Posts Tagged ‘Zoe Richmond’

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.”

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.

Zoe Richmond, Director of Public Affairs for Union Pacific (UP) covering AZ & NM, was the featured speaker at a special breakfast for MVEDA Partners this morning.

Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific

Ms. Richmond provided an update comparing changes in UP’s business over the past 12 months and the impacts on the planned expansion of the Strauss Facility in the Santa Teresa area.  She noted that the timeline for the expansion would be based on the economy and the passage of the locomotive fuel tax exemption by the New Mexico Legislature.  The tax exemption lapsed in December 2009.  New Mexico is competing with Texas, which has no locomotive fuel tax.  Richmond also highlighted Union Pacific’s new concierge website, www.unionpacific.com, which is designed to enable small businesses to take advantage of the cost savings of shipping by rail.

Prior to Ms. Richmond’s presentation, Davin Lopez, MVEDA’s CEO, gave a brief update of MVEDA’s year-to-date progress, noting the more than 200 new jobs and $78M in capital investment created since July 1.  He highlighted some of the national recognition from sources such as Moody’s Analytics, the Milken Institute, Garner Economics, and CNN Money that the Las Cruces MSA has received for its continued job market recovery. Lopez also previewed new marketing plans for the second half of the fiscal year.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Gabriel Vasquez

The Santa Teresa Port of Entry could be a model for effectual cross-border transportation and economic development, if only the right pieces fall into place, said Francisco Uranga, Foxconn vice president and chief business operations officer for Latin America.

Francisco Uranga

Uranga, speaking during an economic forum held by the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance Friday, Oct. 8, urged local business leaders to rally local, regional and state legislators to focus their economic development efforts on improving infrastructure in Santa Teresa that has “tremendous potential” for bi-national development. “There are tremendous opportunities here to create a transportation metroplex that serves the purposes of the industrial companies on both sides of the border,” Uranga said. “People must realize the potential for the entire region, because as it is now, we’re being extremely inefficient with our transportation in this area.”

Uranga was instrumental in bringing the 500-acre Foxconn manufacturing facility to San Jeronimo, Mexico, which employs about 6,000 people and manufactures roughly 13,000 computers, laptops and servers each day. Foxconn is a Taiwanese industrial giant, building the majority of electronic components for popular companies such as Apple, Nokia, Motorola, HP and others. Foxconn has 1.1 million employees worldwide and is growing at an astounding rate, increasing profits by 67 percent in 2009.

When the San Jeronimo Foxconn facility was built in 2009, it was anticipated that the facility would bring many supply and logistics companies to the U.S. side of the border, which would significantly increase traffic through the Santa Teresa crossing and prompt economic development on both sides of the border.

That progress has been slow in coming, however, Uranga said, for various reasons. The approval and subsequent extension of the Juarez free trade zone will not go into effect until next year, Uranga said. The promised rail station, train-to-truck facility and refueling station proposed years ago by Union Pacific Railroad has also yet to materialize, and renovations are needed to the Santa Teresa Airport to accommodate large passenger and cargo jets, such as DC-10 aircraft, to satisfy the needs of logistics companies.

Uranga said the Santa Teresa-San Jeronimo border corridor is ideal for new maquilas and other enterprises because of its close proximity to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, which would allow American investors, business and operations managers to cross into Mexico without fear of encountering the violence that has so badly plagued Ciudad Juarez.

“Picture an operation along the fence of the U.S. line, with secure corridors going through both U.S. and Mexican customs, where goods are coming through with dedicated lanes for transportation,” he said “This is why the importance of the (Foxconn) project is being talked about. We’re thinking about a new railway, a new (Santa Teresa Airport) runway and the expansion of the (Santa Teresa) crossing.”

In August, Gov.Bill Richardson announced that the New Mexico Border Authority signed a $1.23 million grant agreement with the Economic Development Administration, which will be utilized to evaluate the expansion of commercial rail services along the U.S.-Mexico border. The agreement has the full support of Richardson and U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman.

“Expanding commercial rail service along the border is fundamental to increasing trade between the United States and Mexico and will be a huge boost to the economy of southern New Mexico,” Richardson said. “I am pleased that this grant will allow us to continue our work on this important project.”

Zoe Richmond, director of public affairs for Union Pacific, said the railway extension project proposed by UP isn’t yet off the table, but she didn’t give a timetable for future investment in the area.  “We stalled the project,” she said. “We did that obviously because of the economy. We are not able at this time to advance as we originally thought.”

The proposed $150 million Santa Teresa UP transfer station would clear congestion on the El Paso and Juarez railway, Uranga said. The transfer station would create more than 280 jobs and be able to process up to 100,000 containers per year.

Plans for improvements to the Santa Teresa Airport, however, are materializing. In September, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that Santa Teresa will receive $2.2 million in funding for runway extensions.

“We’re taking baby steps to neutralize any major disadvantages we may have,” said Jerry Pacheco, director of the International Business Accelerator, a New Mexico nonprofit that specializes in cross-border economic development. Uranga said without state and federal financial support, infrastructure improvements and cross-border communication and cooperation, development on the Santa Teresa corridor will continue to lag.

“If you build it, they will come,” Uranga said. “If these things are in place, by having these projects complete and expanding the (Santa Teresa) airport, when you can have a container yard on the Mexican side, you can reroute the train lines from the center of Juarez to Santa Teresa.”

Ultimately, if the border transportation and logistics corridor that Uranga envisions becomes reality, he sees the “inefficient” trucking dominated transportation system currently in place across the border as a thing of the past. No longer will hundreds of trailers from the west and inner-city of Juarez logjam El Paso’s three border crossings every day, but instead a sophisticated truck-to-train system, with the help of logistics and transportation companies on each side of the border, will replace the current system, with many companies using the Santa Teresa Port of Entry.

“This is great potential that we’re sitting on,” Uranga said. “We bought into the idea, my chairman trusted me in setting up the (Foxconn) facility here, and once the free trade zone is approved in the first quarter of next year, we’ll start moving.

“But we need private sector people to continue to work with us and set up next to us. We need the U.S. side, the Mexico side, the New Mexico side and the Juarez and El Paso side working together on this. If we continue competing and fighting among each other, it won’t work. We need to maximize our potential.”

At Foxconn, Uranga is responsible for government relations at all levels as well as regulations, incentives, tax and duties, legal customers, immigration and land and construction issues in Latin America. He serves on the Board of Directors of Superior Industries International Inc., one of the largest wheel-makers in the world. From 1998 to 2004, he served as secretary of industrial development for the State of Chihuahua.