The panel consisted of:  John L. Hummer, Owner/Broker with Steinborn TCN Commercial Real Estate; Gil Jones, Associate Broker with NAI 1^st Valley Commercial Real Estate; Donnie Brainard, President/Qualifying Broker with Alameda Property Group; and Rick Stoes, Managing Director for Grubb & Ellis.

Economic highlights from the discussion included:

• National and regional retailers are beginning to show activity,
• Improvement in new store openings and slowing of store closures compared to last year,
• Strip retailers are more aggressive on store openings,
• Stabilization of lease rates,
• Growth at Ft. Bliss expected to boost regional economy by $4 billion annually,
• Significant increase in venture capital money looking to be placed. Majority of which is coming out of Mexico, and
• Conventional financing will continue to be difficult to obtain.

The panelists graciously agreed to let us post their presentations and they can be down-loaded by following these links:

• John Hummer’s presentation (PDF - 570 KB)
• Gil Jones’ presentation (PDF - 935 KB)
• Donnie Brainard’s presentation (PDF - 1.5 MB)
• Rick Stoes’ presentation (PDF - 1.3MB)

As for the first two months of 2010, MVEDA’s lead generation activity has been quite high.  Entering the month of March, our lead generation is 176% higher than this same time last year, and our prospect activity is at 111% of our YTD goals.  In the month of February alone, we had over 14 new leads and 5 site visits by companies interested in the region.  Renewable energy continues to lead the way representing 1/3rd of all our new lead generation, followed by manufacturing and logistics firms.  Over the past couple of months we have also seen some increased interest in the aviation and aerospace sectors.

MVEDA’s marketing efforts remain aggressive.  Since mid-January, MVEDA participated in two prospecting missions with the New Mexico Partnership to Southern California and Dallas regions.  We also attended the Medical Design and Manufacturing Trade Show in Anaheim and participated in the National Security Technology Conference that took place in Las Cruces last week.

Although lead generation and prospecting activity is quite high, the difficulty in closing deals and in job creation surrounds financing.  This became a topic at our Business on the Border luncheon and has been a growing challenge over the past year.  As economic developers, we are being asked more and more to identify financing solutions for our clients which as a result is forcing us to identify alternative financing routes, such as through State and Federal programs, or through equity programs and grants.  Suffice it to say that this will be a continuing discussion, but enables us to retool, as well as, rethink strategies that will create new opportunities and future growth in Dona Ana County.

Subject matter covered during the conference will include:

• Customs in Mexico and USA
• Business dynamics of 3PL
• Legal and tax aspects of the logistics industry in Mexico
• State of the art of inventory control
• The role of the federal government to improve the competitiveness of the logistics industry
• The importance of landed-cost, new product development and response to market
• Comparison of Mexico’s logistics industry costs and practices with other low-cost countries
• Industrial real estate and locations
• Local market opportunities
• Major threats to logistics in Mexico

Conference costs for manufacturers, suppliers and services vendors is US $320 plus tax and includes meals, conference materials and activities.

For more information about the event, speakers and to register online, please visit the conference website.

The March Forum will feature a panel of local commercial real estate brokers and developers discussing the local commercial real estate market and opportunities in a changing market. Panel members will include:

• John L. Hummer, Owner/Broker with Steinborn TCN Commercial Real Estate;
• Gil Jones, Associate Broker with NAI 1^st Valley Commercial Real Estate;
• Donnie Brainard, President/Qualifying Broker with Alameda Property Group; and
• Rick Stoes, Managing Director for Grubb & Ellis.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. The meeting is open to the public. A large turnout is expected so reservations are recommended. Please confirm your attendance to ensure proper space will be available by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852.

Michael Baca

michael.baca1@state.nm.us

Environmental Analyst, NMED AQB

1170 N. Solano Dr. Suite M, Las Cruces, NM 88001

Office: (575) 647-7983

The conference will introduce companies to major contractors and government decision makers working in the national security sectors. Panels will address various teaming arrangements and potential funding opportunities, and includes a classified session on cyber security. If you are a technology company wishing to do business in this region’s billion dollar industry, you should plan on attending and/or exhibiting.

Detailed information including the conference agenda, speakers and contractors attending, and registration information is available on the NSTI conference website.

Employment Extravaganza 2010 is a venture to unite the students of New Mexico State University with employers in the state of New Mexico and regionally. However, any employers still addressing staffing requirements in the area of Internships, Cooperative Education, temporary summer work, or Professional Employment are cordially invited to attend. This is the last general career fair of the academic year.

