Posts Tagged ‘Davin Lopez’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin, by Samantha Roberts

Union Pacific, which recently began construction of an all-new rail facility outside Santa Teresa, announced a $100,000 donation to Doña Ana Community College as part of Las Cruces Day in Santa Fe during a press conference Monday, Jan. 30, at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

The donation, which Zoe Richmond, UP director of public affairs, said was given to DACC to use as the institution sees fit. However, the underlying message at the press conference was creating jobs to sustain UP’s new intermodal facility.

“Doña Ana Community College is excited to be the recipient of such generosity from Union Pacific,” said DACC President Margie Huerta. “We plan to use the funds for scholarships and workforce development to ensure our students have the knowledge needed to qualify for the jobs this new facility will bring to the region.”

There were several key players who helped make the donation a possibility, including Sens. Cynthia Nava and Mary Kay Papen, Rep. Mary Helen Garcia and New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Designate Jon Barela as well as Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance CEO Davin Lopez and Border Industrial Association Executive Director Jerry Pacheco and Juan Massey.

“Union Pacific and Doña Ana Community College is an example of a great private-public partnership,” Lopez said. “We are proud to be a part of this.”

“Right now, we are moving 4.1 million cubic yards of dirt,” Richmond said about developments in Santa Teresa. “We hope this donation strengthens our long-term commitment to southern New Mexico.”

As another part of Union Pacific’s commitment to grow New Mexico, Richmond said seven of the 10 subcontractors working on the project are from New Mexico, which translates to 66 percent of $40 million that has been spent in the Land of Enchantment. The intermodal facility is expected to be completed by 2015, bringing in 600 permanent high-paying jobs.

“The average employee will be making $100,000 in wages and benefits,” Richmond said. “We like to say where we have rails, we have ties.” Richmond said UP chose DACC as a recipient because “DACC is a neighbor” and she is looking forward to a good working relationship with the community college.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Huerta said during the press conference. “The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce as well as many others have given their help and been so supportive – Davin Lopez, Jerry Pacheco, Juan Massey, (Rep.) Terry McMillan.

“Donations like this will have an immediate impact on southern New Mexico. Developing the workforce in southern New Mexico is critical, and this gift of $100,000 is a huge investment and will yield positive return. “In Doña Ana County, we work with a collaborative spirit to improve the community.”

Nava, former superintendent of Gadsden Independent School District, said the example set in southern New Mexico is remarkable. “The rest of the state should listen,” Nava said. “I fought to get Union Pacific here, and I will fight to hold them accountable to their promises. This check is a great start, and it is about jobs, economic development and the opportunity for students to succeed.”

To help bring UP to southern New Mexico, Gov. Susana Martinez signed into law in 2011 a bill granting Union Pacific a locomotive fuel tax deduction that allowed the company to move forward with an investment of $400 million in the construction of a 2,200-acre rail facility west of the Santa Teresa Airport, which will include fueling facilities, crew change buildings, locomotive inspection tracks, an intermodal ramp and a switching yard.

“This new facility will strengthen our long-term commitment to deliver premium service to our customers,” said Scott Moore, vice president of public affairs for Union Pacific. “Upon completion of this new infrastructure, New Mexico will take its place among the leaders in the goods movement industry.”

A key player in getting the locomotive fuel tax deduction bill passed was Barela. When the bill was passed, Barela called it “a cornerstone to creating jobs in southern New Mexico.”

“Doña Ana County has great potential and thank you to our great corporate neighbor – UP,” Barela said. “The facility is a solid anchor project on the entire Mexico border – all 2,000 miles of it.”

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.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Brook Stockberger/Sun-News Business Editor

LAS CRUCES – “Las Cruces, manufacturing hub!”

Well, southern New Mexico’s largest city might not gain that moniker anytime soon, but the reality of an operating Spaceport America north of town and the start of construction on a $400 million Union Pacific Railroad facility south of town, has spurred increased interest in Las Cruces among manufacturing and logistics companies.

According to a recent quarterly report, the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance says that 65 percent of all new leads are in the manufacturing sector.

