Archive for the ‘MVEDA Reports’ Category

Davin Lopez, President/CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) will provide a mid-year update of MVEDA’s activities at the February “MVEDA Business in the Borderplex” luncheon. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, February 7, 2012 from 11:30am to 1:00pm.

This month’s meeting will be held in the Tuscany Room at Lorenzo’s de Mesilla, 1750 Calle de Mercado in Mesilla. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, February 2^nd by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

Fred Shepherd

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES – After more than eight years with the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, Business Development Manager Fred Shepherd has left the organization. In an e-mail he sent out to MVEDA members, Shepherd reports that he left to perform regional marketing for H&R Block.

“Although I was not looking, it was an offer that I felt I could not pass up, however, it was a very difficult decision as it meant leaving MVEDA,” Shepherd writes. “Although I am leaving MVEDA, I will still be based in Las Cruces and I plan to be involved in the community.”

MVEDA is a public/private organization that works to bring companies to Doña Ana County and to help those already here expand. Davin Lopez is the president and CEO, Les Baldock is the operations manager, Jaclyn AaronsCooke is the research analyst and Sandi Metz is the organization’s executive assistant.

Shepherd is a native of Utah who moved to Las Cruces in 2003 and started with MVEDA as a research analyst.

“I have truly enjoyed my eight-and-a-half years at MVEDA and was able to experience a lot of personal growth … as we labored to improve the local economy and create thousands of job opportunities,” Shepherd said.

More information about MVEDA can be found online at mveda.com and at nmborderplex.com.

It is with a great deal of excitement that I present to you MVEDA’s First Quarter results of the 2011-’12 Fiscal Year.  It seemed it would be very difficult to match the performance level and results of our last fiscal year, one of MVEDA’s best years ever.  In the last fiscal year we experienced our second best year ever in terms of job creation.  It was by far our best year ever in terms of capital investment made into the region.  Additionally, it was our best year ever in terms of average salaries created which is a direct impact on wealth creation for the region and its residents (please see attached FY 11 Annual Report).   But if this first quarter is any indication of how the rest of the year will proceed then we will have just as much success to look forward to and with great anticipation.

Let me first start off by saying that the “job” of job creation in economic development takes an organized and consolidated approach and it requires the efforts of many groups working together.  In this respect I want to recognize all the team players that make this possible here in Doña Ana County.  They include the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Partnership, the Border Industrial Association and of course our partners at both the City of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County.  They also include our educational and training partners at NMSU and DACC.  And of course it takes the support of all of MVEDA’s private sector partners.

COMPLETED PROJECTS AND SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY

As of September 30, 2011, MVEDA has assisted in the creation of two new locates representing 279 new jobs to Las Cruces.  They include:

• Vangent, a back office support center based in Arlington, VA.  The company announced the decision in early July of this year and have currently hired over 90 employees to date.
• L&M Radiator, a manufacturer of industrial radiators that recently relocated out of El Paso to Las Cruces.

With these two locates, we are far ahead of production levels compared to this same time last fiscal year in terms of project completion, square footage absorption, employment numbers and capital investment.

MARKETING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

As a result of the several locates that have taken place over the last nine months, the MVEDA staff had spent considerable time and energy in project management functions.   Entering the new fiscal year, we have now returned our focus to the marketing efforts of the organization and the re-building of our project pipeline.  Although lead and prospect generation is slower year-to-date compared to this same time last fiscal year, we are once again beginning to see new opportunities.

We have been quite aggressive in our marketing efforts and reaching out to target markets where we believe there is potential for near term growth opportunities.  At MVEDA’s Board Strategic Planning Retreat in June, the staff outlined the following primary targets:

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Systems (UAV/UAS):  The Las Cruces International Airport is the only municipal airport in the US where UAV’s can be tested in the public airspace.  Along with the expertise in systems operations provided by the Physical Science Laboratory, the Las Cruces region becomes a unique opportunity for UAV companies seeking to not only test but to conduct R&D and assembly operations.

• Logistics & Warehousing:  The announcement of Union Pacific this past fiscal year affords us incredible future growth opportunities and we are taking steps to position ourselves for success in this area.

• Renewable Energy:  Over the past 12 months, MVEDA and the region have experienced tremendous success in the development of solar projects.  We continue to aggressively seek out opportunities in this area.  However, we are seeing a shift in new interest from bio-mass companies exhibited by the growth in research in new fuel related agricultural crops.

• El Paso Market:  Over the last 18 months, Las Cruces and Doña Ana County have benefited greatly from growth pressures in El Paso that are squeezing the industrial base.  Early results have included Alaska Structures and L&M Radiator expanding into Las Cruces as well the recent announcement of TE Connectivity’s consolidation into Santa Teresa.

This quarter, we have also participated in prospect trips to Chicago, Boston, Washington DC and San Francisco.   More recently MVEDA also participated in Virgin Galactic’s Industry Day at Spaceport America and the ISPCS conference.

