Category Archives: Articles

2020 Economic Development Course Goes Online

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Participants in the 2019 NM Basic ED Course

Rather than cancel the annual New Mexico Economic Development Course in the face of COVID-19, organizers are pleased to announce the “Basic Course,” as it’s colloquially known, will be delivered online in 2020.

Students will begin the six-week course in mid-July via Zoom. Lectures, discussions and case studies will be conducted remotely and over a longer time frame than in previous years, allowing people who couldn’t attend in person in the past to participate from their office or home.

“We wish we were convening the course at Western New Mexico University this year, as we’ve done for decades,” course director Noreen Scott said. “With COVID-19 still such a looming threat, that’s just not possible; but we’re as resolved as ever to teach community leaders how to marshal their economies to recovery.”

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New Markets Tax Credits Boost Tucumcari Biofuel Project

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The men behind Tucumcari Bio-Energy Company are retooling an abandoned ethanol plant in this rural New Mexico town to turn manure from nearby dairies into methane for compressed natural gas vehicle fuel, food-grade carbon dioxide, and sterilized solid and liquid fertilizer.

After several years of foundational work, the startup owns the plant property. It has a business plan, engineering design, and environmental impact statement. It also qualified for $1.8 million in federal funds through the New Markets Tax Credit Program, but company vice president Steve Morgan and president Robert Hockaday haven’t heard when they will receive that money.

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MEP Workshops Help New-Hires Learn Company Culture

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Process Equipment and Service Company, Inc. (PESCO) in Farmington believes in making an investment in people and relationships. That’s why the 50-year-old engineering, design and manufacturing company sends its newly-hired employees to workshops offered by New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). The investment has paid off; PESCO’s more than 400 employees understand that their input is valued and small changes they identify can make a big difference in customer service and employee satisfaction.

PESCO prefers New Mexico MEP’s lean manufacturing workshop, but that’s just one training offered to businesses every month.

The core of lean manufacturing management philosophy is the idea that resources not creating value for a customer in the form of a product or service are wasted. While the Toyota Production System (TPS) is a relatively modern example of lean management, improving efficiency in the production of goods and services is a centuries-old idea.

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Businesses, nonprofits and governments eligible for Family Friendly Business Award™

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The City of Farmington and the City of Albuquerque have joined the State of New Mexico in receiving the Family Friendly Business Award™ in recognition of their family friendly workplace policies. Farmington and the State of New Mexico received Platinum level recognition (the highest), while Albuquerque was recognized at the Gold level. The awards are bestowed by Family Friendly New Mexico, a nonprofit organization that recognizes New Mexico businesses, governments and organizations that implement policies deemed friendly to working families.

Offering flexible work schedules is one method employers can support working families. Other family friendly policies include employer sponsored healthcare and retirement plans. Policies like telecommuting and job sharing have also been shown to help working families while at the same time provide employers with cost savings through lower real estate costs and reduced turnover.

In fact, studies show that employers benefit significantly when they take a family friendly approach. A recent study by Microsoft Japan demonstrated that productivity increased 40 percent after employees took advantage of an offer to work their typical weekly hours over a four-day week while still earning their five-day pay. Other research indicates that increased productivity more than makes up for the costs associated with implementing family friendly policies.

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Opportunity Zones are new tool in NM EDD’s tool chest

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Municipalities, businesses, tribes and economic development and other community organizations eager to attract capital investment to economically distressed areas of New Mexico have another avenue to do so.

One provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 law allowed governors to nominate qualified census tracts in their states as Opportunity Zones (OZs). That designation offers tax incentives for individual entrepreneurs, partnerships and corporations to invest in communities where unemployment and poverty are high. New Mexico has 63 such zones scattered among 22 of the state’s diverse counties and tribal lands.

To sweeten the offer, the state is providing $1 million OZ Jobs Bonus to investments that meet certain OZ project benchmarks and help the state’s economy diversify.

The federal tax initiative is tantalizing in New Mexico, where outside financing can be hard to attract. Investors can defer, reduce or even remove certain capital gains taxes from OZ real estate and business investments made through a qualified Opportunity Fund that benefits affected communities.

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Resources Target Veterans in Business

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The Loan Fund enabled Santa Fe Exclusive Auto Repair to move into a more spacious location to help grow the business.

Jose Ocampo moved to the United States from Nicaragua as a child in 1980 after his family was granted political asylum.

After a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps and a few years at the University of New Mexico, he set his sights on being an auto mechanic and eventually opening his own shop. He graduated from the Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix and moved to Santa Fe to work in a friend’s auto repair shop until he was ready to go solo.

Having his own business “was just something I wanted to do,” Ocampo said. After reaching that milestone at the age of 24, his next goal was to buy his own building, which would increase the value of his business and give him a tangible asset he could sell in the future.

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New Mexico PTAC Helps Businesses Seize Upon Government Procurement Opportunities

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Chris Weil, President, and Royce Weil, Vice President, receive congratulations from Linda McMahon, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration in Washington DC.

When Chris Weil started his construction company in 2005, he planned to build it by delivering quality construction on-time and within budget. That strategy, along with a focus on government contracts, has allowed the company to expand and serve the western United States from five offices in four states. The New Mexico Procurement Technical Assistance Center (NMPTAC) has been Weil’s partner along the way.

“PTAC helped us with our business structure and taught us how to get into the federal world,” said Weil. “We work for several different federal clients, and they were able to help and guide us.”

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WESST: Trailblazers in the WBC Movement

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Diane Barrett, longtime owner of Diane’s Restaurant in Silver City.

There are currently over 100 Women’s Business Centers across the United States, but in the late 1980s, there was a scarcity of female entrepreneurs and role models. Spurred by the growing interest among women to chart their own business and financial path and seeking to provide appropriate the resources, WESST was established in 1989 and became a leading pioneer in the movement across the country.

WESST is currently among a handful of economic development organizations across the country that hosts a network of Women’s Business Centers. Each of the six regional Enterprise Centers located throughout New Mexico offers special training and consulting programs geared to aspiring or established women business owners. Continue reading →

New Mexico Seeks Manufacturers for Mfg Day 2019

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Students touring Insight Lighting in Rio Rancho. Article by Roger Makin.

Manufacturing is a key contributor to New Mexico’s economy, producing state-of-the-art electronics, industrial and residential building products, food and beverages, and a variety of everyday and seldom-seen components.

Economic developers are keen to attract manufacturers to the state because of the well-paying jobs that are created. Local leaders anticipate increased tax revenue, especially when local products are exported beyond city limits and bring new money into the community to enhance public services. Continue reading →

Coworking Space Helps Vet Build Gourmet Popcorn Business

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A decade ago, Roberto Mendez was broke, his real estate business wiped out by a devastating recession and his wife sidelined by a debilitating stroke. Today he runs a thriving family business built on his favorite snack food: popcorn.

“Ten years ago, life was hell,” said the owner of Albuquerque-based Cornivore. “We were trying to survive, so we would make a couple of hundred bucks here and there” selling homemade gourmet concoctions created in a kettle corn popper to friends and acquaintances.

Cornivore was a bootstrapped business, started with Mendez’s limited resources, as no one would lend to him at the time. First, he found a niche market—people willing to pay several dollars for a bag of fresh popcorn coated with natural flavors. Then he expanded his clientele beyond friends and family, experimenting with wholesaling and concession sales before landing a ready-made sales force in the fundraising market. Continue reading →