New Mexico continues to cultivate a diverse group of industries that thrive in the state and a successful ecosystem of innovators and R&D organizations. This proven history of success has positioned the state to capitalize on some of the rapidly growing industries of the future like bioscience, hydrogen, or software development. New Mexico is a place where the industries of the future can find success.
The success of the growing tech sector in New Mexico, and its many subsectors like bioscience, AI software development, and 3D printing, has helped to attract more and more talent to the state, bolstering our already established STEM talent pipeline. In fact, there is a higher concentration of STEM talent in New Mexico than the national average and new research from www.Software.org shows that between 2018 and 2020, software jobs grew 18.7 percent in the state, the fastest in the country and ahead of Washington, Idaho, Texas, California, and Colorado. New Mexico is also outpacing the national bioscience employment growth rate. New Mexico saw a 15.8 percent total employment growth across the bioscience industry from 2018 to 2021 while the national rate was only 11 percent. The state also provides companies access to world-class R&D resources in the form of tech transfer and partnerships. Many of the national labs in the state, like Sandia or Los Alamos, offer tech transfer and partnership opportunities for companies looking to tap into their facilities and expertise. This commitment to establishing a pipeline of talent and resources has created momentum for the state and new opportunities for an abundance of different technology companies.
Curia is one of those companies benefitting from that momentum and finding success in New Mexico. Curia is a leading contract research, development, and manufacturing organization for the bioscience industry. The company recently announced their plans to add up to 274 more employees to their Albuquerque operations and invest over $100M into their new 65,000 ft. expansion of their facility. The expansion will include the addition of a new advanced isolated high-speed fill-finish vial line and an isolated flexible filling line for vials, syringes, and cartridges. “We see this expansion as a great opportunity to make a greater impact in New Mexico, which I’m proud to call our home,” Jonathan Shoemaker, vice president and general manager, Curia Albuquerque, said. “We are fortunate to have access to a skilled workforce and strong partnerships in the community, all committed to growing businesses, creating jobs, and fulfilling our mission to improve patients’ lives.” The expansion is estimated to have a potential economic impact of more than $1 billion over the next decade and the new flexible filling and high-speed fill-finish vial lines are planned to be operational in 2025.
Another company seeing great success in New Mexico is RS21 based in Albuquerque. RS21 is a data science company that uses AI and data engineering to find innovative solutions to empower organizations to make data-driven decisions. They recently secured a federal contract with the U.S. Space Force for their patented satellite fault protection AI technology. RS21 was founded in Albuquerque in 2015 and has experienced immense growth since, now employing over 80. Amongst Curia and RS21, other companies like Jabil, NTxBio, RiskSense, and many more are finding success in New Mexico’s tech ecosystem.
Renewable energy and more specifically the rapidly growing hydrogen industry are additional tech-driven industries that are benefitting from the thriving tech ecosystem in New Mexico. The state is committed to the success of the renewable energy industry, having a goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. In addition, many of the complementary industries with hydrogen applications are finding success in New Mexico. The presence of these industries, including aerospace and defense, transportation and logistics, value-added agriculture, and food production, go to benefit the growth of the hydrogen sector. One company already capitalizing on these benefits is Universal Hydrogen. The company has recently selected New Mexico for a major manufacturing and distribution center. Universal Hydrogen has chosen a 50-acre parcel northeast of the Albuquerque International Sunport for their facility, where they plan to invest over $254 million and hire 500 employees. The company plans to use this location to support the manufacturing and distribution of their hydrogen storage modules, assemble airplane retrofit kits, perform aftermarket maintenance services, and manage administrative activities. Many of the jobs Universal Hydrogen intends to fill include highly skilled engineers and composite technicians.
On top of these benefits, when companies are ready to take their product to market, New Mexico provides a cost-effective and strategically connected manufacturing location. New Mexico is proximate to 75 percent of the U.S. population within two-days via road and equidistant by rail from two major port regions (LA/Long Beach and Houston/Galveston). The state also shares a border with Mexico, providing a unique opportunity for companies looking to make use of multi-national operations. Additionally, the state has focused on proactively maintaining a business-friendly environment with a suite of incentive programs. Two of the state’s most impactful incentives are the Job Training Incentive Program (JTIP) and the Local Economic Development Act (LEDA). JTIP offers cash reimbursements for on-the-job and classroom training for expanding or relocating businesses for up to six months. While LEDA can be used toward the reimbursement of land, building or infrastructure improvement costs (funding awards are determined on a project-by-project basis).
New Mexico’s history of supporting innovators speaks for itself, and the state is committed to investing in the industries of the future. To learn more about New Mexico has to offer, visit www.nmpartnership.com.
