Central New Mexico Economic Guide: 2008

CentralNewMex.com

CENTRAL NEW MEXICO ECONOMIC GUIDE

Reeling With ExcitementInfrastructure and effort lure major film projects

Now That’s an Expansion

Development will be twice the size of Boston

Q Marks the Spot

Albuquerque markets itself as all about the ‘Q’

SPONSORED BY THE GREATER ALBUQUERQUE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE | 2008

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Grow strong with the support of people you trust.

a history of distinctiona philosophy of unequaled service

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Contact Laura TurnerClient Relations Director(505) 848-1800www.modrall.com

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OVERVIEW 11

BUSINESS ALMANAC 12

BUSINESS CLIMATE

Earning High Marks 16The Central New Mexico region has gotten national attention as a prime place to do business.

Q Marks the Spot 19

FILM

Reeling With Excitement 20Central New Mexico is the hot new location for fi lmmakers.

It’s a Team Effort 22

Fast Forward 22

TECHNOLOGY

At National Labs, the Future Is Now 24Two national laboratories exert a profound impact on the region’s economy and culture.

Designing Smart Cars 27

Sensing Danger 27

Microelectronics Mecca 28

Figuring Out Their iPods 31

AVIATION

Going to New Heights 32Vern Raburn, the high-fl ying Internet maven, is setting his sights on a new jet that’s fi nally in production.

Got $1.8 Million? Bid on eBay 35

High Flyers 36

REAL ESTATE & DEVELOPMENT

A Place in the Sun 38Albuquerque was the No. 1 hot spot to buy real estate in 2007, according to www.housingpredictor.com.

Retail Renaissance 40

Now That’s an Expansion 43

On the Cover PHOTO BY IAN CURCIO

Film sets now dot the New Mexico landscape.

READ MORE ONLINE

CENTRALNEWMEX . com

“Find the good – and praise it.”– Alex Haley (1921-1992), Journal Communications co-founder

jnlcom.com


LINKS Click on links to local Web sites and learn more about the business climate, demographics, service

providers and other aspects of life here.

THE MOVIE Take a virtual tour of Old Time Albuquerque as seen through the eyes of our photographers.

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ARCHIVES Read past editions of Central New Mexico Economic Guide.

ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE

Central New Mexico Economic Guide is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is sponsored by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. In print and online, Business Images gives readers a taste of what makes Central New Mexico tick – from transportation and technology to health care and quality of life.

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C E N T R A L N E W M E X I C O C E N T R A L N E W M E X . C O M 5

contents


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TOURISM

The Place To Be 44The tourism industry around here is thriving.

MANUFACTURING

Electricity Is in the Air 46Albuquerque is poised to become the center of the latest revolution in automobile manufacturing: all-electric vehicles.

HEALTH CARE

These Doctors Will See You Now 48The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas is partnering with Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital.

AGRICULTURE

These Crops Are Hot 50Chile peppers have a long history rooted in the sandy soil of New Mexico.

Going Back to Their Roots 52

EDUCATION

Learning Curves 54The region is a thriving center for higher education that continually expands and adapts to meet the needs of its students.

ENVIRONMENT

Making Green by Going Green 58Award-winning green programs are bringing a better quality of life and investment to the city.

ECONOMIC PROFILE 61

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contents


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Bosque Farms

Corrales

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Belén

Rio Rancho

Moriarty

Estancia

Willard

Mountainair

os AlamosLoo

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Santa Fe

BERNALILLO

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TORRANCE

Men’s Fitness magazine named Albuquerque as the fittest city in the nation.

National Geographic Adventure magazine named the Albuquerque region

among the top 50 places to live and play. The Trust for Public Land praised

Albuquerque for devoting the biggest percentage of city land to parks and

preserves of any large city in the country. The area’s golf courses are ranked

among the top 40 casino courses by Golf Digest. The city was named the Third

Best City in the nation for dogs by Men’s Health magazine. Other accolades: the

No. 1 most affordable vacation spot by AAA; among the

top 20 Nano Metro areas in the nation by Wilson Center’s

Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies; the No. 1 healthiest

city for Latinas by Latina Magazine; the No. 6 Best Place

for Business and Careers by Forbes

magazine; among the top 25 best places to get a job by Forbes.

com, the No. 4 Best American

City for making movies by

MovieMaker magazine.

CENTRAL NEW MEXICO THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOWThe Accolades Keep Pouring In...

CentralNew Mexico

SEE VIDEO ONLINE | To read more about Central New Mexico’s top rankings, visit centralnewmex.com.


overview

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WILD ABOUT WILDLIFEWith all of the sprawling open spaces, it’s no wonder

why Central New Mexico is an ideal destination for

outdoor enthusiasts.

Hunting has always been a favorite pastime

near Albuquerque, and a variety of animals is

abundant throughout the region’s forestland.

A number of small game animals thrives here,

as do turkey, bear, elk and mule deer.

There are also some species of African animals

that can be hunted, including pronghorn antelopes.

Overseeing all of the hunting that takes place is

the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish.

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AIR OF DISTINCTIONThe sky’s the limit every October when

750 hot air balloons participate in the

annual Albuquerque International Balloon

Fiesta. The nine-day event will take place

in 2008 from Oct. 4-12.

The celebration of flight occurs at Balloon

Fiesta Park on the northern edge of the

city. That is where all of the participating

balloons are launched, and the fiesta is

considered one of the most photographed

events in the world.

The celebration has become so popular

that an Albuquerque International Balloon

Museum opened on the grounds in 2005,

to provide a general history of ballooning.

IT’S BEAN FUNThe city of Moriarty celebrates a vegetable

every year.

The 22nd annual Moriarty Pinto Bean Fiesta

will descend upon Moriarty City Park in October

2008. Estancia Valley was known as the pinto

bean capital of the world in the 1940s, and

Moriarty honors this tradition with a variety

of events each October.

The events include a pancake breakfast, a Pinto

Bean Fun Run, parade, live music, a rodeo, and

food and vendor booths.

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LAVENDER ICE CREAM?Aah, what a sweet festival.

The fifth annual Lavender in the Village takes root

in Los Ranchos July 2009, at Village Park. The event is

meant to showcase the historic agricultural lands in the

valley, as well as small businesses on Fourth Street, Rio

Grande Boulevard and Chavez Road.

Activities include a growers’ market, arts and crafts, visits to

wineries, and tours of area farms and lavender fields. Visitors

can purchase items such as lavender ice cream, lavender pottery,

lavender soaps and lavender plants, and admission is free.

TAKE A PEAKLook up. The world’s longest aerial tramway

is located here.

The Sandia Peak Tramway transports passengers

2.7 miles from Albuquerque to an observation deck

that is atop Sandia Peak, which is 10,378 feet above

sea level. The Tram, as it is commonly called, has

hauled more than 8.5 million passengers during its

42 years of operation.

Riders take a 15-minute trip, and the tram can haul

220 passengers at four trips per hour. On average,

the tram makes 10,500 trips each year and hauls

225,000 passengers. ROOM TO VROOMGearheads, rejoice.

The 11th annual South Route 66 Summerfest

will rumble into Los Lunas June 2009, with a

variety of activities scheduled. There will be

a Battle of the Bands competition, wine and

microbrew tasting, an art exhibit and a huge

garage sale.

But the event is known for its large car show,

and the 2009 festival will be no different.

Categories of entrants will include antique

pre-1930, muscle car 1960-67, low rider,

truck 1946-1969, hot rod, travel trailer,

motorcycle, convertibles and street rods.

There will even be a category for bicycles,

and one for tractors.


business almanac

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CITY OF LITTLE LIGHTSO come, O come to see the

Christmas lights.

Albuquerque is known for its

Christmas decorations, and many

residents decorate their homes

with luminarias. These are small paper

sacks with light provided from votive

candles and weighted with sand.

The luminarias have given Albuquerque

a reputation as the City of Little

Lights during Christmas.

The luminarias are supposed to

represent the lighting of streets to

guide Joseph and Mary, but now

people of all faiths put them out.

They are primarily a Christmas

Eve tradition, and have been

a New Mexican tradition for

hundreds of years.

SKIING IS BELIEVINGVisitors to Central New Mexico are often surprised

to learn about the area’s reputation for snow skiing.

The region sits at more than 5,000 feet above sea level,

making it the highest metropolitan area on the American

mainland. The high altitude has also made it a prime destination

for skiers and snowboarders.

Helping to make for fine conditions are the light, fluffy snow that falls in

Central New Mexico, along with sunny conditions during the colder months.

One of the more popular resorts is the Sandia Peak Ski Area, which offers 30 groomed

trails among its 200 acres.

ABQ, A LONG TIME AGOAlbuquerque recently celebrated its 300th anniversary, and

the historic feel of the city is still found today in Old Town.

This city’s first neighborhood features 18th-century

architecture along with narrow brick pathways, as well

as quaint merchant shops. In fact, it is such an interesting

part of Albuquerque that guided walking tours conducted

by The Albuquerque Museum are available Tuesdays

through Sundays from mid-March to mid-December.

Much of the architecture of Old Town is Pueblo-Spanish,

also called adobe. Other styles include Victorian

and contemporary.

SEE MORE ONLINETake a video tour of Old Town

at centralnewmex.com.

business almanac


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Albuquerque’s business climate gets noticed

High MarksEarning


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The Central New Mexico region has gotten national attention as a prime place to do business, but

local officials say they have no plans to rest on their laurels.

The area gained significant bragging rights when in 2006, Forbes Magazine ranked Albuquerque as the top place in the country for businesses and careers, based on factors like job growth and education of the workforce.

Albuquerque slipped in the magazine’s same comparison for 2007 but remained in the top 10 nationally at No. 6.

Terri Cole, president and CEO of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, says the area will continue to be an attractive place to draw employ-ers and workers.

“Business success today is based on whether an area is both a vibrant economy and a quality place to live,” she says. “Our region gets high marks in both areas.

Debbie Moore, president/CEO of the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, agrees. “Rio Rancho is a wonderful place to do business, because as a growing community, it’s where we turn visions into reality,” she says.

