Features
Fall Far East Trade Trips
Seeking to expand global business opportunities, the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Office of International Trade (OIT) is planning a joint venture with the Office of Mexican Affairs (OMA) to explore trade options in China and Taiwan. The “Access China” recruitment mission is scheduled to take place the week of November 10th. Representatives from both Offices will travel with to meet with Chinese manufacturers looking to access North American markets, with a special eye on the New Mexico/Mexico border.
OIT director Mathew Woodlee says, “New Mexico is poised to be a premiere destination in the United States for foreign investment.” He also notes that, “China is New Mexico’s number one Asian trading partner, and we are looking forward to finding more opportunities to attract investment from China into our state.”
The mission will be split into two groups. One group will visit 3 cities in southern China, including a stop in Taiwan. Taiwan’s FoxCon electronics manufacturer has already established business in San Jeronimo, Mexico, across from New Mexico’s Santa Teresa point of entry. Simultaneously, a separate group of New Mexico companies will be travelling to Tokyo and Beijing seeking sales and distribution partners.
4 Communities Newly Certified
Artesia, Carrizozo, Catron County, and Eunice joined the growing list of 41 Certified Communities in New Mexico. Announced at October’s Governor’s Economic Summit, these communities will receive contractual funding of up to $5,000 per year for two years for special projects like workforce studies,
grant writers, training expenses, and economic development impact studies. The Certified Communities Initiative (CCI) encourages and supports New Mexico communities in their efforts to create new jobs by emphasizing recruitment, retention and expansion and start-up activities. Each community must meet eight mandatory requirements for certification, and two elective requirements, all focused on job creation and economic development. Communities are certified for two years at a time, and then they are allowed to apply for recertification.
Mondragón Rewarded for Rural Work
The 2008 Dallan Sanders Award for excellence in economic development was awarded to Raymond Mondragón. The New Mexico Industrial Development Executives present the yearly award to the citizen who has made outstanding efforts at a state level towards economic development in rural communities.
"Ray Mondragón has an incredible dedication to this state's growth and development. Our state is a better place because of the work that he has done on behalf of all our citizens," said Fred Mondragón, Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development Department.
Raymond Mondragón currently serves as the Chairman of the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership. Mondragón also continues to work as the Director of Economic Development and Government Relations for ENMR-Plateau in Clovis.
Student Business Plan Winners Rewarded
5 students claimed top honors in the State Student Business Plan Competition awarded at the Governor’s 2008 Economic Development Summit in Tucumcari. The students submitted business plans for review by a panel of judges from universities, economic development agencies, and educational leaders. Alex Bleyker took first prize with his plan to grow organic vegetables. He received a check for $800 as well as the Casimiro Foundation and the Magic Wand Foundation Business Camp Scholarship to the 2009 Disney World and Annual International Business Camp in August. Other winners included:
| Winner: $800 | Alex Bleyker, Gallup Greenland Vegetables, plans to grow organic vegetables. |
| Second Place: $600 | Dulce Avitia and Sara Maes, Chrysalis, plan on selling high end perfumes and cosmetics in their rural community where it is hard to find these items. |
| Third Place: $500 | Colleen Garcia, The Ice Queen, makes and distributes ice in her rural community where it is difficult to get ice for parties and events. |
| Fourth Place: $300 | Sophia Trujillo, Pro-Ink, a custom silk screening company |
| Fifth Place: $150 | Krystal Sanchez, Krystal’s Beaded Lanyards, handmade beaded lanyards |
The sponsoring teacher or parent of the five place holders also received $200 for their support and participation on behalf of the students. The State Student Business Plan Competition is organized by the New Mexico Youth Entrepreneur Network, and sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Department.
JTIP’s September Start-up Support
Three small New Mexico start-up businesses will receive $116,610 in support approved at September’s Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) board meeting. These funds will help in the creation of 9 new jobs.
“This month JTIP was able to make awards to three start-up companies, who are leaders in innovation in each of their fields. This is a great example of the assistance that JTIP can provide to small companies around this state. We want people to understand that JTIP funds and assistance from our office is not limited to just the big corporate deals but are for all businesses who qualify for training of new workers,” said Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón.
This month’s JTIP recipients include:
- CPFD Software, LLC- Albuquerque-Software developer - $50,504-creating 3 jobs
- Deep Web Technologies Inc.-Santa Fe- Web search portal development-$48,575-creating 3 jobs
- Divine Beauty, Inc.-Santa Fe-Manufacturer of medical aesthetic devices -$17,531- creating 3 jobs
For more information on JTIP programs and qualifications, click here.
