Courtesy of the New Mexico Economic Development Department
SANTA TERESA – Today, Governor Susana Martinez and Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela announced the location of three new companies to Santa Teresa and the expansion of one existing Santa Teresa company. These companies are expected to create about 120 new direct jobs in New Mexico’s border region.
“We have made a serious effort to make New Mexico a better place to do business and we continue to see the results as more companies choose to locate or expand along our southern border,” said Governor Martinez. “Today, I’m extremely proud to welcome three new companies to Santa Teresa as well as expanded operations for a fourth business. The border region will continue to be a major growth area for our state and we will continue to work to bring more businesses and additional jobs to New Mexico.”
Secretary Barela stated that companies moving here are part of the Economic Development Department’s strategy to locate these types of business in the Borderplex. “We are proud of the work that has been done and will continue to build on this success by bringing economic-based jobs for New Mexicans to this area,” he said.
One of the three new companies is Ironhorse, a shortline railroad operator based in O’Fallon, IL, that will be installing approximately 2.5 miles of new track adjacent to the Union Pacific track in Santa Teresa. The company will be loading and offloading containers to and from the rail. In addition to creating 12 new jobs, Ironhorse will provide a much-needed service to attract other companies to the area in the logistics and manufacturing sectors.
Bizlink, a global manufacturer of cable assemblies and wire harnesses for motor vehicles, IT products, industrial equipment and general electronics products, will begin to build an 80,000 sq. ft. production facility in the Santa Teresa Industrial Park that will employ 70 people. The company is headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan.
Ferza is an El Paso-based transloading firm that will be moving fructose, plastics and other materials for clients using the Santa Teresa Intermodal Park. The company expects to create 30 new jobs in Santa Teresa.
JH Rose Logistics, a multi-faceted third-party logistics company providing transportation, warehousing, and distribution services has been in the Santa Teresa for several years and announced it will be expanding its operations by 20 employees. JH Rose is also currently renovating its building in the Santa Teresa Business Park to make it more energy efficient.
Thanks to legislation that Governor Martinez signed into law last year allowing overweight vehicles to operate within a limited radius of the international border crossing, Ironhorse, Ferza, and JH Rose have all been able to create new jobs in Santa Teresa.
In July, Governor Martinez also welcomed Chihuahua-based Interceramic to Santa Teresa. Interceramic, one of the world’s largest tile manufacturers, located a warehousing and distribution facility in Santa Teresa due to the overweight cargo zone bill that was passed as part of the Border Jobs Legislation. Since taking office, other companies, such as Union Pacific, TE Connectivity and Alaska Structures have announced that they are moving or expanding their operations into Southern New Mexico.