The area also has been recognized as a place with low business costs. In 2006, Albuquerque was rated as the cheapest place in the country to run a business – 24 percent lower than the national average, according to Forbes.

Cole and Moore say their chambers work hard to promote the qualities important to businesses from workforce to transportation to health care.

“The competition in this global econ-omy is fierce,” Cole says. “It isn’t enough to be good in this day and age. We’ve got to be great.”

Part of the business officials’ strategy to promote the area to employers is by partnering with their counterparts in surrounding counties.

“The regionalism effort is absolutely essential to the rural areas,” says

Myra Pancrazio, executive director for the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association.

When industry moves to Albuquerque or Rio Rancho, there are often support businesses or suppliers that also come and can move into surrounding counties, she says.

Also, the demographics for things like workforce are factored into the entire metropolitan statistical area.

Instead of the individual areas com-peting against each other for employers, the region’s business officials take a broader view, Pancrazio says.

“We look at our competition as Texas, Colorado, Arizona,” she says. “As a region, we go out together and market our region because whatever comes to the area, no matter where it goes, it benefits all four counties.”

In Belen, a rural area about half an hour south of Albuquerque, partner-ships with the state have been a key way to promote its business climate, says

Claudette Riley of the Greater Belen Economic Development Corporation.

She says the city has gone through mult iple cert i f icat ions with the New Mexico Economic Development Department as a way to create a strategy for attracting companies and figuring out what qualities to emphasize to prospective employees.

“It’s actually helped us create visi-bility for our area,” Riley says. “Quality of life is huge down here because we’re such a small community but we’re so close to Albuquerque. Being so close to Albuquerque, that’s one of our strongest assets.”

Cole of the Albuquerque chamber says one of the challenges is simply to keep up with the growth as officials work on improving several areas.

And the payoff is evident.“Companies are noticing,” she says,

“both by locating here and staying put once they get here.” – Victoria Eckenrode

Albuquerque has become a destination for educated young people who keep the city’s cafés and restaurants bustling. Opposite: Albuquerque shines at night.PHOTO BY BRIAN McCORD

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business climate

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Marks the SpotNew branding campaign makes Albuquerque all about the Q

Most marketing and branding campaigns aim to get the word out; in Albuquerque’s case, the

goal is to get the letter out.Albuquerque is all about the Q.The city is using Q to brand its green

initiatives. Q Bar is a high-end watering

hole at The Albuquerque Hotel in Old Town. ABQ Uptown, a new lifestyle center with apartments and shops, uses a large, neon Q in its signage; the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau highlights the letter in its logo and publications, too.

The hope is that Q as a nickname

is catchier than ABQ or Duke City, two existing monikers, says Mayor Martin Chavez.

Graphically, Q is a “great, simple, nice short way of referring to Albuquerque,” he says.

A bonus – in the Spanish pronun-ciation of Albuquerque, the q’s are very prominent, making the shorthand ref-erence a nice nod to the city’s heritage.

The city now marks any vehicle that uses alternative fuel with a pro-minent Q. In May 2007, Albuquerque sponsored the Q Jam Music Festival and Environmental Sustainability Fair, with high-profile performers such as Jonny Lang and Joan Osborne.

Normally, advertising experts create manuals and specific standards that spell out how to position the brand.

Not so with the Q.“We call it a unibrand,” says Debbie

Johnson, CEO of Rick Johnson & Co., an ad firm working with the city. “It has to be so flexible and so variable and so evolutionary.”

And that’s been the history of the Q, which simply started springing up in signage over time.

Chavez said he started to notice the let-ter more and more and seized on the idea.

“It started coming from different direc-tions and it was a nice fit,” he says. “It just emerged.”

As with all brands, the Q has its detractors, including avid bloggers. Anti-Q T-shirts even showed up on the street, a development Johnson takes as a form of compliment. After all, the idea is f lexibility.

“The mayor wants everyone to Q in their own way,” she says. – Pamela Coyle

The Q is everywhere, including the ABQ Shopping Center in Albuquerque.

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business climate

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Central New Mexico lands starring role

in film industry SuccessWithReeling


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Left: Six large sound stages at ABQ Studios have been the setting for major Hollywood productions. Center: Workers build a set inside an ABQ Studios sound stage. Right: Albuquerque police block the set for the upcoming film, Game. PHOTOS BY IAN CURCIO

A perfect storm of trained workers, f inancial incentives, pictur-esque landscapes and obliging

communities has made Central New Mexico a hot new location for filmmakers.

Production companies like ABQ Studios and Sony Pictures Imageworks are finding fertile ground in and around Albuquerque, investing millions in sound stages and partnerships with local colleges and universities. Much of the growth comes from state incentives put in place in 2002, which provide refunds on up to 25 percent of pro-duction expenses subject to taxation, including labor. The state also has a zero-interest loan program for up to $15 million, and additional incentives for hiring local crews.

It’s all come together to make the area competitive with Los Angeles, which is just a short plane ride away, says Lisa Strout, director of the New Mexico Film Office.

“When we started, we were one of only two states with tax incentives, and now there are 36,” Strout says. “And we’re constantly reinventing ourselves and evolving along with the trends in the industry.”

The cornerstone of the film-production effort is the tax rebate, but the film-

loan program has produced a lot of value as well.

“The principal comes back to us and we negotiate a piece of the upside once they repay all the money, so it’s very much an economic development tool,” Strout explains. “We get movies that otherwise might not come to New Mexico because we offer this financing package. Our principal is completely safe, and we’re starting to see money come in from movies that were shot here.”

That investment is pouring in on a large scale. Albuquerque Studios is now one of the largest production operations in the United States. It has poured some $74 million into building six large sound stages and has plans to build two more.

And the special effect and anima-tion giant, Sony Pictures Imageworks, is building a 100,000-square-foot center that will be able to accommo-date 1,000 workers.

The state also has a burgeoning movie-production workforce. Universities and colleges have been growing their training for dozens of different production posi-tions, working in tandem with unions so that when producers come to town, they find plenty of crews ready for work. They’re also finding plenty of facilities

as full-scale studios are beginning to appear on the landscape.

“When these plans were put into place by the governor’s office it was almost like pie in the sky, but it’s really been going like clockwork,” Strout says. “We’re growing our crew base, we’re bringing in films from out of state and we’re nurturing our own filmmakers while we’re doing all this. Now we have serious infrastructure coming to us, which is giving us a permanent presence in the world of film.”

The influx of movie people is giving cities all across the state a chance to get in on the action. Production on Swing Vote with Kevin Costner wrapped in Belen in mid-2007, and the whole com-munity benefited from the experience, says Mayor Ronnie Torres.

“It worked very well,” Torres says. “They came into the community and brought some money, because local people were able to rent out their houses and property. If the movie’s a big hit, then people will look up our community and we’ll see some tourism dollars. I know when [Costner] did Field of Dreams, people traveled from all over to see that baseball field. We’re hoping that they’ll come down here and take a look as well.” – Joe Morris

ABQ Studios in Mesa Del Sol is now home to one of the nation’s biggest and busiest film production facilities.


film

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Moving Fast ForwardFILM ENTREPRENEUR CREATES CHEAPER, HIGH-QUALITY FILM

Usually when presented with “better, faster,

cheaper,” the choice is to pick any two. With

Cinnafilm™, you get all three.

The company’s visual effects processor is designed

to make digital video look like film. It performs the

service in real time, something new to the industry,

and is much less expensive than other methods

currently used to achieve the same effect, says

Lance Maurer, president and CEO of Cinnafilm™.

“We bridge the gap between actually making

something look like film and being able to shoot it

on an affordable budget,” Maurer says. “It’s taken

about four years to develop, but we’ve got what we

consider a world-class film look, and we can do it in

real time – you don’t have to render anything.”

For Maurer, an aerospace engineer and New Mexico

State grad who got into filmmaking a few years back

and has written, directed and edited his own feature

films, finding a way to marry low production costs

with high-quality final product was key.

“I speak engineering and know software, and we

wanted to make affordable software for people,” he

says. “Digital video can look really harsh, but if your

budget is $250,000 and it costs $50,000 to edit it on

a computer and then put it onto a 35mm master print,

it’s a big chunk of your money. We started looking at

the different software and editing packages, and

went to work creating a filmwork tool that was

affordable and looked great.”

Cinnafilm™’s team has finished up the high-

definition version of the tool, so now any source

footage can be used. The company is in the process

of selling equity shares, and will be rolling out its

product to market during 2008. Based on early

buzz, things are looking very good.

– Joe Morris

Provide financial incentives, and

they will come. It’s a plan that has

worked to grow New Mexico’s film

industry, but all those movies need

trained crew members.

Education and union officials

have teamed up to put a broad

range of training programs into

place so that state residents are

ready to snap up film-production

jobs when they become available.

The best example is the Film

Technicians’ Training Program,

an effort by the New Mexico

Film Office in collaboration

with the International Alliance of

Theatrical and Stage Employees

(IATSE) Local 480.

The program is offered at state

colleges throughout New Mexico,

and takes students through an

introduction to the film industry

all the way to specific craft

areas, then puts them to work

on movies under the guidance

of qualified professionals.

“We’re getting people ready for

working in the movies,” says Jim

“Grubb” Graebner, a film instructor

at Central New Mexico Community

College. “The certification program

gets people ready and available for

the union.”

Over the course of two

semesters, students obtain a broad

education in the movie business,

and then focus on a particular area

of expertise. With more than 50

different jobs on a set, there’s

plenty to choose from, Graebner

says. And over the past few years,

interest has mushroomed, resulting

in a much larger employee base for

the burgeoning industry.

“In 2002, the union had about

380 members, and now it’s up to

around 1,200 people,” Graebner

says. “We’ve been training people

like wild.”

That’s good news for

Albuquerque Studios, which has

invested more than $70 million

in several sound stages and other

production facilities.

“The film is only as good as the

people who work on it and the

crews that provide the production,”

says Nick Smerigan, chief operating

officer. “There’s not a lot of people

that understand film and can do the

job, so it’s important that we build

the base of talent. The only way

to get that is someone going to

college, and also getting the

practical experience.”

