New Mexico Keeps Your Products Moving
Statewide support and logistics infrastructure are attracting new companies to the Land of Enchantment.
New Mexico’s strong logistics infrastructure gives companies ready access to U.S. and international markets by both rail and road.
The state is within a two-day drive to 75% of the U.S. population, and it is equidistant between major ports in Southern California and the Houston area. In addition, class I rail carriers BNSF Railway, and Union Pacific provide direct rail service to the ports and ports of entry in Mexico and Canada.
New Mexico is a major gateway to the Mexican border. As a result, state officials have made expanding infrastructure at the border a top priority, hoping to continue to boost international trade. Setting a record for exports in 2021, New Mexico exported more than $5.4 billion in goods, a growth of 48% from just five years earlier.
As a popular location for logistics and distribution operations, the state has announced several new projects.
“These announcements are all possible thanks to New Mexico’s competitive business environment, particularly for this industry,” says Melinda Allen, CEO of New Mexico Partnership, which serves as the state’s single point of contact to help businesses move to New Mexico.
Finding the Future
New Mexico’s statewide Local Economic Development Act job-creation incentive, or LEDA, has helped push new logistic and warehousing projects over the finish line and encourage new infrastructure developments. For example, Artico Cold Management utilized LEDA funds to set up operations in New Mexico. The Chicago-based company manages temperature-controlled storage warehouses used by agricultural producers and food manufacturers.
Artico was awarded $600,000 from the LEDA fund and is building a $30 million cold storage facility in Las Cruces that will open in September 2023. In addition, the company has pledged to hire up to 60 employees.
“Cold storage is in short supply across the United States, and we see the need in New Mexico for more capacity,” said Artico CEO Richard Taveras in a news release. “There are significant opportunities here to help producers of chile, dairy, pecans, meats and vegetables. This is an attractive opportunity, and the LEDA investment is critical — the state and city support gets this moving and helps us get over the finish line.”
LEDA also helped a New Mexico-based company build a larger warehouse space, providing $750,000 to help jumpstart the project. Aspen & Autumn, which distributes food and beverages, is constructing the new space in Albuquerque, with completion slated for spring 2023. The expansion will result in 70 new jobs over the next three years.
Logical Logistics
New Mexico was the right location for Universal Hydrogen, which is developing a major manufacturing and distribution hub on the grounds of Albuquerque International Sunport. Universal Hydrogen’s mission is to make carbon-free fuel to reduce the climate impact of air travel. The facility is scheduled to open in 2024.
“Hydrogen is the best and only scalable solution to truly decarbonize aviation, and we want to bring it to market decades sooner than anyone thought possible – by 2025,” says Jon Gordon, co-founder and general counsel for Universal Hydrogen. “We chose New Mexico as a place that will give our employees an affordable, high quality of life with access to culture and the outdoors.”
Also making logistics news is Amazon, which will open another distribution site in Los Lunas that will create more than 600 jobs.
New Mexico’s access to the Mexico border has made Santa Teresa one of the hottest spots in the U.S. for attracting companies involved with moving goods. Two recent arrivals are Tecma and Ergomotion, both of which are establishing logistics operations in the area.
Tecma specializes in helping manufacturers handle all the intricacies of doing business in Mexico, while Ergomotion makes adjustable bed bases that are sold in 30+ countries. Both companies also have operations in Juarez, Mexico, and they have elected to expand into Santa Teresa to add to their trucking and distribution operations.
“New Mexico has become key for many companies looking for ease of access to distribute products within the United States and to the rest of the world,” says New Mexico Cabinet Secretary Alicia Keyes.
Want to know more?
To learn more about New Mexico, check out the latest edition of New Mexico Economic Development.
