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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Louisiana Pepper Exchange Plans Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Logistics Hub

05/11/2023
Louisiana Pepper Exchange, a global chile pepper company that markets puree to restaurants and discerning foodies, plans to establish operations in Santa Teresa, New Mexico. The project is expected to create 20 jobs over the next five years.

The new facility will be located on a 10-acre site at the Ironhorse Industrial Park. The investment will include a 40,000-square-foot processing warehouse along with space for tank farms that can store 30 million pounds of pepper mash for sale to U.S. customers.

“Santa Teresa, N.M. is the perfect location for Louisiana Pepper to thrive. It is a rail-served industrial park with an overweight truck zone that can support our supply chain out of Mexico,” Zach Foster, chief financial officer for Louisiana Pepper Exchange, said. ”The Mesilla Valley has a long history and heritage with chile peppers; New Orleans has the same culture, so this is a natural fit. We are pleased to be part of this business community.”

The State of New Mexico is supporting the expansion with $300,000 in assistance from the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s (EDD) Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) job-creation fund. LEDA funds will be released as the company meets economic development benchmarks. In addition, the City of Anthony has pledged support with Industrial Revenue Bonds to bring quality-paying jobs to southern Doña Ana County.

“Louisiana Pepper Exchange’s decision to expand in New Mexico proves again that our strategy of investing in the international border is working. This location in Santa Teresa is a win for the company and its customers, and a win for New Mexico, offering jobs and a more diverse economy,” EDD Cabinet Secretary Alicia J. Keyes noted.

The project is also being supported by $100,000 from the NM Borderplex Closing Incentive. The incentive, which is administered by MVEDA and the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, was established by El Paso Electric in connection with the corporate sale of the utility to Infrastructure Investments Fund to provide $1 million per year for 20 years in support of private businesses, projects, and organizations that make, or will make, a measurable difference in growing economic-base opportunities within El Paso Electric’s New Mexico service territory.

“We are excited to welcome Louisiana Pepper Exchange to the NM Borderplex region,” added Davin Lopez, president & CEO of Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA). “Their investment continues to solidify Doña Ana County as the chile capital of the world for both growing and processing.”

Louisiana Pepper specializes in providing pepper mash, pepper purees, and pepper powder to kitchens, co-packers and sauce makers worldwide.

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