– Joe Morris

It’s a Team Effort

A film student production at Central New Mexico Community College

NEW PARTNERSHIPS, PROGRAMS PREPARE FILM CREWS FOR EXPANDING INDUSTRY


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Moviemakers have been shooting feature films in Central New Mexico since 1912, according to the Albuquerque film office. Here is a partial list of film and television programs shot in the area since 2005.

2007 Hamlet 2, a comedy by Bona Fide Productions

To Live and Die Action, a thriller by MGM Home Entertainment

In Plain Sight, a drama by Northern Entertainment Productions

$5 a day, a comedy by ThinkFilm

The War Boys, a drama by The Group Entertainment

Love N’ Dancing, a drama/romance by Trick Candle Productions/Dolger Films

Swing Vote, a biography/comedy by Radar Pictures

Linewatch, a drama by the Motion Picture Corporation of America

Afterwards, a drama by Fidelite Productions/Christal Films

Husband for Hire, a romantic comedy by Granada Media/Oxygen Channel

“Breaking Bad,” a television series by Sony Pictures Television

Love Lies Bleeding, an action/drama/thriller by Samdel Pictures

The Eye, a drama/horror/thriller by Cruise/Wagner Productions

Sunshine Cleaning, a comedy by Back Lot Pictures/Big Beach Films

“Wildfire” season four, a drama/romance by Lions Gate Television

Tennessee, a drama by Dash Films/Lee Daniels Entertainment

“Sarah Connor Chronicles,” a drama/fantasy/sci-fi by C-2 Pictures/Warner Bros.

In the Valley of Elah, a drama/war film by Blackfriars Bridge Films

2006 Urban Justice, action/drama by Hood to Hood Productions

Beerfest, a comedy by Warner Bros.

Fanboys, a comedy by Trigger Street

Employee of the Month, a comedy by Lions Gate

The Lost Room, sci-fi by Lions Gate

Save Me, a drama by Mythgarden/Tetrahedron

Carriers, a drama/horror/thriller by Ivy Boy/This is That Productions

West Texas Children’s Story, a drama by Burnt Orange Films

Transformers, an action/adventure/sci-fi by Paramount Pictures

The Hitcher, a drama/horror/thriller by Intrepid Pictures

No Country for Old Men, an adventure/

drama/thriller/war film by Paramount/Miramax

Wild Hogs, an adventure/comedy by Touchstone

Dreamland, a drama by Dreamland Motion Picture Company/Hunter Films

“Wildfire” season three by Lions Gate Television

2005Trade (Welcome to America), a crime/drama by Centropolis Entertainment

The Flock, an action/crime/drama/thriller by Bauer Martinez Studios

Astronaut Farmer, a drama by Polish Brothers Construction

Three Wise Guys, a comedy by Lions Gate Television

Bordertown, a crime/drama/thriller by Mobius Entertainment Ltd.

“Wildfire” seasons one & two by Lions Gate Television

Rent, a drama/musical/romance by 1492 Pictures/Tribeca Productions

First Snow, a drama by Furst Films

Cruel World, a comedy/thriller/horror/drama by Primetime Pictures

Rx, a thriller/crime/romance by Inscription Films/Sumatra Films

FilmCredits

Lance Maurer, an entrepreneur creating new, cheaper film

technology, watches a film in his in-office theater.

PH

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film

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Los Alamos and Sandia pioneer technological innovations

L os Alamos National Laboratory is nestled in the Jemez Mountains while Sandia National Laboratories is 100 miles away in Albuquerque, but together the two

national laboratories exert a profound impact on Central New Mexico’s economy and culture.

Both labs are not only intimately linked to American and world history, but continue to make dramatic strides in nuclear energy, nanotechnology, bioscience, chemistry, com-puter science, earth and environmental sciences, materials science, and defense technologies. They remain two of the premier facilities in the nation’s national labs network.

Founded in 1949, Sandia remains broadly entrenched in areas such as nuclear technologies, but out of this has emerged “growth” technologies such as computer modeling. Sandia’s also become a world leader in robotics – including futuristic advances in “swarm intelligence” in which a team of robots known as “rattlers” can roam the desert and determine whether someone or something has breached a security zone.

One of the biggest areas of activity: Domestic security research, which has mushroomed here since 9/11, just as Cold War defense work has gone into remission.

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Sandia biochemist Dan Throckmorton prepares to add a sample to the prototype of a diagnostic device that will test the presence of certain enzymes using fluorescence.

FutureNational Labs, theAt

Is Now


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700 F2 Technology.indd 24 3/11/08 1:33:03 PM

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Sandia researchers tackle “wicked problems.” Wicked problems are complex problems that change when you apply a solution.

Before 9/11, says Michael DeWitte, Sandia’s deputy director and group manager for public relations and communications, “a lot of things developed here that didn’t have an [immediate] application” but now can be used “in everyday security.” Swarm intelligence applications, for example, have been used for pods of robots that can “sense, analyze, think and act,” he says.

Sandia also developed the Sentinel – the commercial version of its so-called “explosion detection personnel portal” that is now in a pilot version at a handful of airports testing passengers for possible liquid explosives.

Meanwhile, DeWitte explains that as post-Cold War defense funding has declined, Sandia has directed its focus to the private sector as well – an important development for Albuquerque.

The Lab, for example, has worked closely with Intel and Goodyear in a project in which tire wear is simulated through complex computer models, saving the company the expense of exhaustive road testing.

Sandia’s impact on surrounding Albuquerque is clear: The Lab has 7,500 employees, with an additional 1,000 contractors, “and we’re kind of scattered all over the community,” says DeWitte. “We’ve grown very much like Albuquerque has over the years in many respects.”

Many of these employees – between 15 and 20 percent with Ph.D.s – are also heavily involved in volunteerism, as well. In

2007 alone, DeWitte says, they donated $3.4 million to the United Way, while many are involved Excellence in Science and Teaching programs, an outreach initiative that brings many of those Ph.D.s into the community to teach high school science.

On a per capita basis, the impact of Los Alamos on its surrounding community is even greater. There are just under 20,000 people in Los Alamos County, but a total of 10,924 employees working at the Lab. As a result, the median income in the county is among the highest in the United States, averaging $95,000 in 2004.

According to an LANL spokesman, “Los Alamos paid $911 million in salaries to its employees in the 2006 calendar year, and since salaries turn-over in local and regional economies several times, the Laboratory does have a great impact on its neighbors and the state.”

According to other LANL-released data, Los Alamos made $735 million in goods and purchases in fiscal 2007, with nearly half spent in Northern New Mexico, or over a seven-county region that includes Los Alamos, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, Taos, Mora, San Miguel and Bernalillo counties. According to the LANL spokesman, “taking this one step further, 57.2 percent, or $420 million of the total $735 million in procurements, were made in New Mexico on large and small businesses.” – Verne Gay




The machine is called Sensit and might just be one

of the most important weapons in the war on terror

to date.

And it’s being put into action at the Albuquerque

Regional Sunport in August 2008.

The Los Alamos National Lab-designed Sensit will

work almost like an MRI, but the differences are like

night and day.

The MRI creates images of the brain. Sensit –

which was inspired by the lab-developed portable

MRI – will determine whether the harmless shampoo

bottle someone is carrying on-board could be holding

enough Astrolite G to blow the entire aircraft out of

the sky.

Some liquid explosives look or even smell harmless,

but that’s an irrelevancy to Sensit.

Homeland Security gave Los Alamos over

$3 million to research this groundbreaking liquid

scanning technology. It works like this: Without

giving off radiation, it scans a liquid inside a bottle

for its molecular footprint, instantly determining

whether it’s harmless or otherwise.

A green dot shows up on a monitor if it is a

harmless substance, such as shampoo or shaving

cream. Potential hazards result in a red dot.

Sensit will be tested at Sunport and a handful

of other airports in the summer of 2008.

– Verne Gay

Designing Smart CarsSANDIA RESEARCHERS DESIGN CARS THAT CARE FOR THEIR DRIVERS

Imagine a car that alerts you

when you are getting sleepy

or spares you a dangerous

distraction, directing your

cell phone to hold a call.

Researchers at Sandia National

Laboratories think it’s possible.

The lab’s augmented cognition

team is working on ways to

make vehicles smarter for

potential commercial and

military applications.

Part of the research uses

sensors in a cap on test drivers

to analyze human responses and

measure brain waves, heart rate

and other physiological data.

Another mines information

that already exists, thanks to the

computers now standard on new

automobiles. Information about

gas pedal pressure, stereo volume,

air bag sensors and other so-called

“control surfaces” already is out

there, says Kevin Dixon, the

project’s principal investigator.

“Trying to make sense of it is

the tricky stuff,” he says.

The team has looked at

“overload” conditions, times

when the circumstances are

stressful and it would be “unwise

to give the driver new tasks or

information,” Dixon says.

Now, researchers are testing

what they call “underload”

conditions, when drivers may

be bored, drowsy or distracted.

In one recent test at Camp

Pendleton in California, software

that classified driving conditions

and caps that measured brain

activity determined who in a

modified military vehicle should

handle a radio transmission, the

driver or the passenger.

Along with the U.S. military, a

major automotive maker also is a

research partner, although Dixon

says it’s too soon to say who. It is

Liquid scanners will be tested at Albuquerque’s airport.

Caps on test drivers gauge human responses to driving distractions.

Sensing DangerNEW AIRPORT LIQUID SCANNER COULD PREVENT TERRORISM

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also too early to tell what viable

commercial applications may

emerge, but Dixon already has

some real-world advice for drivers.

Dialing and texting on a cell

phone are especially foolish,

creating risks similar to drunk

driving. Listening to music doesn’t

keep a driver all that engaged. The

best way to stay alert? Good, old-

fashioned conversation.

– Pamela Coyle

technology



Intel plant adapts to changing winds in technology

Microelectro technology



From the air, the vastness of Intel’s manufacturing plant in Rio Rancho is most visible. It

stretches more than a mile long and a half-mile wide. Dominating Rio Rancho for nearly 30 years, the Intel facility is among the most famous facilities of its type on the globe – a symbol of the digital revolution itself.

