Las Vegas San Miguel
Economic Development Corporation
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Wecome to the Las Vegas Wood Cluster

 

Overview

The town of Las Vegas is surrounded by National, State and privately owned forest. Since its inception, the economy of Las Vegas has been tied to the wood products industry. Early businesses supplied wood railroad ties for the expansion of the railroad. There have been numerous lumber mills in and around Las Vegas. More recently there was an MDF plant producing wood molding, and fiberboard. These plants were major employers.

The wood industry in this country has been hit hard during the last economic slowdown when housing starts slumped at the same time that lumber imports from countries seriously exacerbated soft pricing in the industry. In fact, over 18 lumber mills have shut-down in the southwest over the last few years. This figure includes mills in northern New Mexico in and around Las Vegas. The downturn in this industry has seriously impacted Las Vegas and the surrounding area.

EDC focus on the timber industry is appropriate. This industry is traditional to our area and are many Las Vegas community members who are skilled in this field. We believe that if we develop the capacity within our community and provide specific technical assistance we can strengthen and develop a thriving wood industry in our community. We can encourage increased employment, enhance our infrastructure, import new dollars into the community through exporting products and services, and dramatically improve Las Vegas' competitiveness.

Project Strategy

There are a number of factors converging in the wood industry that can strengthen and grow our wood cluster:

  • Fire suppression- Because of public concern over forest fires and the urgent need to thin forests, private enterprises that utilize small diameter forest products can take advantage of significant business opportunities.
  • Watershed improvements-for every acre of thinned forests specifically removing pinon and juniper, an increase of up to 1 acre foot of water can be recovered.
  • The State of New Mexico Department of Transportation has just adopted official specifications for using composted mulch on all new highway landscaping projects. This constitutes a large market source for new wood products. Erosion control has become a government priority and new regulations are in effect, including a new market for erosion control devices made from wood chips.
  • New Mexico Highlands University and La Jicarita Enterpise Community are employing people from the area through grant funded programs to thin forests, creating added supply of low-cost raw material and the imperative to develop additional markets and businesses to take advantage of this opportunity.
  • New Mexico Highlands University just instituted new forest and timber management and watershed management curriculum. This program will bring expertise and students that will be employable by local businesses. NMHU is committed to working with the community and the Las Vegas/San Miguel Economic Development Corporation to promote businesses that rely on small diameter forest material.
  • Developers have serious plans to construct large biomass energy production facilities in northeastern New Mexico that will utilize small diameter forest material and wood waste. This will create demand for small diameter forest harvesting as well as provide markets for wood by-products that result from primary manufacturing activities.

There is a nucleus of wood cluster businesses currently in Las Vegas that can benefit from these changes as well as an economic development support program. These include:


Barela Timber Management Corporation
Old Wood, LLC
La Jicarita Enterprise?

OTHERS???

We welcome additional new businesses within this cluster. Please contact the Las Vegas San Miguel Economic Development Corporation at 505-454-0739, Sharon Caballero, for further information. The cluster has regularly scheduled cooperative meetings.

About Clusters
Cluster industry development is a new paradigm that is working in this country, with important precedence in Europe. Cluster development is based upon a modicum of intra-industry cooperation in which sector infrastructure is developed that supports existing business and attracts new business within the sector. A non-aligned organization or association in a position to work for the entire cluster rather than for individual enterprises is the catalyst for realizing cluster development goals. The Las Vegas/San Miguel Economic Development Corporation proposes to use Rural Development Response Council support to develop wood cluster business development capacity under our purview that will help strengthen, and market existing businesses, as well as attract new business, bringing additional opportunity, jobs and export product growth to our community.