinez, Latania Marr de Martinez and Tim S. Martinez in 2010 and will be the first commercial meat processing operation in Las Vegas. Currently local beef producers travel and average of 520 miles for cattle harvesting purposes. The company will provide meat harvesting services including transport of livestock to the facility, slaughter, processing, customized cuts and delivery of the final product back to the customer within San Miguel, Mora Colfax and Guadalupe Counties. They received $49,728 in JTIP funding for 8 jobs in July.

Santa Fe County

Santa Fe JackRabbit Systems is a hotel internet booking engine, which overtime, has focused on the development of sophisticated software systems that allow the user to access hotel inventory through city and state tourism web sites. In July, they received JTIP funding for two jobs in the amount of $54,900. JackRabbit has landed 67 new clients in the last nine months. The company credits its rapid growth to improvements of its software systems made over the last year and increasing market recognition of their product.
 

Marketing & Events Calendar

September

10-15 International Manufacturing Technology Show 2012, Chicago

24-28 Denver Sales Mission

25-26 NMIDEA Annual Meeting, Ruidoso

30-Oct 3 IEDC Annual Meeting, Houston


October

7-9 CoreNet Global Summit, Orlando

9-12 NY, NJ & PA Sales Mission

13-17 IAMC Fall Forum, Omaha

17-18 ISPCS Space Week, Las Cruces

30- Nov 1 NBAA Annual Conference, Orlando


Download full calendar

Board of Directors
Sean Ormand, Region 5
Vice Chairman

Gary Tonjes, Region 3
Secretary

Chase Gentry, Region 4
Treasurer
Jon Barela, Designated
Joel Carson, Region 6
Joe DiGregorio, Region 1
Lisa Dunagan, Region 4
Chuck Hamilton, Region 5
Lisa Hardison, Region 6
Tom Hutchinson, Region 7
Davin Lopez, Region 7
Don Power
, Region 3
Matthew Spriggs, Region 2

Staff
Steve Vierck, CEcD
President & CEO
Andrew Corona
Vice President of
Business Development

Allison Smith
Vice President of Marketing
Hilma Chynoweth
Administrative Coordinator
Jack Allston
Senior Consultant
Jerry Pacheco
Senior Consultant
Mission
The New Mexico Partnership’s mission is to create new jobs in New Mexico by recruiting economic base companies from outside the state to establish operations here. Economic base companies export goods and services and thereby bring new dollars into the state, generating wealth rather than merely re-circulating existing monies.


This clear, singular focus for the New Mexico Partnership has resulted in more than 12,000 jobs brought to the state since 2003. At least 40 percent of the jobs recruited to the state are required to be in rural New Mexico.
110 Second Street SW  Suite 602  Albuquerque, NM 87102  505 247 8500  888 715 5293  nmpartnership.com
Copyright © 2012 New Mexico Partnership, All rights reserved.