But the view from above doesn’t even begin to offer a glimpse of the changes that have overtaken the vast industry of so-called integrated device manufac-turers on the ground.

Intel’s workforce, 5,600 in Rio Rancho alone in 2007, has shrunk as the crosswind of these forces continue to buffet the entire industry, with overseas labor and undercutting technologies squeezing margins.

Yet Intel’s presence here means that Rio Rancho remains one of the nation’s leading high-tech cities. Intel is the sun around which many satellites now revolve – about 50 technology companies and startups here alone. SUMCO (formerly Sumitomo Mitsubishi Silicon) makes silicon wafers in Rio Rancho. San Jose, Calif.-based Xilinx, the world’s biggest “fabless” maker of field-programmable gate arrays, or FPGAs, is here as well. Sparton, an electronic parts maker, has an 110,000-square-foot facility; Bi Ra Systems, a maker of bipolar power supply modules, among many other products, has planted a stake in Rio Rancho, too.

Area business leader and president of Albuquerque Economic Development, Gary Tonjes, cites many factors for the region’s draw to microelectronics man-ufacturers, including lower labor and energy costs, numerous state and local

incentives, lower land costs and land availability, and proximity to a major airport. Double Eagle II – Albuquerque’s secondary airport after Albuquerque International Sunport – is about ten miles to the southwest.

In addition, Intel is a large customer of these companies, making proximity important as well.

Tonjes offered this outlook for the region: “Intel’s presence for 300mm [wafers] is fairly well assured for the next five to eight years, or until the next generation of size is introduced. Then, probably, there’s a 50-50 chance it will remain in the United States or move to Asia. [It’ll] be a cost decision,” although he adds that what will be “critical” to its remaining in Rio Rancho “will be highly trained semi-equipment techs and engineers, [because] the need for relatively unskilled labor will continue to decline.”

And Tonjes does see several growth areas ahead.

He says the region should, in fact, be “targeting” fabless design houses (like Xilinx), but “solar panels – photovoltaics – use a process somewhat similar to semiconductors as does MEMS [Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems], and these two industries should see significant growth over the next five to 10 years. PV and MEMS have not reached the point of ‘cookie-cutter’ machines capable of making a ‘standard’ product. Therefore the requirement for engineering, tech-nicians and operators should continue at a fairly high growth rate for the next five years or so.”

In other words, the future’s as bright at the vast New Mexico sky overhead. – Verne Gay

nics

Intel’s presence in Rio Rancho has drawn more than 50 new companies to the area.

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Degrees prepare students for high-tech work

C entral New Mexico Community College’s manufacturing tech-nology program is relatively

small, both in its number of students and its subject focus.

But the concentration has had a large impact on its students as well as the area’s technology firms.

“The six or so students I graduate every year all get jobs,” says Matthias Pleil, a professor at CNM’s School of Applied Technologies. “We’re trying to provide a base for the workforce, that’s the key thing.”

He says that anywhere between 40 and 60 students are at some stage of earning their associate of applied science degree in manufacturing technology.

Intended to be a two-year program, the degree includes about 70 hours of

instruction and allows students to concen-trate in semiconductor manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, or Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems, or MEMS.

The MEMS field, which deals with work on the extremely small scale, pro-vides technology for companies ranging from biomedical products to electronics that people use in their everyday lives.

“I focus on the microsystems because that’s what’s being done now,” says Pleil, who also serves as principal investigator of the Southwest Center for Microsystems Education. “It encompasses computer chip fabrication as well as the sensors used in (vehicle) crash bag systems.”

The center is now housed at CNM but will be moving to nearby University of New Mexico, he says. A National Science Foundation-funded project, the

center focuses on developing workforce training materials in the field as well as reaching out to high school students to explain about microsystems and the future job market.

At CNM, students learn electronics and mechanical components concepts. They absorb how circuits are used in the micro-machines and semiconductors.

And they work in so-called “clean rooms” where they get hands-on experi-ence in areas like processing silicon wafers.

“They finally start to understand how their iPods work, how their game controller works, how their car navi-gation system works,” Pleil says. “It’s not just magic anymore. They finally get a feel for that, and that excites them to go after a career in this.” – Victoria Eckenrode

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Central New Mexico Community College offers students hands-on experience with seminconductor manufacturing. Right: Students at the Southwest Center for Microsystems Education create semiconductor components like this one.

Their iPodsFiguring Out


technology


High-flying Internet maven turns his startup talent to new Very Light Jet

T he mayor of Albuquerque likes to say that Vern Raburn can talk about anything, though he

always lands on airplanes.Planes have been a constant in Raburn’s

life. The visionary and sometimes con-troversial CEO of Eclipse Aviation got his pilot’s license as a teenager; his father was a Douglas Aircraft engineer. He’s logged more than 6,500 hours and is rated to f ly more than a dozen dif-ferent airplanes.

“Being a pilot gives you an ability, privilege and skills to do things in ways most people don’t get to do,” Raburn says.

Today, Raburn is considered the father of the “Very Light Jet,” an aircraft that is smaller, lighter and less expensive than traditional corporate jets on the market. The Eclipse 500, weighing less than 10,000 pounds, is in production after years of engine problems, financing delays and other startup glitches. Cus-tomers are lining up to pay $1.5 million

for the plane, which has an award-winning design and cheerleaders that include actor John Travolta, a passionate pilot who bought one for his collection.

“All you have to do is spend five or 10 minutes with Vern and you’ll understand how he has been, is and will be a very successful person,” says Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez.

“He is very down to earth, but clearly very, very smart.”

It may be that being a pilot also gives people like Raburn the ability to see things differently and better tolerate financial risk.

The Eclipse 500, billed as the com-pany’s first in a line of advanced aircraft, is so popular the company has $4.5 billion in back orders; ante up for a plane today and you may see it in early 2010. Critics say the low price assumes an impossibly high production level, one that Raburn concedes Eclipse is not yet meeting.

Going

Eclipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn is the force behind a new, SUV-sized jet.

New Heightsto


aviation

700 F3 Aviation.indd 32 3/11/08 1:35:11 PM

The Eclipse 500 defied predictions that a cheaper, luxury jet wouldn’t fly with consumers. PHOTOS COURTESY OF ECLIPSE AVIATION

“We will still produce more airplanes in the first year than any other new aviation company,” says Raburn, adding “we’ve had some real glitches.”

If anything, Raburn, 57, has the kind of resume that clearly shows he thrives on the pressure.

Bill Gates hired the Oklahoma native in the late 1970s to launch Microsoft’s first retail operation; Raburn later was general manager of Lotus Development Corporation, helping launch Lotus 1-2-3; chairman and CEO of Symantec; and president of the Paul Allen Group, handling high-tech investments for another Microsoft founder.

Running with such innovators gave Raburn a big appetite for change and innovation.

He’s discovered not everyone shares it, especially in the aviation industry.

“Different to some people is interesting; to others it is threatening,” he says. “In the aviation world are a whole lot of people who view change as evil and bad.”

Unlike the software business, a wrong move in aviation can cost lives. Raburn gets this, and the accolades pour in.

The company joined other aviation pioneers such as Orville Wright, Howard Hughes, Chuck Yeager and the crew of Apollo 11 by winning the 2005 Collier

Trophy, which is considered the industry’s highest honor.

Eclipse wants to be the “missing link” in transportation, using its planes to help build the air taxi business, open up private ownership and take advantage of underutilized regional airports that can handle smaller aircraft.

It hasn’t been easy and Eclipse still needs to make money, but Chavez is sure Raburn will succeed.

“He is like a laser on the goal,” the mayor says. “Any little bump in the road, they analyze it, shift gears and move forward.”

Bumps Eclipse has had – scrapping the original engine, scrambling for financing, struggling with suppliers – but Raburn takes them in stride.

“Big challenges are the most fun,” Raburn says. “Some might argue that a startup in the airline business is asking for it.” – Pamela Coyle

“Big challenges are the most fun. Some might argue that a startup in the airline business is asking for it.”

VERN RABURN

ECLIPSE AVIATION CEO





Eclipse’s lightweight jet captures market, awards and attention

E clipse Aviation CEO Vern Raburn says he turned to eBay to test his new luxury jet.

He wanted to gauge market interest in the world’s first Very Light Jet, the Eclipse 500. Morten Wagner, a Danish businessman, placed the winning $1,833,945 bid in the first online auction in August 2007. The second auction took place in late November. It was a first for eBay and the emerging industry of small, luxury jets.

But if industry naysayers were to be believed, Raburn wouldn’t even have had a jet to sell.

When Eclipse announced it would make a lightweight jet with a $1.5 million base price tag, critics said it couldn’t be done – the plane wouldn’t be fast enough, the Federal Aviation Administration would never certify it and the market for such a craft wouldn’t exist.

Eclipse did make the plane, with a design that won the most awards in the 2007 International Design Excellence Awards, a contest run by the Industrial Designers Society of America and sponsored by BusinessWeek. The FAA certified the Eclipse 500 in 2006; the company is expecting similar European approval soon.

And the market?An order placed today for the Eclipse 500 will get you a

plane in early 2010. The company is working furiously to fill orders for more than 2,600 jets.

“We’ve been proven right in so many things people said we were wrong on,” Raburn says. “But it has taken longer, and we didn’t do it initially as well as we said we would.”

Buyers continue to line up: Air Taxi operator DayJet already has bought 20; Dubai Aerospace Enterprise Flight Academy ordered a dozen.

The accolades are piling up, too. In October 2007, the Eclipse 500 set the speed record for a jet weighing 10,000 pounds or less. Its range is 1,125 nautical miles, with a cruising speed of 426 miles per hour. Standard accommo-dations are for one pilot and five passengers.

Even though regular online auctions were long part of Raburn’s marketing plan, the idea took some aback.

