SlideshowFlying High in Belen
What made Vero Beach, Florida-based LoPresti Aircraft choose the town of Belen? Mostly the people, says the company's Vice President of Operations, R.J. Seigel. Belen beat out 75 other communities for the right to host the sport-plane manufacturing facility. Belen's clear skies, long airport runway, affordable but quality labor force were just a few of the attributes that made the town a natural fit. Other features included an aggressive and friendly economic development effort on the part of both the town and the state, and New Mexico's attractive aircraft manufacturing incentives. The company plans to break ground before the end of 2006.
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Belen Business OverviewLabor Snapshot
Public Service Company of New Mexico provides Belen with electric and gas services. (505) 241-2700 The City of Belen supplies well water with a capacity of 5.5 million gallons per day and sewage disposal capacity of 1.2 million gallons per day. The plant has an expansion capacity for a population of 24,000. (505) 864-8221 The nearby Rio Communities can draw on the 3.9 million gallons per day capacity of wells owned by New Mexico Water Company, which has a sewage treatment capacity of 200,000 gallons per day. (505) 865-0945. Qwest and McCleod Telecommunications provide phone service to the Belen area. In addition, Bandwidth.com sells Voice over Internet Protocol, and several other providers offer high-speed broadband capabilities, including Comcast (digital cable). With over 100 trains passing through Belen on a daily basis, the town has a robust infrastructure for rail-based shipping. It is located just a few hours north of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry with Mexico, and has three improved exits on Interstate 25, which runs from Mexico to the northern Rockies, crossing several major east-west interstates (including I-40 in Albuquerque) along the way. Belen Alexander Municipal Airport serves general aviation airplanes, small jets and private planes. The City of Belen is currently working on a multi-million dollar expansion of the airport, which will include the addition of a crosswind runway, expansion of the existing runway and development of industrial/commercial sites. By September 2006, Belen will be connected by the RailRunner commuter train to Albuquerque. By 2008 the line will extend to Santa Fe. |
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