Employers will have opportunities to:

• Connect with potential candidates
• Showcase upcoming career opportunities in your organization
• Meet dynamic students for part-time, temporary, summer, internship, co-op, or full-time employment
• Interact with candidates from 82 Bachelor’s, 50 Master’s, and 22 Doctoral degree programs at NMSU

Students can distribute resumes and learn about career opportunities for current and future positions. Freshmen through Alumni are invited to participate.

Employers may register on-line.  Parking information and maps are available on-line http://careerservices.nmsu.edu/fairs/parking.html.

For more information call 575-646-4115 or via e-mail: extrav@nmsu.edu.

]]> http://www.mveda.com/blog/2010/01/employment-extravaganza-march-10-2010/feed/ http://www.mveda.com/blog/2010/01/statewide-access-to-new-mexico%e2%80%99s-supercomputer-launched/ http://www.mveda.com/blog/2010/01/statewide-access-to-new-mexico%e2%80%99s-supercomputer-launched/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:34:06 +0000 mveda http://www.mveda.com/blog/?p=602 On Monday, January 25, Governor Bill Richardson unveiled an interconnected system that will eventually link 33 sites around the state to Encanto, New Mexico’s Supercomputer.  Encanto is the fastest public supercomputer in the world. The Supercomputer, which is housed at Intel in Rio Rancho, can perform 172 trillion calculations per second.

The “Connect New Mexico” event connected all eight new gateway sites into the Supercomputer using its new teleconferencing capability. The sites are:

• The University of New Mexico
• New Mexico State University
• Eastern New Mexico
• Western New Mexico University
• New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
• Santa Fe Community College
• San Juan College
• The State Capitol

These sites will be utilized by the universities and local businesses that need high performance computing for design and modeling purposes. The Supercomputer can be used for research, educational activities, training, and business modeling in the areas of energy, environment, digital film, aerospace, and biotechnology, among others.

The founding institutions for the New Mexico Computing Applications Center, which runs the Supercomputer, are UNM, NMSU, New Mexico Tech, and Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories.

For more information about the event and future Supercomputer gateways, see the Governor’s newsroom and the NMSU News Center.

National news sources have reported a staggering decrease in bank lending to small businesses in 2009.  Small businesses have faced a variety of challenges during this latest recession and are hopeful the lending will improve in 2010.

What can small businesses expect from lenders in 2010?

• What has changed in lending, if anything?
• What do banks expect from borrowers?
• What lies ahead in small business loans?
• What SBA programs or guarantees exist now? In the future?

A panel of local lenders and Small Business Administration (SBA) officials will answer many of these questions during a “Free Lender’s Forum” on February 4, 2010. The forum will be held at the Dona Ana Community College Workforce Development Center, 2345 E. Nevada in Las Cruces, New Mexico from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Food and beverages will be provided, but space is limited. Please pre-register by calling 541-1583.

Christopher Madrid, Vice President of IMPACT-NM Business Growth Services will be the featured speaker for the luncheon.  IMPACT-NM Business Growth Services is a division of New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC). New Mexico Community Capital founded IMPACT-NM to ensure that New Mexico businesses have the skills they need to grow and use equity capital effectively, regardless of whether they become NMCC client companies. By giving them access to experienced professionals, they expand and improve by using new methods, resourceful financings, and creative growth and performance strategies.

IMPACT-NM works with promising companies throughout New Mexico to help them create the strategies, master the skills, and acquire the outside resources they need to prosper. They provide hands-on assistance, delivered by successful senior management-level business executives. An advisor becomes immersed in the client enterprise, shoulder to shoulder with the local team - a rewarding arrangement for both parties. By partnering with business owners and taking the time to understand their challenges, IMPACT-NM gives them the skills and knowledge to achieve accelerated growth and greater stability.

Luncheon cost is $15.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. The meeting is open to the public and reservations are not required.

The exhibit is a mobile multimedia experience showcasing the Shuttle Program, the progress of the International Space Station and benefits of space exploration leading into NASA’s next major program, Constellation. The walking tour includes breathtaking imagery and state-of-the-art models of the Constellation Program’s next-generation launch vehicles and human spacecraft destined for use to explore the moon and beyond.

Driven to Explore has no admission charge and is designed for all ages and venues. The exhibit is wheelchair accessible. Touring the exhibit takes approximately 10 minutes.

See the attached map for directions and parking information.

For more information, contact Linda Fresques, 575-646-2913; fresque@nmsu.edu.