“There were people who were offended,” Raburn says. “One guy wrote in and said ‘I guess I should auction dessert to my kids.’” – Pamela Coyle

Got $1.8 Million? Bid on eBay

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The Eclipse 500 is cheap to maintain, easy to fly, sports a luxurious interior and has a price tag designed to put private jet luxury flying within reach of ordinary travelers. Eclipse Aviation has $4.5 billion in back orders until 2010.


aviation aviation


Kirtland Air Force Base is the leading employer in Albuquerque

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FlyersA s a multideployment combat veteran in the U.S. Air

Force, Capt. Scott Gwin knows the rush of adrenaline that surges through an airman when lives are at stake.

As an instructor pilot for the CV-22 aircraft at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, his days are usually a little slower paced now, but he is always ready to snap back to action when that critical call comes.

He received such a call the morning of October 5, 2007. A

medical aircraft carrying three people had disappeared from radar over the San Juan Mountains in Southern Colorado late the night before, and Gwin and his crew were commissioned to find the missing aircraft.

“The feeling of the adrenaline and the focus is something that many of us have felt before, but here at Kirtland, in the training environment, we don’t feel very often,” Gwin says. “That feeling comes right back – the mission focus and the

It’s not your old Army barracks. Kirtland Air Force Base’s privatized housing has drawn rave reviews from military personnel.


aviation


A CV-22 Osprey like this one flew into action in its first search and rescue operation in October 2007 when a small aircraft crashed in the mountains of Southern Colorado. PHOTO COURTESY OF STAFF SGT. MARKUS MAIER Below: A demonstration jump from the 58th Special Operations Wing C-130 during the New Mexico Air Force Base 60th Anniversary Celebration at the Sandia Resort in September 2007

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drive to get there and lend whatever assistance you can immediately comes back.”

The crew flew a CV-22 Osprey, which can take off and land like a helicopter and fly as fast as a turboprop airplane, along with two HH-60G helicopters and a MC-130P.

Though no survivors were found at the crash site, the speed with which the rescuers reached the location was remarkable.

“In this mission particularly there was a sense of accom-plishment in that we were able to put together crews and aircraft very quickly,” Gwin says. “It was just another example of the great work that the guys at the 58th [Special Operations Wing] do on a daily basis, from the pilots right down to the maintainers.”

Kirtland Air Force Base is occasionally called upon to assist in dramatic rescue missions such as the one in Colorado, but their tasks extend far beyond these high-energy, life-or-death assignments.

A major focus of the base is research and development, according to Rich Garcia, director of public affairs.

The base, which is the largest employer in Albuquerque, has a little less than 20,000 people on it, but almost half of those people work for the U.S. Department of Energy rather than the U.S. Department of Defense.

Despite several critical missions on the base, many Albuquerque residents just think of the base and its personnel as neighbors.

“All of our military members and their families are

members of our community,” says Jillian Speake, chief of current operations. “They go to Albuquerque churches, their kids go to Albuquerque schools, and we pride ourselves on being good stewards and good community members in Albuquerque.

“For the most part, here in Albuquerque with Kirtland, the support we get from the city is tremendous. We’re striving to be good neighbors and positive role models.” – Michaela Jackson



Albuquerque’s real estate market experiences steady growth

in the SunA Place


700 F4 Real estatev2.indd 38 3/11/08 1:36:42 PM

Left: Casitas at Las Huertas in Bernalillo will be a mixed-use retail, office and residential community once completed.

Most people would agree that real estate is an industry fraught with uncertainty, but Andrew Decamillo is sure of one thing: people have always wanted to live

in Central New Mexico, and they always will.Decamillo should know. He has been a city planner in the

region for more than a decade – first in Albuquerque for 10 years, then in Valencia County and now in Belen.

“This whole region has always been a great investment for real estate,” he says. “When you have these national strong f luctuations and volatility in housing prices, Albuquerque, especially, has always main tained a steady growth pattern in the market.”

National experts agree. Housingpredictor.com, a Web site that monitors real estate markets across the nation, called Albuquerque the number one hot spot to buy real estate in 2007. Its appreciation rate for that year of 9.1 percent was the highest in the nation.

Fortune Magazine called Albuquerque the number three spot to buy real estate in 2007, giving the city a projected appreciation of 5.9 percent over the year in December 2006.

And the ascent of Albuquerque’s real estate market is having a ripple effect on surrounding communities.

“People from out of state see this whole region as not only a great opportunity, but just a wonderful place to live,” says Decamillo, planning and zoning director for the city of Belen. “People are starting to wake up and realize that Belen is a

prime location for new development.”With the growing appetite for real estate property in Central

New Mexico, the area is seeing a surge in mixed-use, alter-native living communities as well.

Jean Bernstein, the developer for the Flying Star Café chain, is experimenting with buying larger tracts of land and building urban townhomes alongside commercial property. Her latest project is a commercial and retail cluster in Bernalillo, where she is tacking on 12 residential units.

“I’m interested in alternative living-type situations,” Bernstein says. “I think there’s the subdivision model that’s

not for everybody, with the roof-tops that all look alike and the curvy streets…. There are so many interpretations now of what housing is.”

New commuting options are encouraging people to relocate to the suburbs, fueling the housing boom beyond Albuquerque’s city limits.

The Rail Runner line that will connect Bernalillo, Albuquerque,

Santa Fe and points in between when it’s finished is a draw for the entire region.

A solid housing market and modern lifestyle may be what brings people to Central New Mexico, but that’s not what keeps them there.

“We are the ‘land of enchantment,’” Decamillo says. “We have a vastness that, even as we fill up, just doesn’t seem to diminish in any way.” – Michaela Jackson

Master-planned neighborhoods and residential developments are popping

up all over Albuquerque.

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“We have a vastness that, even as we fi ll up,

just doesn’t seem to diminish in any way.”

ANDREW DECAMILLO

BELEN CITY PLANNER


real estate


Boom in ‘lifestyle center’ malls a boon to shoppers, the economy

F ifteen years ago, if you wanted to go shopping and you lived in West Albuquerque, you had to

be motivated. Seeing just about anything beyond a grocery store or a small-potatoes strip mall meant trucking it across the Rio Grande.

And what waited on the other side wasn’t exactly modern shopping. Two malls dating to the 1960s checked the retail box, but many felt they left some-thing to be desired.

When Albuquerque’s population cleared half a million in the 1990s, devel-opers set out to do something about it.

The retail renaissance began with Cottonwood Mall. Built in 1996, it was a breath of fresh air to the west’s retail sector. In the twelve years since Cottonwood opened its doors, West Albuquerque has seen a renaissance of retail development.

“Since that time, there’s been probably another million, maybe million-and-a-half, square feet developed in the same area,” says Greg Foltz, president of Coldwell Banker Commercial - Las Colinas, which worked on securing the Cottonwood family of developments. “It’s an area that has pretty substantial residential growth over the last 10 years, so the retail is now catching up with it.

“Once there’s a certain amount of rooftops, the national retailers start to look and say, ‘This is an area that we need to serve.’”

Development 10-12 years ago centered on the “power center” concept, according to Foltz, which placed “big box” stores, such as Wal-Marts and Best Buys, in the

middle of strip malls populated with smaller outlets.

Now retail is trending toward “lifestyle centers,” Foltz said. These outdoor mall developments are more multifaceted. They typically feature more parking close to the stores, more restaurants and a more upscale feeling overall.

One unique aspect of Albuquerque’s building boom is that new construction has to meet strict aesthetic guidelines, Foltz said. The city enforces uniform-ity in order to preserve the region’s architectural tradition.

Retail development has hit its stride in Albuquerque, thanks in large part to the inf lux of population, but other areas in Central New Mexico are seeing growth, as well.

Larry Marshall is the president of Belen Sand and Gravel, a supplier to construction companies in the region. He says when an area begins to rapidly develop, his company is the direct ben-efactor of that growth.

Belen Sand and Gravel offers two primary products: ready-mix concrete and rock products for creating asphalt. The rock portion of his company is expanding to meet growing demands of development projects such as Mesa del Sol, a massive mixed-use community in Albuquerque.

“We’re kind of engineering our com-pany to be able to handle that,” he says, explaining that they’re opening divi-sions to handle infrastructure building. “We’re creating a mixed-use company, if you will.” – Michaela Jackson

Retail Ren

By design, Cottonwood Mall incorporates architectural elements that complement the dry desert and mountainous landscapes of Central New Mexico.



aissance


real estate


… the voice of real estate property rights, information, statistics, and Southwest Multiple Listing Service …

Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS®

Covering Central New Mexico:Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval, Torrance, parts of Socorro and Santa Fe

1635 University Blvd. N.E. • Albuquerque, NM 87102 • (505) 842-1433www.abqrealtors.com

Bigger …

Better …

and Growing

(formerly, Albuquerque Metropolitan Board of REALTORS®)


Fifty years from now, a development the size of Boston will cover this spot.

Now That’s an ExpansionMIXED-USE COMMUNITY WILL BE TWICE THE SIZE OF BOSTON

The way developer Mark

Lautman sees it, some things

are worth the wait.

Lautman is working on Mesa

del Sol, a planned, mixed-use

community in Albuquerque.

When it’s finished, the 20-

square-mile development will

include nearly 40,000 homes

and 18 million square feet of

commercial space. But don’t

plan on touring the completed

community anytime soon.

Mesa del Sol isn’t slated to be

complete for 30 to 50 years.

“The scale end-time frame

allows the developer to be

much more thoughtful about

how to build, and to be more

patient. You don’t have to make

everything back the first five

years,” Lautman says.

Planned communities are

becoming en vogue in Central

New Mexico. California

developer SunCal has its eye

fixed on Albuquerque, the

future site of a mixed-use

community that will sprawl

across an area twice the size

of Boston.

Central New Mexico is on the

cusp of tremendous economic

and population growth, and

SunCal and its 55,000 acres will

play a significant role in realizing

the region’s bright future, says

Joe Aguirre, a spokesman for

SunCal. ”This property is one of

the nation’s premier locations to

create a series of sensitively

designed, master-planned

communities,” Lautman says.

“What you really have, at least

in the Albuquerque area, is a

dramatic departure from what

we’ve seen in development

in Albuquerque in the last

40 years.” – Michaela Jackson

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700 F5 Tourism2.indd 44 3/11/08 1:19:27 PM

Tourism and hospitality industry continues to be strong economic driver

Albuquerque’s tourism industry is thriving.

