By Stephen Hamway, Albuquerque Journal
March 23, 2020 – A Texas company with New Mexico ties is building a new 120,000-square-foot facility in Santa Teresa.
W. Silver Recycling, which provides a wide variety of recycling services for manufacturers, is planning to establish a distribution and processing hub for metals like copper, brass and aluminum. Lane Gaddy, CEO of the recycling firm, pointed to Southern New Mexico’s transportation services and access to the United States-Mexico border as a key reason for choosing Santa Teresa.
“We’re quite excited to begin the next phase of our evolution in Doña Ana County,” Gaddy said.
W. Silver Recycling currently operates 11 facilities across the Southwest and in Mexico, including one near Downtown Albuquerque and a smaller existing facility in Santa Teresa. The company processes and ships metal by-products to companies that are able to re-use them.
Gaddy said the company, which is based in El Paso, Texas, has carved out a niche transporting material across the border. Because of that, Gaddy said the site’s proximity to Santa Teresa’s port of entry was a key factor in the company’s choice, as was the region’s overweight cargo zone, which allows carriers to transport up to 96,000 pounds of cargo within a 12-mile radius of the port.
Jerry Pacheco, executive director of the New Mexico International Business Accelerator, said the program provides a significant offset for carriers transporting large amounts of material across the border.
“Every sixth or seventh (truck) load is essentially free,” Pacheco said.
Gaddy added that state and local incentives played a role in the relocation as well. The Economic Development Department has pledged $200,000 in funding through the state’s Local Economic Development Act to support at least 50 jobs at the facility.
Santa Teresa has seen steady growth in cross-border commerce and several significant business relocations and expansions recently. In 2019, Santa Teresa’s port of entry became the fourth-largest exporting port, as well as the sixth-largest port for imports, in the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the Economic Development Department. Tim Nitti, president and CEO of New Mexico Partnership, added that manufacturers like Admiral Cable and Stampede Meat have expanded to the area in recent years.
Gaddy did not provide a ground-breaking date for the new Santa Teresa facility, but said he hopes the facility can be operational by the end of the year.
