Two more companies pick Santa Teresa

The New Mexico Economic Development Department announced last week two more companies have been awarded state economic assistance to boost manufacturing expansions and create jobs at New Mexico’s international Borderplex in Santa Teresa. 

The newest additions to Santa Teresa are Coast Aluminum and Monti Inc. Combined, they expect to create 70 jobs and $24 million in new investment.

The state announced the expansions of the two companies on Thursday, adding that both will receive economic incentives for their moves to the Borderplex region.

“The latest expansions to New Mexico are domestic companies who see the Borderplex as a strategic location for manufacturing,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “My administration’s investments in this region are paying dividends with new jobs and sustainable growth as we create a manufacturing center of excellence in Southern New Mexico.”

Monti, a national leader in industrial component manufacturing and fabrication, is moving into an 80,000-square-foot facility in Santa Teresa. The company is investing $14 million into renovations of the site, the state said. Once it opens, it will employ 36 people and the site will serve as a regional hub for Monti.

“Monti is one of several companies to recently select Santa Teresa to expand their operations because of the region’s impressive manufacturing talent and superior logistics capabilities,” Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the International Business Accelerator and business adviser to the New Mexico Partnership, said in a statement.

Coast Aluminum, which already has more than a dozen locations spread across the U.S. and Mexico, distributes custom and in-stock aluminum materials, as well as stainless steel, copper and brass products. It has already broken ground on a 73,500-square-foot distribution center in the Santa Teresa Binational Industrial Park, a $10 million expansion. Once open next year, the site will employ more than three dozen workers.

The expansions of both companies are also being incentivized by the state, which is devoting funds from the Local Economic Development Act — about $350,000 for both Monti and Coast Aluminum.

The news comes as Santa Teresa this year has seen rapid growth with expansions. Recently, Taiwanese autoparts maker Hota Industrial Manufacturing announced its expansion into the region. And other companies, including Franklin Mountain Packaging and Louisiana Pepper Exchange, have also announced plans to set up shop in Santa Teresa.

Added Davin Lopez, president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance: “Both of these projects point to the distribution and logistics advantages that the NM Borderplex region has to offer, and we are becoming more and more recognized as the center of trade for North America.”

“These companies are choosing New Mexico because of our superior business climate that supports facility expansions through infrastructure assistance, while also helping workers get needed job training and tuition-free educational opportunities,” acting Economic Development Department Cabinet Secretary Jon Clark said.  

“We chose to locate our newest facility in the Santa Teresa industrial base due to its close proximity to our existing customer base in the region and because of the great assistance from the New Mexico Partnership and the State of New Mexico,” Tom Clark, president of Coast Aluminum, said. 

 “Coast Aluminum is another big win for New Mexico,” Melinda Allen, presidentCo and CEO of the New Mexico Partnership, said. “Having a company with such widespread coverage throughout the Western U.S. and northern Mexico will strengthen the state’s supply chain logistics and help attract other industries needing these products for their production plants.” 

The Santa Teresa Port of Entry is a primary crossing between the United States and Mexico and is the first land port without a bridge structure from the east. And as the only port not limited by space or weight, it serves a critical function for the El Paso and Ciudad Juárez industrial regions. The port also clears many regular commercial vehicles and a larger segment of private commuters. In the last two years, Santa Teresa Port of Entry, or STPOE, has doubled the number of commercial vehicles processed per hour and hit a new record in 2022 by processing more than 160,000 trucks.