Some three million visitors generate $2 billion for the local economy each year. Twenty-four thousand jobs depend on the industry.

Rankings have placed Albuquerque at or near the top of best destinations lists, citing its desert and mountain landscapes, diverse cultural offerings, and a cultural scene full of fine res-taurants, nightclubs and museums.

But local tourism officials are not resting on their laurels.

Officials charged with promoting the area as a vacation and relocation desti-nation say they are constantly working to retool their message, going after a variety of travelers through targeted marketing efforts aimed at diverse audiences. And in doing so, they are enhancing broader economic devel-opment efforts, says Dale Lockett, president and CEO of the Albuquerque Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“What the hospitality industry does has the potential for improving the quality of life for citizens here in very dramatic ways,” Lockett says. “Our work in establishing the brand for this desti-nation plays a role for the chamber of commerce and other economic devel-opment groups’ efforts to attract new business and expand existing ones.”

As a part of its marketing strategy, the CVB has rolled out a Web site, www.itsatrip.org, which includes a destination master plan feature among others. The site was two years in devel-opment and implementation, and is

designed to showcase Albuquerque and the surrounding area as a destination offering culture, history, outdoor recre-ation and unique cuisine. The goal is to appeal to as many types of traveler as possible, rather than focus on particular market segments like retirees or families with children, Lockett says.

“All of those elements, as well as the climate, the museums and galleries, and the new Albuquerque Uptown that’s emerging, are unique elements to us,” he says. “That’s our strength, and that’s why tourism has been increasing every year for the last 20 years. We try to make sure that when we’re marketing Albuquerque, we don’t say we’re better for one group than another. We can offer experiences that are not found

anywhere else in the United States, and we are consistently delivering on that promise.”

The hospitality industry also works as closely as possible with the area’s economic development entities, using quality-of-life rankings and data assem bled by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and others in its own efforts. And then there are the “pure gold” moments, such as when Orbitz.com named the city as one of the top five destinations in the world people should experience.

“If you’re someone planning a vaca-tion, or the CEO of a company, you can immediately understand something like that,” Lockett says. “It’s truly priceless.” – Joe Morris

Place To Be

A Christmas tree hangs upside down in High Noon Restaurant in Old Town Albuquerque. Opposite: Adobe shops and restaurants line the streets of historic Old Town Albuquerque, a major tourist destination for Albuquerque visitors.

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Interest mounts for Tesla assembly plant

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California land developer SunCal is playing a key role in Tesla’s arrival. Opposite: A test drive of what is expected to be the world’s first mass-produced electric car

A lbuquerque is poised to become the center of the latest revolution in automobile manufacturing: all-electric vehicles.

California-based Tesla Motors Inc. announced in early 2007 that it plans to construct an assembly plant in Albuquerque to produce high performance electric vehicles – the first such manufacturing facility in the country devoted solely to mass producing electric cars.

Tesla Motors is a privately owned, environmentally con-scious company that was formed in 2003 in San Carlos, Calif. in the heart of the Silicon Valley. It currently employs approx-imately 160 people at design, engineering and manufacturing facilities in California, Michigan, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

The initial plan for the Albuquerque facility is to employ 400 people who will produce up to 10,000 of its four-door WhiteStar sedans each year. The electric car will have a range of 250 miles before its batteries will need to be recharged. At a cost of $50,000-$65,000, the WhiteStar is designed to compete against cars such as the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A6.

“Tesla chose Central New Mexico because we have a green environment focus, and that ties into everything that Tesla envisions for its company,” says Will Steadman, division president for SunCal New Mexico, a real estate development company that is slated to ultimately sell 15 acres to Tesla for its assembly plant.

“New Mexico has a lot of opportunities for renewable energy sources, and the state supports all elements of green manufacturing. The Tesla project will be an exciting man-ufacturing venture.”

Initial plans for the Tesla WhiteStar were to have it available to the public in late 2009 for the 2010 model year. By early 2008, Tesla had not yet broken ground on its proposed 150,000-square-foot assembly facility.

However, that delay in plant construction was for good reason. Company officials have said that they want the aerodynamic design of the vehicle to be perfect before constructing a multimillion-dollar assembly plant that would include parts production.

“Tesla … wants to make sure that they have the right car on the drawing board, and that’s exactly the way they should be thinking,” says Steadman.

SunCal is selling the 15 acres to Tesla on the west side of Albuquerque. SunCal will also be in charge of designing and constructing the actual plant. The property and the construc-tion of the assembly facility are estimated to cost Tesla Motors approximately $35 million.

And there is room for even more investment.

“Then, for the future, SunCal has also pledged another 75 adjacent acres at no cost to

Tesla if the company eventually undergoes a major expansion,” Steadman says. “As for those additional 75 acres, SunCal would work closely with government agencies to add infra-structure to that land for the expansion.” – Kevin Litwin

“Tesla chose Central New Mexico because we

have a green environment focus, and that ties into

everything that Tesla envisions for its company,”

WILL STEADMAN

DIVISION PRESIDENT FOR SUNCAL NEW MEXICO


700 F6 Manufacturing.indd 47 3/11/08 1:38:46 PM

Doctors These


700 F7 Healthcare.indd 48 3/11/08 1:39:17 PM

Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital adds cancer center

One of the top cancer treatment facilities in the world has expanded into New Mexico – and specifically into Albuquerque.

In April 2007, the renowned M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas agreed to partner with Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital in Albuquerque. The result is world-class radiation cancer services that are now available to New Mexicans at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Radiation Treatment Center at Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital.

“Our partnership with M.D. Anderson brings nationally recognized cancer expertise to New Mexico,” says Jim Hinton, president and CEO of Presbyterian Healthcare Services. “It offers more choices for radiation cancer treatment to patients.”

Besides a top radiation therapy team, the cancer center is outfitted with the latest equipment available to medicine today. That equipment includes an Image Guided Radiation Therapy delivery system, which is capable of administering ultra precise doses of radiation to previously unreachable tumors.

All of the latest equipment helps to provide cancer treat-ment services in medical oncology, hematology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology.

“I believe in an integrated approach where we are able to offer cover all lines of cancer care,” says Dr. Mitchell Binder, medical director of the Presbyterian Medical Oncology Program. “We are now providing New Mexicans with more medical and radiation oncology treatment cancer services at one location.”

Binder says that for many people with cancer, radiation treatments are a daily routine to help kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. To help those patients, Presbyterian now

Will See You Now

Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital is partnering with the University of Texas to create a cancer center. PHOTO BY IAN CURCIO

offers specialty surgical capability for general, orthopedic, neurosurgical, urological, colorectal and gynecological oncology cases.

The hospital also has an in-patient unit dedicated solely to oncology, which includes specialist consultation services that are immediately available to patients. There is also a clinical social worker on staff, and Presbyterian Kaseman is an active participant in and supporter of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

The hospital also has a Tumor Referral Board that allows individual patient cases to be reviewed by a number of specialists, for the purpose of getting second opinions on treatment options.

As for the overall radiation therapy team at Presbyterian, it includes radiation therapists, medical physicists, dosimetrists (specialists who use computers to help design treatment plans), nurses and patient service coordinators who have all been trained at M.D. Anderson.

M.D. Anderson has been ranked as one of America’s Best Hospitals in survey after survey conducted by US News & World Report.

“I myself have gained valuable training with M.D. Anderson,” says Dr. Ramesh Gopal, medical director of radiation oncology at Presbyterian.

Presbyterian Healthcare Services was founded in New Mexico in 1908, and is the state’s only private, not-for-profit healthcare system. Presbyterian has seven hospitals in the state, including its Presbyterian Kaseman Hospital campus in Albuquerque.

“For nearly 100 years, Presbyterian has been committed to a single purpose,” Hinton says. “That is to improve the health of individuals, families and communities throughout New Mexico.” – Kevin Litwin


health care

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Chile peppers provide basis for state’s food and farming

Chile peppers have a long history rooted in the sandy soil of New Mexico, the nation’s leading producer of the spicy staple.

The fruit of the Capsicum plant, chile peppers have been in the region for hundreds of years, says Denise Coon, program coordinator for the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.

“Pueblo Indians brought up chile peppers through trade,” she says. “The types of chiles that we grow really prefer arid, warm climates and sandy soils, and that’s exactly what we have.”

The state’s chile growers produced more than 73,000 tons in 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, worth a combined value of nearly $40 million.

Estimates show that the industry has a $400 million impact on the state and creates 5,000 jobs.

“It’s extremely important, not only economically, but cul-turally,” Coon says. “Chile peppers are part of the everyday life around here. People practically eat them in every meal.”

The majority of New Mexico’s chile production is centered in three counties – Dona Ana, Hidalgo and Luna – in the southern part of the state.

The most commonly grown peppers in New Mexico based on recent crop yields are: long mild green chiles, long

The fruit of the Capsicum plant, chile peppers have been a staple in the New Mexico area for hundreds of years.

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In 2006, New Mexico’s growers produced more than 73,000 tons of chiles worth more than $40 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Below: The Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces features a demonstration garden that grows more than 150 different varieties of chiles, the official state crop of New Mexico.

hot green chiles, red paprika chiles, red cayenne chiles and green jalapenos.

While essential in New Mexican cuisine and common in decorations, the chiles also are used for their pigments.

A southern New Mexico plant extracts colors from chiles to use them as natural dyes, and paprika is widely used in red-tinted consumer goods like cosmetics.

Despite the state’s dominance in chile pepper production, New Mexico’s farmers have faced concerns in recent years.

The state’s chile production dropped about 31 percent between 2004 and 2006, a loss in value of nearly $11 million, according to agricultural statistics.

Flooding in 2006 was partly to blame for the drop in harvesting as well as lower yields per acre.

The squeeze from international growers is seen as an issue for New Mexico’s chile farmers, who are looking to automate more of their growing and harvesting process in order to compete.

“The industry has to mechanize or else we’re going to go out of business because of competition from overseas,” says Lou Biad, secretary of the New Mexico Chile Association.

