Posts Tagged ‘International Business Accelerator’

The International Business Accelerator cordially invites you to the “2011 NAFTA Institute/Supplier Meet the Buyer Conference,” which will take place on June 16, 2011 at the Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino in Sunland Park, New Mexico. This event is the largest international trade conference of its type on the entire U.S.-Mexico border. As in the past, it will combine the activities of the “NAFTA Institute Conference” and the “Supplier Meet the Buyer Trade Mission.”

The Conference is designed for the following people:

1.       Businesspeople interested in selling their products to Mexican buyers, importing products from Mexico, and/or becoming a supplier to Mexico’s maquiladora industry. The organizers of the conference will match potential Mexican buyers/sellers with participants in private business-to-business sessions.

2.       Anybody interested in learning the mechanics of doing business with Mexico, Canada, or the U.S. During the event, topical experts will be discussing the various aspects of conducting cross-border business.

3.       Businesspeople wishing to network with counterparts from Mexico, Canada, and the U.S.

Conference Topics:

•Business-to-business sessions:  Meet purchasing managers from Mexico’s maquiladora industry and from local production firms.

•Union Pacific’s $400 million Santa Teresa diesel refueling and intermodal yard project – the biggest project of its kind on the U.S.-Mexico border. Meet and interact with Union Pacific officials.

•The Foxconn project in San Jeronimo (across from the Santa Teresa Port of Entry) – the largest maquiladora in Mexico and the producer of Dell computers.

•Overview of New Mexico and Chihuahua’s cross-border strategies.

•Border security and trade.

•Financing transactions in tough economic times.

•International trade resources for businesses.

•The economic future of the maquiladora industry

Cost:

Conference: $99

Corporate Sponsorship: $1,000 (Includes an exhibition table, space for your banner to be displayed, and admission for five people to the conference.)

Sponsorship: $500 (Includes an exhibition table and admission for two to the conference.)

Banner Sponsorship: $130 (Have your banner displayed at the conference.)

Registration:

To register visit: www.nafta-institute.com/register/

For more information visit: www.nafta-institute.com

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

Photo courtesy of the International Business Accelerator

By Samantha Roberts

Tuesday, April 5, was a busy day for legislators in Las Cruces, as Economic Development Secretary of New Mexico Jon Barela visited the City of Crosses and Gov. Susana Martinez signed three crucial bills in Santa Teresa.

Barela, who spoke at the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance luncheon, Business on the Border, said he was excited about the future of New Mexico in regards to kick starting new jobs and spending.

Special guests from Union Pacific attended the event, in honor of the new bill Martinez signed later that afternoon that eliminated a tax on diesel fuel in New Mexico and contributed to the arrival of the new Union Pacific plant in Santa Teresa.

“This is a cornerstone to creating jobs in southern New Mexico,” Barela said. “This $400 million project will create 3,000 construction jobs, 600 permanent jobs and many more will stem from that.”

In addition to the diesel tax bill, Martinez also signed the vehicle overweight bill, which Barela touched on during his speech. According to Barela, this bill will spur new job growth and encourage positive trade along the U.S.-Mexico border.

In addition to discussing the bills, including a third bill that will give border authority more power, Barela addressed the audience on key economic principles that he said will keep New Mexico competitive to bring in large corporations, such as Union Pacific.

The first principle is to balance the budget without increasing taxes.

“Although this was a tough session, we did it,” Barela said, adding that New Mexicans can have security in the future of the Land of Enchantment. “We also did it in a bipartisan manner. While Texas, Arizona and California are still dealing with their $1 billion shortfalls, New Mexico is ready for the future.”

The second principle was to establish a competitive regulatory environment, a reason Barela said he established a small business task force.

“We want to make New Mexico more business friendly,” he said, “without compromising people’s health, safety or the environment.”

Third, Barela said he wants to create a competitive tax environment, looking to other states as soft guidelines.

“Arizona has raised the bar,” he said. “Despite their huge debt, they have slashed corporate taxes, income taxes, property taxes, increased funding to job incentive programs and lowered sales tax. They believe the private sector creates jobs, and we need to take that to heart. We can’t ignore what the other states are doing.”

Other principles Barela touched on during his speech, included: a competitive local government structure, a competitive public education environment, increased capital availability and an environment that fosters innovation, an initiative that he said is crucial to the future of New Mexico.

“We are a global environment, and it is important we see it that way,” Barela said. “We need to stay up to speed with global businesses, jobs, etc. The Chinese maybe be able to duplicate things, but they do not have the innovation.”

