GLDPartners Participates at Mobility Forum – GLDPartners will be participating in a Mobility Roundtable in New Mexico this coming Thursday and Friday. Our firm recently completed the New Mexico Mobility Strategy business plan recommendations for the State last year, and this forum is an important event to help guide and advance New Mexico’s objectives to support the industry to flourish throughout the State. The proposed strategy included elements pertaining to policy and regulation, infrastructure, testing and development, and economic development. The Strategy focuses on autonomy and advanced clean propulsion system technologies.
The Strategy broadly laid out a plan for producing a statewide “laboratory” structure to host and support a range of mobility industry requirements, from legacy automotive OEMs to pure technology start-ups. The Strategy portrayed three hubs positioned in urban areas of the state, all along two main transcontinental highway corridors (I-40 and I-10), with special focus for each. The State’s Interstate highway system would be used as testing and development corridors, with terminus points at each mobility hub in Gallup, Albuquerque and at the Las Cruces region.
This week’s event is sponsored by the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC) and will feature discussions about policy and regulation, testing and development, specialized infrastructure and economic development. The Mobility Roundtable will host legislators, industry leaders, senior government officials and community leaders over a two-day program. Executive Director of the GGEDC, Representative Patty Lundstrom will host the event and will outline a vision for the Gallup Mobility Hub with further discussion of statewide policy and regulation. Along with GLDPartners Mobility Solutions, other companies participating in the discussion include: Daimler Trucks (heavy truck autonomy), Zayo (telecom/data transmission), Gatik (automated cargo movement), Kalmar Global (cargo equipment mobility), Pajarito Powder (hydrogen fuel cell catalysts) and Luminar Technologies (LIDAR).
Capitalizing on its advantages, New Mexico is beginning to make moves to become a center for mobility technologies. The State has tremendous technology depth with several globally noted research and testing institutions including Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the US Air Force Research Laboratory, the NM Spaceport and more. There is a tremendous talent pool of technology skills in the State, and most don’t realize that New Mexico is home to more scientists per capita than anywhere else in the United States. Combined with a several very highly-regarded research universities, a low-cost business structure, and a very friendly business environment, New Mexico is taking advantage of its geographic position with two cross-country corridors (Interstate highway and main line freight rail) corridors and direct access to Mexico.
GLDPartners Mobility Solutions sees a tremendous economic development opportunity for those states that display an understanding of what the emerging mobility sector needs as it evolves and develops over the next decade. The needs of the sector are very specialized and there is a tremendous potential for those places that demonstrate an understanding of the sector and its requirements. Clearly there is a significant mobility sector potential in the traditional auto sector hub in Southeast Michigan and secondarily in Ohio, and in the Southeast US where portions of the auto sector has grown over the past 20 years. The X-factor in the broader mobility sector has become the Western US, where Silicon Valley has emerged as a global center for mobility technologies. Proximity to talent, access to test and development infrastructure and government business partners has fueled investment California, Arizona and Nevada, and we see New Mexico joining that list and emerging as an important niche player over the next several years.
Last week, GLDPartners Mobility Solutions spoke at a luncheon hosted by the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, where we broadly discussed the state of the industry and the opportunities for New Mexico and the Las Cruces/Santa Teresa region.
Keep an eye on New Mexico.
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About GLDPartners and GLDPartners Mobility Solutions:
Global Logistics Development Partners | GLDPartners works with global shippers on supply chain strategy and develops projects at and around strategic seaport, inland port and airport logistics assets. The firm is based in the US and conducts project work North America, Asia and Europe. Learn more about Global Logistics Development Partners | GLDPartners.
About GLDPartners Mobility Solutions: GLDPartners is a recognized global authority around a range of supply chain, transportation & technology issues. GLDPartners Mobility Solutions specializes in testing and development facilities, infrastructure project development, mobility sector economic development strategies and regional mobility strategies. Please see the company’s website: GLDPartners Mobility Solutions. This post reflects editorial content with commentary about the subject matter referenced and is not intended to be promotional in nature.