Biad, who also owns the Biad Chile Company, a Las Cruces processor of red chiles, says that as the industry increased in

value, it drew the attention of foreign exporters and now chiles are grown everywhere from China to South Africa.

Lower wages overseas make it difficult for domestic growers to compete, Biad says.

“Most of the larger growers already have machines to harvest,” he says. “We’re just trying to perfect them to make them more efficient.” – Victoria Eckenrode





New Mexico wine industry experiences phenomenal growth

Two monks brought the first grape-vines to what is now New Mexico in 1629, well more than a century

before California vines were planted.That history is a source of pride for a

new generation of winemakers in New Mexico who are part of a renaissance in an industry that weather and floods had all but eradicated in the early 1900s.

Central New Mexico is a big part of the picture and home to about a dozen vineyards, from Gruet, a sparkling wine powerhouse in Albuquerque with its start in the Champagne region in France, to small boutique producers such as Milagro Vineyards in Corrales.

Corrales also is home to Corrales Winery, a husband-wife partnership that produces 1,000 cases a year.

Like most of the vineyards in Central New Mexico, Corrales grows its own white grapes, but buys red grapes from colleagues in the southern part of the state, where altitudes are lower and tem-peratures are kinder to them.

“We are pretty far south but the altitude (over 5,000 feet) means we get a full change of seasons and palm trees don’t grow here,” says proprietor Keith Johnstone. “It gets cold enough that red grapes freeze in the winter.”

Johnstone, a materials engineer, was nearing retirement from nearby Sandia National Laboratories and wanted to make sure he had a project that provided a mental challenge. Growing grapes and producing wine has given Johnstone and wife Barbara that and more.

Corrales Winery doesn’t distribute but still sells out of everything it bottles, keeping a call list of more than 1,000 customers who want to know when a

release is ready. The Johnstones don’t e-mail, they actually pick up the phone and call, having learned that their cus-tomers value the human interaction.

“We never have a wine as long as a year,” Johnstone says.

The winery may grow up to 2,000 cases a year but not beyond; any bigger and Johnstone figures he and Barbara couldn’t handle it alone.

“That is as big as we’ll ever get,” he says. “Gallo is not afraid of us.”

Casa Rondena Winery wants to double its production, too, from about 5,500 cases annually to 10,000. The vine-yard, nestled in a valley just north of Albuquerque, bottled 210 cases in 1998, the year of its first commercial release.

“We have been growing at a rather phenomenal rate since the winery was founded,” says Howard Fox, Casa Rondena’s sales manager.

Casa Rondena also buys red grapes and grows white, specializing in Riesling and Gewürztraminer grapes. Serenade, a popular house blend, combines the grapes in a three-to-one ratio. Its signature wine, Meritage Red, an award-winning Bordeaux blend, took home Best Red and the Gold Medal from the 2007 Taste of Taos Southwest Wine Competition.

The New Mexico Wine Growers Association now has nearly 30 member vineyards. Another sign of the industry’s resurgence came two years ago when New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension Service hired its first viti-culture specialist, Bernd Maier.

New Mexico wineries produce more than 350,000 gallons a year, tiny by California’s more than 450 million gallons, but a sure sign the industry is taking root. – Pamela Coyle

Going Back

New Mexico is the nation’s oldest wine growing region. Opposite: Keith and Barbara Johnstone own Corrales Winery in Corrales, just north of Albuquerque. PHOTO BY IAN CURCIO

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700 F9 Education.indd 54 3/11/08 1:41:02 PM

Higher education expanding with area economy

Central New Mexico is a thriving center for higher education that’s continually expanding

and adapting not only to meet the needs of its students, but also to respond to the state’s growing economic base.

From the University of New Mexico’s campuses in Albuquerque and Valencia County to New Mexico Highlands Universit y, Centra l New Mexico Community College, New Mexico Tech in Socorro and branches of New Mexico State University, the region boasts an impressive number of institutions that are not only expanding their cur-ricula to accommodate changes in the region’s economy, they’re also forging unique collaborations so more students can succeed.

Dr. Reed Dasenbrock, New Mexico Secretary of Higher Education, says higher education is thriving in the region because many area colleges and universities are responding to growth in the economy.

Dasenbrock says growth in a number of diverse high-tech economic sectors, including the film industry, aerospace and renewable energy, has led area col-leges and universities to develop new curricula so that they and their students can participate in that expansion. For example, he says, CNMCC has incor-

porated a two-year film crew training certificate, while UNM recently added a film and digital media program.

“Our universities are responding to economic changes in a way that other universities aren’t,” Dasenbrock says. “They’ve moved in a given direction partially because there was faculty interest, but also because there was this sense of opportunity in the region.”

David Schmidly, president of the University of New Mexico, says pro-

viding broader access to higher education is another driver for growth.

“For New Mexico to compete in the economy, we need more of our citizens to be college educated,” he says. “That’s part of the reason UNM has been opening branch campuses; it provides access to higher education for the people in communities that traditionally do not access it.”

Central New Mexico is also the site of an innovative collaboration that promises

LearningCurves

The University of New Mexico continues to expand, recently adding film studies. Opposite: Campus life is also growing, with two new branch campuses. Plans for an additional campus in Rio Rancho are also under way.

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to further solidify the region’s strength in higher education. Both CNMCC and UNM have purchased land in Rio Rancho for campus facilities that will operate together.

According to Kathie Winograd, presi-dent of CNMCC, the plan calls for a two-plus-two institution where CNM will administrate the first two years of instruc-tion, with UNM providing the upper division and graduate work. The schools will share buildings and other resources.

“We’ve been able to negotiate a collab-oration to provide a four-year institution to a growing community and provide the taxpayers with a very logical way of getting a low-cost, high-quality education in Rio Rancho,” Winograd says. The facility is scheduled to open by January of 2010.

Of course, cost effectiveness is also a factor in the endeavor, Winograd and Schmidley agree. “By partnering, we’re able to use our unique strengths and bring a full-service higher education venue to Rio Rancho in a much more cost-effective way than if we both went there and competed,” Schmidley says. – Paula Andruss

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education


Award-winning green program brings quality of life, investment to city

Making Green by


700 F10 Environment.indd 58 3/11/08 1:42:09 PM

Albuquerque’s city-owned Rapid Ride buses run on ethanol, electricity and biofuels.

Going GreenIn 1994, Albuquerque got some bad

news: within 25 years, the city’s water supply would run out. For

Mayor Martin Chavez, it was a clear call to action.

“Sustainability became an impor-tant concept for me personally and Albuquerque as a whole,” he says.

The city immediately embarked on a comprehensive green program that has

reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 67 percent and garnered recognition worldwide. Most recently, the 2007 National Conference of Mayors and 2006 World Leadership Forum lauded Chavez for his environmental leadership.

One key feature of this award-winning program is the city’s longtime com-mitment to green space.

“We took what had been a rural tree conservation fund and brought it to an urban focus,” Chavez says. “Then we did a comprehensive study and mapped out where we wanted to be for the future, and we began aggressively acquiring green spaces.”

According to a 2007 study by the Trust for Public Land, those acquisitions have made Albuquerque the nation’s leading city for green space. That means quality of life for residents and cost-efficiency for businesses.

“We have places for kids to play soccer, and more shade means we use less energy in our buildings,” says Sustainability Officer John Soladay.

Albuquerque’s focus on renewable energy is another key component of the green program. Twenty percent of munic-ipal electricity comes from wind power, and 40 percent of the city f leet runs on alternative fuels.

“In a very short timeline, maybe five to eight years, we’ll have a f leet with 100 percent alternative fuels,” Soladay says.

These initiatives make Albuquerque a green city in more ways than one.

“I always talk about making green by going green,” Chavez says. “Twenty years from now, the cities people will want to live and invest in are the cities that are making the sustainability decisions Albuquerque is making today.”

In fact, companies are already investing in that sustainability. In 2007, automaker Tesla Motors chose Albuquerque to host its new plant, the world’s first facility dedicated to mass production of electric cars. Manufacturer Advent Solar, a spinoff of Sandia National Laboratories, began operations in Albuquerque in 2003.

Both companies were recruited aggres-sively by the city, which also has a history of purchasing products from local com-panies. City buildings, for example, use earth-friendly stucco and plaster from Albuquerque-based American Clay.

“We always try to keep the door open to partnerships with new companies,” Soladay says.

Chavez believes it’s only natural that the city’s green program has fostered Albuquerque’s overall success.

“When your city gets recognized for good things, it makes everyone proud,” he says. “A city that’s proud of itself is a more prosperous city. It gives citizens and businesses confidence that government can lead and bring people along.”

To learn more about Albuquerque’s green program, visit cabq.gov/sustainability. – Kathryn RoysterIA

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ECONOMIC PROFILE

BERNALILLO COUNTY

Albuquerque serves as the population and commercial center of the metropolitan area. Dr. Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class, ranked Albuquerque as the most creative mid-size city in the United States.

Population

2007 Census estimate, 615,099

2010 population projection

631,839

Income

2006 per capita income

Bernalillo County, $31,160

Major employers

Company, Employees

Kirtland Air Force Base

22,100 (civilian), 4,860 (military)

University of New Mexico, 15,832

Albuquerque Public Schools

14,295

Sandia National Laboratories

8,730

City of Albuquerque, 6,500

Central New Mexico

Community College, 1,770

Bernalillo County, 2,300

T-Mobile, 1,700

Sandia Resort and Casino, 1,668

SANDOVAL COUNTY

Sandoval County, which

spans more than 3,700 miles,

is geographically diverse

and rich in history. A decade ago,

the county was primarily rural and

sparsely populated. Today, the

population tops 100,000 people.

Population


2010 population projection

126,294

Income


Sandoval County, $25,468

Major employers

Company, Employees

Intel Corp., 5,600

Intel Corp. Subcontractors

3,200

Rio Rancho Public Schools, 1,700

Sprint PCS, 650

eTelecare Global Solutions, 625

Bank of America Banking Center

692

BUSINESS CLIMATENew Mexico ranks 12th in the nation for growth. The Albuquerque

region has a robust economy that is meeting the challenges of

new development by offering a progressive, highly affordable

business environment.