In addition to his principles, Barela briefly touched on federal issues, specifically the nation’s $14 trillion debt.

“We need to correct the climate in Washington,” he said. “All of the principles can fit together – federal, state and local.”

Following a questions-and-answer session, a majority of the attendees caravanned to Santa Teresa to see Barela’s powerful speech put into effect with the signing of three bills.

Key legislative players who helped getting the bills passed and who also attended the event included Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific’s director of public affairs, Arizona and New Mexico Corporate Relations; Sen. Mary Kay Papen; Rep. Jane Cullbert; Rep. Mary Helen Garcia; Sen. Cynthia Nava; Barela; and, of course, Martinez.

While each bill has weight of its own, together these pieces of legislation marked a monumental day for southern New Mexico.

“We have hit a home run,” Garcia said.

Papen described southern New Mexico as “the stepchild that is often forgotten about,” adding that today would change everything.

“(Senate Bill 179 and House Bill 523 – Locomotive Fuel Tax Gross Receipts Deduction) allows us to compete with Texas,” Martinez said. “We need to be on the same playing field as Texas. They don’t have a tax on locomotive fuel, and, now, we don’t either.”

Martinez also signed House Bill 24, authorizing special permits for the operation of certain overweight commercial vehicles near the southern New Mexico border, and House Bill 322, granting additional powers to the Border Authority.

Article courtesy of El Paso Times

By Vic Kolenc

SANTA TERESA – With a stroke of a pen, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on Tuesday started the wheels rolling for a proposed $400 million Union Pacific rail facility in Santa Teresa.

Martinez, appearing in a Santa Teresa warehouse filled with politicians and area business people, signed recently passed state legislation exempting Union Pacific from paying locomotive fuel tax so the railroad company will develop the new facility.

The locomotive fueling station and intermodal freight yard are expected to create 3,000 jobs during four years of construction and to bring 600 permanent jobs, Union Pacific officials have said.

Martinez also signed two other pieces of recently passed legislation: one creating a zone around Santa Teresa and Columbus, N.M., for overweight cargo trucks, which economic developers say should attract more industrial distribution centers, and another to create a border infrastructure fund to make it easier for the New Mexico Border Authority to attract private and public funds for international port of entry improvements.

“As activity increases, Santa Teresa will reap benefits for new commercial and industrial development,” Martinez said. “Today, with the signing of these bills, New Mexico has the opportunity to expand on the possibility of growth.”

Former El Paso Mayor Joe Wardy, vice president of strategic development for Stagecoach Cartage & Distribution, an El Paso trucking and warehousing company, said the Union Pacific complex should help the entire area because Union Pacific’s facilities in El Paso are at capacity. “This helps us as a logistics center,” Wardy said.

Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the International Business Accelerator in Santa Teresa, said, “We’re talking about a project that will change the face of our region and make this the logistical hub of the border.”

Zoe Richmond, director of public affairs for Union Pacific’s Phoenix office, which oversees this area, said the railroad plans to keep its El Paso facilities, including a small intermodal freight yard. But some of its 400 El Paso jobs will eventually be shifted to Santa Teresa, she said. “We had no room to grow. We are land locked in El Paso,” Richmond said.

Union Pacific hopes to begin construction on the 2,200-acre Santa Teresa facility this summer, Richmond said. The company has already begun talking to area educational institutions about work-force development, she said.

This is the third time bills have passed the New Mexico Legislature to bring the Union Pacific facility to Santa Teresa. The project never took off in 2006 because Union Pacific had trouble securing all the land it needed, Richmond said. The project was again ready to be launched in 2008, but the recession killed it, she said.

Everything looks good this time for construction to start this summer, she said. Union Pacific hopes to have the facility open by 2015, Richmond said.

James Robinson III, president of J.H. Rose Logistics, which operates a 65,000-square-foot distribution center in Santa Teresa, said the rail facility should bring more freight traffic into the area. And the overweight truck zone will allow more cargo from Mexico to come into Santa Teresa warehouses, which should help his company and other distribution centers bring in more business, he said.

Pacheco said the overweight truck zone allows trucks to cross from Mexico to Santa Teresa warehouses without heavy loads having to be broken up into several loads as is done today. This can be done at the Santa Teresa port of entry because it has no bridges, which are sensitive to heavy loads, as do other El Paso-area ports, Pacheco said.

Loads of cement or scrap metals that need to be returned from Mexico manufacturing operations to be processed in the United States, are some of the heavy loads that could be processed at Santa Teresa, he said. More finished manufactured goods also could go into the overweight truck zone, he said.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; (915)546-6421.

