Posts Tagged ‘MVEDA’

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.

Sean Jodoin

Sean Jodoin, Virgin Galactic Supply Chain Manager, will be the featured speaker at the December meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, December 6, 2011 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet followed by a brief update by MVEDA staff.

Sean focuses on developing a strategic supply chain plan from the ground up for Virgin Galactic. In addition, he is working on Spaceport America activities and with The Spaceship Company to deliver a technical supply chain for the spaceflight system.

Sean brings with him experience from Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and KBR where he worked in Iraq and Afghanistan as a Procurement Manager. He served in Operation Enduring Freedom as an Air Force Combat Rescue aircrew member. He has earned an MBA from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and holds CPIM and C.P.M. designations.

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, December 1^st by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.

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

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

Christopher A. Erickson, Ph.D.

Dr. Christopher Erickson will be the featured speaker at the November meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, November 1, 2011 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet followed by a brief update by MVEDA staff.

In his “Update and Outlook for the Las Cruces Economy” Dr. Erickson will discuss the outlook for Las Cruces next year and beyond. He will also discuss the outlook for the state and national economy.

Dr. Erickson has served on the faculty of the NMSU Department of Economics and International Business since 1987. He is a frequent speaker on financial economics, macroeconomics and the border economy. His primary teaching interest is money and banking. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles on financial economics, including supplemental money and banking text that has been adopted on more than 100 college campuses. He is the Executive Editor of the New Mexico Business Outlook, the e-newsletter of the College of Business at New Mexico State University.

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, October 27 by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.