As evident from the above, we are experiencing renewed growth and interest in the region, primarily in the manufacturing sector.  Eighteen months ago, the City of Las Cruces had over 360,000sf of industrial space sitting idle.   Of that space, 300,000sf is now occupied by Alaska Structures in our West Mesa Industrial Park.  Vangent has taken over the former Frontier Airlines reservations center and L&M now occupies the former Multi-Plastics facility.

The Union Pacific project at Santa Teresa further positions Doña Ana County to be a major hub for future distribution and logistics companies.   More recently, but falling within our 2^nd Quarter activity, TE Connectivity officials along with Governor Susana Martinez announced their plans to consolidate their operations in Santa Teresa thereby making their Doña Ana County facility their largest North American distribution center.  We also expect one to two more announcements before the end of the calendar year.

Again, we cannot accomplish our goals without the support of our partners and stakeholders.  We thank each of you for your continued support and we look forward to continuing the mission of job creation for Doña Ana County and New Mexico.

Davin Lopez

President and CEO

Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

On Thursday, Aug. 11, the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance met with community members to discuss the 2010-11 fiscal year for the organization.  Though the economy may be in distress, MVEDA showed growth in the Mesilla Valley.

“I am proud to present the results of MVEDA’s 2010-11 fiscal year, which by almost all accounts has been a record setting year,” said Davin Lopez, president and CEO of MVEDA. “Not only has it been MVEDA’s second-best performing year in terms of job creation and square footage absorption, but the organization also far exceeded any past operating year in terms of capital investment and wealth creation.”

Charged with bringing companies to the Mesilla Valley and increasing the wealth of Doña Ana County, MVEDA works with other entities such as the City of Las Cruces, Doña Ana County, local chambers of commerce as well as a diverse group of leaders from the business community.

“With an additional three solar projects in Doña Ana County with total investments upwards of $100 million, a recent groundbreaking for a major multi-unit residential development in Santa Teresa, and the future industry potential that Spaceport America offers, should make us all stop and wonder whether or not national headlines are accurate … or, at the very least, relevant to our region,” Lopez said.

Over the past fiscal year, 45 companies actively looked into relocating to Las Cruces with several of them completing the process and moving into vacant buildings. Some of these companies include Vangent, Samson, NRG, L&M Radiator, Products USA and NextEra Energy.

In early June, MVEDA hosted an open house for L&M Radiator, a manufacturer that recently announced its move to Las Cruces. L&M plans to transfer or hire more than 100 employees, Lopez said.

“Less than a year ago, Alaska Structures expanded in Las Cruces’ West Mesa Industrial Park and now occupies more than 300,000 square feet in two facilities and employs more than 300 workers,” Lopez added.

The year generated more than 580 jobs, contributed to more than 270,000 square feet in commercial real estate absorption, with capital investments totaling more than $540 million. The average salary for the new jobs exceeds $47,000 per year, which is almost 28 percent above average wages for Doña Ana County.

Since January 2003, through the most recent fiscal year, MVEDA has assisted in the expansion or location of 68 projects in Doña Ana County – including Union Pacific – creating more than 3,200 jobs with an annual payroll in excess of $96 million.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Brook Stockberger/Sun-News Business Editor

LAS CRUCES – Manufacturing is not dead. That was the message Davin Lopez, president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, gave a breakfast audience at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces on Thursday. MVEDA’s annual breakfast allows the private/public entity to give report for the recently completely fiscal year.

“It’s a tough time to talk about the economy,” Lopez said. “(And) we’ve been feeling it for the last couple of years.”

Still, the economic development group reports that lead development remains strong and there has been a “significant” jump in terms of manufacturing.

“Almost 45-percent of our leads are in manufacturing and logistics,” Lopez said. “We are hearing that heavy manufacturing is coming back to America.”

He pointed to the addition of Alaska Structures at the West Mesa Industrial Complex. The Anchorage-based company which makes shelters for the military as well as commercial customers, moved into a 184,000-square foot building that used to house Rea Magnet Wire, and also uses about 100,000 square feet at the previously empty building at 8500 Mountain Vista Parkway where Parkview Metal Products used to reside.

“If you think back 12 to 18 months ago, think of all those facilities sitting vacant,” Lopez said.  In fact, he said the Las Cruces area could use more spec buildings. “The biggest challenge we have going forward is we need more buildings,” Lopez said.

In addition, capital investment has jumped considerably in Dona Ana County, spurred by the recently begun Union Pacific Railroad project in Santa Teresa, but also ahead of the pace of the past several years even without Union Pacific.

New officers

Gary Lenzo with Century Bank is MVEDA’s chairman of the board as the new fiscal year begins, stepping in for Citizen’s Bank’s George Ruth, who will now serve as past chairman of the board.  ”I have some big shoes to fill,” Lenzo said.

In addition to Lenzo and Ruth, other officers include: Vice Chair Kiel Hoffman, Pioneer Bank; Secretary Dolores Connor, City Councilor; Treasurer Jim McGonnell, Memorial Medical Center; Executive Committee Member at Large Jack Darnall, Verde Realty.

Bryn Davis, New Mexico operations manager for Sapphire Energy and former past chairman of the board, was presented with a special award for all the work he has performed for MVEDA through the years.  ”I know I’m on the phone with him a lot,” Lenzo said.

Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457.