Funds to Finance MainStreet Makeovers
$1 Million has been awarded by the by the state Legislature and Governor Richardson to assist MainStreet communities with special projects. These MainStreet Special Appropriation Funds have been divided by a review committee and allotted to nine MainStreet communities, including:
| $130,000 | Artesia | Planning for the new downtown Municipal Campus |
| $180,000 | Clayton | Purchase and rehabilitation Phase 1 of the historic Luna theatre |
| $300,000 | Clovis | Environmental remediation of the historic Clovis hotel |
| $50,000 | Corrales | Downtown Master plan |
| $100,000 | Grants | Design/Build of a downtown pavilion with DPAC |
| $50,000 | Las Cruces | La Placitas Phase 2 design |
| $80,000 | Los Alamos | Phase 2 central Ave streetscape |
| $50,000 | Santa Rosa | Downtown Master Plan |
| $60,000 | Silver City | Adaptive reuse of the historic “Electric utilities Building” for Museum annex |
Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón said," We really look forward to seeing these projects come to fruition and seeing first hand how they change the landscape of the MainStreets they sit on.”
The MainStreet Special Appropriations funds must be expended by June 2009, and projects require that a local community match of money be made towards to the projects listed above.
Access2Capital: New Mexico’s On Line Financing Resource
In an effort to bring comprehensive financing information to interested parties in an efficient and effective way, the Economic Development Department has helped create the web clearinghouse Access2Capital (accesstocapitalnm.org). This on line resource is a one stop destination for those seeking business financing anywhere in the state. The site provides comprehensive information that allows businesses to do their own self-analysis and then contact the financing sources that suit their needs. It also increases collaboration by offering business assistance links to Small Business Development Centers, Incubators, SCORE, banks offering SBA loans, Enterprise Zones, International Trade Contacts, Federal Technology Centers (FTC), Chambers of Commerce and financing by business cycle (start-up, seed, existing, expansion, etc.).
Joining the NMEDD in this strategic initiative are the New Mexico Venture Capital Association, the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network, and the New Mexico Finance Authority. The directory was developed and is hosted by New Mexico Community Capital (NMCC), the state’s only non-profit community development investment fund. It is funded in large part by The Economic Development Administration (EDA)-Austin Region.
Early adopters include Los Alamos National Labs, New Mexico Banker’s Association, Technology Ventures Corporation, Regional Development Corporation, the Rural Alliance, The Loan Fund, The New Mexico Angels and Coronado Ventures Forum.
For more information, visit www.nmccap.org or contact Leslie Elgood at 505-366-3008 or leslie@nmccap.org
JTIP’s Robust August
$214,000 in funding was approved at the August meeting of the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) board to help create 37 new jobs at four New Mexico businesses. All jobs funded through JTIP this month are all related to the expansion of existing businesses in the state.
“New Mexico's job training incentive program continues to provide significant support to new and expanding businesses. Despite economic troubles around the country we are very pleased to announce job creations. I also thank the board and staff for their dedication to the JTIP program,” said acting chair for the JTIP board and Deputy Cabinet Secretary Daniela Glick.
This month’s JTIP recipients include:
- CVI Melles Griot - Albuquerque - Manufacturing precision optics - $46,042 - creating 5 new jobs
- Convergys Customer Management Group - Las Cruces - Customer contact center - $64,480 creating 15 new jobs
- Altela - Albuquerque - Manufacturer of water purification systems - $68,100 - creating 12 new jobs
- Wildflower International - Santa Fe – Wholesale distributor of IT products and services - $35,846 - creating 5 new jobs
For more information on JTIP programs and qualifications, click here.
Las Vegas Celebrates Job ‘Results’
The community of Las Vegas has selected Monday, August 4th, to celebrate the arrival of Results Las Vegas, a customer service telecommunications center that will provide 150 new jobs and a potential economic impact of $6 million. A combination of capital outlay funding and Job Training Incentive Program resources laid the groundwork for the company to call New Mexico home.
New Mexico Department of Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón welcomed the arrival, stating, “Our department is focused on helping rural communities, that’s why, as an incentive, capital outlay funding in the amount of $45,000 was allocated for Results Las Vegas to do renovation to the site they will be occupying.” The company is renovating a site formerly occupied by another call center and expects to be up and running by mid-September.
“This funding and the JTIP money we have been allocated are great incentives to locate in New Mexico,” said company representative Kevin Romney. The company was approved for about $350,000 in job training funds at the June meeting of the JTIP review committee.
The event will kick off at 10 A.M. in the meeting room at Sala de Madrid on the campus of New Mexico Highlands University, located at the corner of University and 8th. Award winning Mariachi Cardinal will open the ceremony, followed by a keynote address by Cabinet Secretary Mondragón. Refreshments will be provided, and the company will have job information and applications available for interested applicants.
For more information call the Las Vegas-San Miguel Economic Development Corp. at 454-0739.
New Mexico Processes Addition of Worlds Largest Computer Manufacturer
Hewlett-Packard Co. announced plans to bring 1,300 new jobs to New Mexico by opening a technical support center in Rio Rancho. The center, set to open in mid-2009, will initially employ several hundred workers. The business will then expand its payroll to reach $50 to $60 million per year by 2012.
Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón was pleased with the announcement, stating, "This is a direct result of wonderful collaboration between our offices, the New Mexico Partnership, Albuquerque Economic Development, the City of Rio Rancho, and the Office of the Governor.” Governor Bill Richardson added, “I’m proud that HP has recognized that New Mexico is a great place to do business and has chosen our state to make this tremendous investment.”
Preliminary figures point to most jobs paying at least $45,000. To be eligible for the high-wage job tax credits of over $20 million being offered by the state, a certain percentage of jobs must be classified as “high wage.” HP will also receive as much as $8 to $10 million in state funds for job training. Additionally, the Governor will ask for $12 million in capital improvement funds from the Legislature for the development.
HP, based in Palo Alto, California, is the world’s largest computer manufacturer based on revenue. For the four fiscal quarters ending in April, revenue totaled $110.4 billion. The IT company develops personal computers, printers, storage devises, software, networking equipment and other computer related applications.
2008 MainStreet Awards Reward Success
The 2008 New Mexico MainStreet awards, held July 26th in Raton, recognized the success and hard work of the volunteers and organizations the make up the MainStreet program. Member communities nominated the finalists for the 27 categories.
Economic Development Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón stated, “New Mexico MainStreet is a true success story for community economic development in new Mexico. The program is a testament to how collaboration can work to create jobs and create vibrant downtown districts by bringing together MainStreet staff, community leaders and volunteers to grow business.”
Here is a list of the 2008 New Mexico MainStreet Award winners:
The Top Award winners were:
- Governor Richardson’s Leadership Award – Ann Taylor, President Corrales MainStreet
- Lieutenant Governor Denish’s Community Partnership Award – Corrales MainStreet and the Village of Corrales
- Cabinet Secretary Mondragón’s Community Economic Development Award – City of Las Cruces, Las Cruces Downtown Association and Dona Ana County for their new Tax Increment Development District - -MainStreet Director Williams’ Award to Kathy Flynn for her leadership on the 75th Anniversary of the New Deal/ WPA
- The New Mexico MainStreet Advocate Award to U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman
Competitive Award Recipients:
- Excellence in Fund-Raising - Corrales MainStreet
- Excellence in Public Relations – Clovis MainStreet
“Midweek with MainStreet” - Excellence in Business Development – Clayton MainStreet
“Downtown Low Cost Loan Fund” - Excellence in Marketing – Corrales MainStreet
“Discover Corrales” - Excellence in a Downtown Promotion – Raton MainStreet
“Holiday Promotion” - Excellence in a Business Promotion – Farmington MainStreet
“Holiday Art Walk” - Excellence In Architectural Design – Artesia MainStreet
“Bungalow Infill Project” - Excellence In Architectural Design – Silver City MainStreet
“Hub Plaza” - Excellence in Urban Planning – Clayton MainStreet
“ Downtown Master Plan” - Excellence in Urban Design – Artesia MainStreet
“Texas Street Streetscape” - -– Santa Rosa MainStreet
“Rehabilitation Adaptive Reuse of WPA High School”
Community Award Recipients:
Artesia: The City of Artesia
Clayton: Nancy Leighton, President of Clayton MainStreet
Clovis: John Sharp, Clovis MainStreet Board Member
Corrales: Barbara Kline, Corrales MainStreet Board Member
Las Cruces: Alta Heath, Las Cruces Downtown Volunteer Administrative Assistant
Las Vegas: Nancy J. Colalillo, Business & Property Owner and MainStreet Supporter
Lovington: Pat Wise, former City Manager
Portales: First Community Bank
Raton: Colfax County Society for Art, History, and Archaeology
Roswell: Molly Boyles, MainStreet Roswell Board Member and Promotion Committee Chair
Silver City: Sudie Kennedy, Business & Property Owner and MainStreet Supporter.
Tucumcari: Sharon Quarles, Tucumcari Main Street Board Member and Promotion Committee Chair.
JTIP’s July Funding Fireworks
The creation of 253 new jobs at 5 New Mexico businesses was facilitated by the approval of $1.5 million in funds by the July board meeting of the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP).
Department Cabinet Secretary Fred Mondragón stated, “It is vital to the economic health of our state that we continue to provide opportunities and incentives to companies that remain in the state and provide high wage jobs. The JTIP board clearly understands the need and the greater benefit to the communities and our state as a whole.”
This month’s JTIP recipients include:
- Eclipse Aviation-Albuquerque- Aircraft manufacturer - $1,226,250-creating 225 new jobs
- Vibrant Corp.-Albuquerque- Non-destructive testing technology-$53,386-creating 6 jobs
- Mechtronic Solutions Inc.-Albuquerque-Manufacturing & Engineering firm -$118,172- creating 10 new jobs
- Game Production Services-Albuquerque –Simulation programs for military -$89,680-creating 6 new jobs
- MIMICS, Inc.-Albuquerque-Computer software for financial institutions-$54,442- creating 6 new jobs
For more information on JTIP programs and qualifications, click here.