City of Rio Rancho, 658

Victoria’s Secret Catalog, 550

Brycon Construction, 480

Sandoval County, 450

Wal-Mart, 365

TORRANCE COUNTY

Torrance County is one of the

most productive agricultural

counties in the United States.

Pinto beans, corn, alfalfa and

pumpkins are just a small

portion of the crops, which are

harvested throughout the year.

Population


2010 projected population, 21,690

Income


Torrance County, $20,483

Major employers

Company, Employees

Moriarty Public Schools, 450

Correction Corporation of

America, 280

Torrance County, 115

The Connection (call center), 140

Rip Griffin’s Truck Stop, 100-150

Central New Mexico

Electric Cooperative, 76

King Brothers, 60

Tillery Chevrolet, 38

City of Moriarty, 35

VALENCIA COUNTY

Valencia County is one of the

original seven counties that com-

prised the New Mexico Territory

in 1852. Residents here love the

peace and quiet, the friendly

people and the great weather.

Population


2010 projected population

86,708

Income

2006 per capita incomeValencia County, $22,968

Major employers

Company, Employees

Belen Consolidated Schools, 740

Wal-Mart SuperCenter, 500

BNSF Railroad, 352

Ambercare Home

Health Services, 350

Solo Cup, 250

Sud Chemie, 200

Aristech Acrylics, 120

Belen Care & Rehabilitation, 120

City of Belen, 115

Belen Health Care Center, 110

Labor force statistics

2003 Labor Force/Employment

New Mexico, 896,867/839,667

Albuquerque MSA

390,430/368,870

Bernalillo County

312,916/296,296

Sandoval County, 46,914/43,877

Torrance County, 7,743/7,343

Valencia County, 30,600/28,697


economic profile


EDUCATION

(U.S. Census 2000)

Educational attainment Population Age 25 and over

Bachelor’s Degree

New Mexico, 154,372

Albuquerque MSA, 75,184


Sandoval County, 8,796

Torrance County, 1,086

Valencia County, 3,922

Educational attainment

Albuquerque MSA

High school or less 7%

High school graduate 36%

Some college 33%

College degree or higher 24%

Graduate degree

New Mexico, 111,777

Albuquerque MSA, 54,319


Sandoval County, 5,233

Torrance County, 439

Valencia County, 2,116

School enrollment

Albuquerque MSA

Population age 3 and over

in school, 201,019

Nursery/preschool, 11,350

Kindergarten, 10,003

Elementary (1st-8th) 85,945

High School (9th-12th) 42,106

College/graduate school, 51,615

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Greater Albuquerque

Chamber of Commerce

115 Gold Ave. S.W. Ste. 201

Albuquerque, NM 87102

Phone: (505) 764-3700

Fax: (505) 764-3714

www.abqchamber.com

Greater Belen

Chamber of Commerce

712 Dalies Ave.

Belen, NM 87002

Phone: (505) 864-8091

Fax: (505) 864-7461

www.belennm.com/

CH-home.htm

SOURCES:www.belenedc.org, www.census.gov, www.co.valencia.nm.us, www.edd.state.nm.us, www.evedanm.com, www.moriartychamber.com, www.rredc.org, www.sandovalcounty.com, www.sandovalcounty.org, www.torrancecountynm.org

Rio Rancho Regional

Chamber of Commerce

4001 Southern Blvd. SE

Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Phone: (505) 892-1533

Fax: (505) 892-6157

www.rrchamber.org

Moriarty Chamber of Commerce

P.O. Box 96,

Moriarty, NM 87035

Phone: (505) 832-4087

Fax: (505) 832-6919

www.moriartychamber.com

Valencia County

Chamber of Commerce

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At St. Jude Children s Research Hospital, we can t.That s why we are working every day to find cures for life- threatening diseases that strike children everywhere. Diseases like cancer, pediatric AIDS, and sickle cell. And we won t stop until every child is cured and every disease is defeated.

Because we can t imagine a world without children … can you?Call 1-800-996-4100 or log onto www.stjude.org to learn how you can help.

Finding cures. Saving children.

Albuquerque Economic Development Inc.www.abq.org

AMREP Commercial www.amrepsw.com

Bank of Albuquerque www.bankofalbuquerque.com

Bradbury Stammwww.bradburystamm.com

Central New Mexico Workforce Training Centerwww.cnm.edu/campus/wtc

Charter Bankwww.charterco.com

City of Albuquerque www.cabq.gov

DWL Architects & Planners Inc.

Eastern Hills Christian Academy www.easternhillsca.com

Exhibit Solutionswww.exhibitsolutions.net

Flintco Construction Solutions www.fl intco.com

GCC Rio Grandewww.gcc.com

Great Albuquerque Association of Realtors www.ambr.org

Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce www.belenchamber.com

Greater Belen Economic Development Corporation www.belenedc.org

Hyatt Hotels & Resorts www.albuquerque.hyatt.com

Klinger Constructors LLC www.klingerllc.com

Lovelace Health System www.lovelace.com

Manzano Day School www.manzanodayschool.com

Mesa Del Sol – Forest City www.mesadelsolnm.com

Mid Region Council of Governments www.nmrailrunner.com

Modrall Sperlingwww.modrall.com

Moss Adams LLPwww.mossadams.com

New Horizons Computer Learning Centerswww.newhorizons.com

New Mexico Bank & Trust www.nmb-t.com

Rio Rancho Regional Chamber www.rioranchoregionalchamber.org

Sandia National Laboratories www.sandia.gov

Sandia Science & Technology Park www.sstp.org

Southwest Copy Systems www.southwestcopy.com

The Inn at Paradise www.innatparadise.com

University of New Mexico www.unm.edu

Wells Fargowww.wellsfargo.com

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2008 EDITION, VOLUME 3

C U S TO M M A G A Z I N E M E D I A

SENIOR EDITOR ANITA WADHWANI

COPY EDITOR JOYCE CARUTHERS

ASSOCIATE EDITORS LISA BATTLES,

KIM MADLOM, BILL MCMEEKIN

ASSISTANT EDITOR REBECCA DENTON

STAFF WRITERS CAROL COWAN,

KEVIN LITWIN, JESSICA MOZO

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT JESSY YANCEY

DIRECTORIES EDITORS AMANDA MORGAN, KRISTY WISE

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS PAULA ANDRUSS,

PAMELA COYLE, VICTORIA ECKENRODE, VERNE GAY,

MICHAELA JACKSON, JOE MORRIS, KATHRYN ROYSTER

INTEGRATED MEDIA MANAGER BRANDI GREENE

ONLINE SALES MANAGER MATT SLUTZ

SALES SUPPORT MANAGER SARA SARTIN

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS JEFF ADKINS,

WES ALDRIDGE, TODD BENNETT,

ANTONY BOSHIER, IAN CURCIO, BRIAN MCCORD

CREATIVE DIRECTOR KEITH HARRIS

WEB DESIGN DIRECTOR SHAWN DANIEL

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR NATASHA LORENS

ASSISTANT PRODUCTION DIRECTOR CHRISTINA CARDEN

PRE-PRESS COORDINATOR HAZEL RISNER

SENIOR PRODUCTION PROJECT MGR. TADARA SMITH

PRODUCTION PROJECT MGRS. MELISSA HOOVER, JILL WYATT

SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS LAURA GALLAGHER,

KRIS SEXTON, VIKKI WILLIAMS

GRAPHIC DESIGN JESSICA BRAGONIER, CANDICE HULSEY,

ALISON HUNTER, JANINE MARYLAND, LINDA MOREIRAS,

AMY NELSON, CARL RATLIFF

WEB PROJECT MANAGER ANDY HARTLEY

WEB DESIGN RYAN DUNLAP, CARL SCHULZ

WEB PRODUCTION JILL TOWNSEND

COLOR IMAGING TECHNICIAN CORY MITCHELL

AD TRAFFIC MEGHANN CAREY, SARAH MILLER,

PATRICIA MOISAN, RAVEN PETTY

CHAIRMAN GREG THURMAN

PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER BOB SCHWARTZMAN

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RAY LANGEN

SR. V.P./CLIENT DEVELOPMENT JEFF HEEFNER

SR. V.P./SALES CARLA H. THURMAN

SR. V.P./OPERATIONS CASEY E. HESTER

V.P./SALES HERB HARPER

V.P./SALES TODD POTTER

V.P./VISUAL CONTENT MARK FORESTER

V.P./TRAVEL PUBLISHING SYBIL STEWART

V.P/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR TEREE CARUTHERS

MANAGING EDITOR/BUSINESS MAURICE FLIESS

MANAGING EDITOR/TRAVEL SUSAN CHAPPELL

PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR JEFFREY S. OTTO

CONTROLLER CHRIS DUDLEY

ACCOUNTING MORIAH DOMBY,

RICHIE FITZPATRICK, DIANA GUZMAN,

MARIA MCFARLAND, LISA OWENS

RECRUITING/TRAINING DIRECTOR SUZY WALDRIP

COMMUNITY PROMOTION DIRECTOR CINDY COMPERRY

DISTRIBUTION DIRECTOR GARY SMITH

MARKETING DIRECTOR KATHLEEN ERVIN

MARKETING COORDINATOR AMY AKIN

IT SYSTEMS DIRECTOR MATT LOCKE

IT SERVICE TECHNICIAN RYAN SWEENEY

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER PEGGY BLAKE

CUSTOM SALES SUPPORT PATTI CORNELIUS

SALES COORDINATOR JENNIFER ALEXANDER

OFFICE MANAGER SHELLY GRISSOM

Central New Mexico Economic Guide is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed through the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by e-mail at [email protected].

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce115 Gold Avenue S.W. Ste. 201 • Albuquerque, NM 87102Phone: (505) 764-3700• Fax: (505) 764-3714E-mail: [email protected]

VISIT CENTRAL NEW MEXICO ONLINE AT CENTRALNEWMEX.COM

©Copyright 2008 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

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Central New Mexico Economic Guide: 2008

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