Article courtesy of the International Business Accelerator

By Jerry Pacheco

In my 20 years of working the legislative session to support initiatives related to international trade, I have to say that the 2011 session was the most successful one that I can remember. The following are bills that passed the 2011 New Mexico legislative that will have an impact particularly on cross-border commerce:

HB 24 (Border overweight cargo zone bill): This bill passed both houses and is sitting on the governor’s desk waiting for her signature. Because this bill was endorsed by the governor during the session, it is highly likely that she will sign this. After signature, this bill will become law on July 1st.

This bill, sponsored by Mary Helen Garcia in the House of Representatives and supported by Senator Mary Kay Papen in the Senate, creates a six-mile zone around the Santa Teresa and Columbus Ports of Entry. It allows for reducible loads above the maximum 80,000 lbs, but not exceeding 96,000 lbs (a 15% increase in weight). There will be a $250 annual permit per truck/unit for haulers of irreducible loads within the zone.

The creation of these overweight zones will help create a new economic development opportunity by attracting importers of products from Mexico, such as tile and cement, which can bring their loads into warehouses located within the zone. The loads can then be broken down and distributed from these warehouses throughout the rest of the U.S. It is estimated that up to 100 jobs within the zones could be created within the first year of their establishment.

This bill was supported by the New Mexico Border Authority, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and the Motor Transportation Department.

HB 322 (Revolving border infrastructure fund): This bill, which was sponsored by Representative Mary Helen Garcia, passed both houses and is sitting on the governor’s desk waiting for her signature. Because this bill was endorsed by the governor during the session, it is highly likely that she will sign this. After signature, this bill will become law on July 1st.

HB 322 creates a permanent Border Infrastructure Fund, to be managed by the New Mexico Border Authority, to plan, design, and construct border infrastructure. Border infrastructure needs are intimately tied to manufacturing, international logistics, and foreign trade patterns, which are often complex and require a comprehensive approach to be properly addressed. The creation of a permanent fund would allow the New Mexico Border Authority to finance multi-year, all-inclusive, border infrastructure plans.

Currently, border infrastructure development is conducted by reacting to specific crises with isolated projects; funding is usually contingent to availability and subject to politics involved in obtaining executive or legislative capital outlay allocations. A predictable funding source allows for proactive and methodical border planning and development, taking into account both present and future needs.

HB 523/SB 179 (diesel tax abatement bill – these were companion bills in the House and Senate): Both of these bills passed both houses and are sitting on the governor’s desk waiting for her signature. The House bill was sponsored by Representative Jane Powdrell-Culbert and the Senate bill was sponsored by Senator Cynthia Nava. The governor will have the option of signing either bill, which is critical for Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) to proceed with its publicly announced project to establish a diesel refueling station and swamp yards (intermodal yards) in Santa Teresa, New Mexico.

Union Pacific Railroad’s investment in its Santa Teresa project will exceed $400 million and have an overall economic impact of $500 million for the New Mexico economy. The construction of these facilities will create 3,000 jobs during the construction phase from 2011 to 2015, and will eventually be headquarters for more than 600 permanent jobs.

The UPR project was the first major economic development project announced by New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and Secretary Jon Barela a week after the new administration took office.

SB 373 (Capital Outlay Reauthorization): This bill was sponsored by Senator Carlos Cisneros and most likely will be signed by Governor Martinez. The $800,000 that had long ago been appropriated to complete the planned hazmat station at the Santa Teresa Airport reverted, due to the slowness in the advancement of this project. SB 373 reauthorized the $800,000 so that the facility can now be completed. An additional $250,000 was reauthorized for the Santa Teresa Safety Inspection Station.

Release courtesy of the International Business Accelerator

Photo courtesy of IBA

Santa Teresa, New Mexico – Products USA, LLC, a packager of foods and producer of Mexican-style salsas, has established a salsa production plant in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. This food producer currently has operations in Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. Its new plant in Santa Teresa will supply salsa to retailers in the western and southwestern United States. The company plans to initially hire six employees for the first phase of its operation.

According to Products USA, LLC CEO Cesar Moran, “We chose Santa Teresa as the location for our plant, due to its convenient location close to the Mexican border. This allows us quick access in and out of Mexico, as well as superior logistics to move our product to our U.S. target market. We were also impressed with the level of business support we received to establish operations in our new plant.” Assisting in recruiting the new company to Santa Teresa were the New Mexico Partnership and the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance.

The company has leased production space in the Verde Logistics Park, north of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, and expects to begin operations within the next 60 days.