“This is a great area to be growing in because manufacturing/logistics generally involves paying local people and local suppliers to make things that people outside the region pay for,” said Christine Logan, economic development administrator for the city of Las Cruces.

L&M Radiator and Alaska Structures both moved into town and created manufacturing jobs. That was welcome news that came on the heels of a stretch last decade in which Las Cruces lost Parkview Metals, Rea Wire Magnet Wire and manufacturing jobs with Taylor Precision Products. “Both of these companies moved from El Paso to Las Cruces,” Logan said. “A big factor was that we had facilities here that they could move into and expand their operations. A recurring theme in the city’s economic development efforts has been the need for existing industrial space.”

Minnesota-based L&M had a facility in El Paso, but outgrew that location and turned its eyes north across the state border. “Our business has seen a tremendous amount of growth over the last year,” L&M Radiator President Dan Chisholm said when the company decided to move. L&M, which makes cooling systems for heavy machinery, is leasing about 52,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space on South Valley Drive.

In addition, TE Connectivity, an electronics component manufacturer, will relocate 100 jobs to its Santa Teresa plant from El Paso. “In the next three years, we’re hoping those 100 jobs grow to 250,” said Jerry Pacheco, vice president of the Border Industrial Association.

According to the city’s most recent economic development report, the manufacturing business category makes up just 1 percent of the businesses and 4 percent of the jobs.

Still, Davin Lopez, president and CEO with MVEDA, said that the area is increasingly showing up on companies’ radar. MVEDA works to bring companies to Doña Ana County and to help those already here expand. “We continue to see manufacturing leads increase as a percentage of total leads developed,” Lopez said. “This category also includes logistics companies. Whereas this category accounted for approximately 39 percent of all leads in the last fiscal year, we have seen it grow to 65 percent of in the first quarter of this year.”

Both Logan and Lopez said that the Union Pacific facility in Santa Teresa plays a major role. “Over the past 12 to 18 months, we have received greater interest from manufacturing and logistics firms due to the Union Pacific announcement,” Lopez said. “A $400-million-plus investment catches attention both regionally and nationally.

“It has enabled us to not only showcase opportunities in and around the Santa Teresa region but also to bring greater attention to the Las Cruces region where we happened to have existing facility space that fits the needs of some of these companies,” he said.

“We are getting more attention lately because, No. 1, we had vacant facilities to accommodate companies,” Logan said. “No. 2, there is pent-up demand for manufacturing space since no one wanted to expand or relocate in the worst of the economy and, No. 3, the proximity to the Union Pacific intermodal facility makes this a great place to locate a manufacturing facility.”

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

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

By Brook Stockberger/Business Editor

How difficult is economic development in southern New Mexico? For one thing, liqueur licenses are too expensive, some with purchase prices as high as $700,000, said Mike Espiritu, executive director of the Otero County Economic Development Council.

“I cannot get a grocery store in Alamogordo because of the price of a liqueur license,” Espiritu said. “A liqueur license is an economic development issue, (but) the legislation hasn’t been changed since the early 1980s.”

Davin Lopez, CEO and president of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance said that competition is intensifying in the Southwest.

“Arizona has put its flag in the sand and said, ‘We’re back in business,’” Lopez said. “And, on the other side, we have Texas (working hard.)”

So what should the state with the lowest population in the Southwest do to build momentum in job creation? Here in southern New Mexico, a spirit of cooperation has taken hold among competitors. And while it’s not exactly Macy and Gimble shaking hands in “Miracle on 34th Street,” Lopez, Espiritu and John Mulcahy, executive director of the Sierra County Economic Development Organization, have made the effort to work together for the good of the region.

The three men spoke about economic development during MVEDA’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.

“We devote time to regional development,” Lopez said. “While I’d rather not lose a deal, I’d want to lose it to these guys rather than Arizona or Texas.”

Lopez said that MVEDA has recently finished one of its best fiscal years ever for capital investment and in other areas. Still, there is a lot of work to be accomplished, including efforts for Spaceport America.

“Virgin Galactic has been using our office for a series of companies they’ve been meeting with,” Lopez said.

“Davin and I have been working on spaceport needs,” Mulcahy said. “We met with contractors last week.”

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