This past year will go down as a banner year for venture capital investing in New Mexico. As of Dec. 31, upwards of $140 million was invested in technology companies, including several potentially huge manufacturing companies such as Eclipse Aviation and Advent Solar.

Now in flight-testing, the twin-engine Eclipse 500, from Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation Corp., is one of several “very light jets” set to enter production in the coming months. The Southwestern U.S. is seeing significant investment from manufacturers of this type of aircraft.

Eclipse Aviation will partner with Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell and Albuquerque Technical Vocation Institute to train entry-level aircraft manufacturing technicians.

Eclipse, which is building the twin-engine, six-seat Eclipse 5-500 jet, is expected to eventually employ up to 2,000 workers at a planned facility at Double Eagle II Airport in Albuquerque. It currently employs 450 workers.

In December 2005, British entrepreneur Richard Branson said that a $225 million state-built spaceport in Santa Fe will be the headquarters of Virgin Galactic. According to the Associated Press, the company plans to send 50,000 customers into space in the first 10 years of operation from the world’s first purpose-built private spaceport.

The $225 million in public funding would come from a combination of federal, state and local agencies.

A study by Futron, an aerospace industry consulting firm, said the annual economic impact of the spaceport could be more than $750 million in total revenue and more than 3,500 jobs — including all service and manufacturing activities and tourist-related spending — by 2020.

The spaceport could be under construction in 2007 and open in late 2009 or early 2010.

“When the spaceport is built, we look forward to basing our world headquarters and U.S. operations and a fleet of up to five spaceships and a launch aircraft at the new facility,” Branson said in a news release.

Branson formed Virgin Galactic after SpaceShipOne, designed by Burt Rutan and funded by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen, became the first privately operated rocket to reach space last year. Virgin Galactic has made a deal with Rutan to build five spacecraft.

Developing Energy Sources

Solar power, already growing in popularity, is getting a boost from rising costs for energy produced from electricity and natural gas.

Answering the need for highly efficient, affordable alternative energy, Advent Solar Inc., a manufacturer of advanced solar cells and modules, plans to build a 25-megawatt (MW) plant for the production of its photovoltaic (PV) solar cells and modules in Albuquerque. Advent will ship its products to customers later this year from its pilot line, and expects to be in full production at the facility in 2007.

“Advent is bringing to market a full line of advanced PV cells and modules that have the potential to be much lower in cost than conventional technology,” said Rusty Schmit, CEO of Advent.

UniRac, one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of mounting systems for solar panels, will double its floor space, necessitating a ramp-up in employment.

The new UniRac facility could employ 80 workers during the next three years, said Hal Newman, vice president of the company, at which point it might need to expand again if the world market for PV systems continues to grow at a steady clip.

Newman said capital for the expansion is coming from the company’s revenues and that business is on pace to grow by 50 percent this year.

“As energy prices continue to go up, the attractiveness of photovoltaics as a technology gets better,” Newman said.

Customer Centers Expand

Albuquerque is also the site for Verizon’s newest Wireless Data Technical Support Center. The center will begin hiring up to 300 full-time employees and is projected to grow to more than 500 positions.

The company cites a 50 percent year-over-year increase in the number of wireless data customers as the main driver of the expansion.

“With more than 19 million data customers nationally and growing, we are working to stay ahead of that growth, and provide highly specialized customer service agents who can provide data technical support,” said Tami Erwin, president of the Southwest Region for Verizon Wireless.

During the past four years, Verizon Wireless has invested more than $120 million in New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, and currently employs more than 125 workers in a variety of jobs, including network operations and engineering, sales, customer service, and administration.

“We are pleased to be expanding our presence in the state of New Mexico and, in particular, in the Albuquerque market,” Erwin said. “We selected the Albuquerque area because of its outstanding talent pool, appealing real estate market and attractive quality of life.”

Wireless phone provider T-Mobile also plans to add up to 250 jobs at its technical support call center in Albuquerque.

T-Mobile needed to expand it customer support service staff because its business is increasing, said John Birrer, vice president of customer service operations for T-Mobile. It picked Albuquerque based on the amount of technical expertise available and performance at the call centers.

“Albuquerque is one of our best [call center] sites,” Birrer said. “It is top notch.”

Less than a year after its plant was almost entirely destroyed by fire, RMS Foods Inc. announced the completion of the rebuilding and expansion of the facility in Hobbs in November.

Fire gutted the plant last February, but thanks to the assistance from the city of Hobbs and the state of New Mexico, production on organic Boca burgers has once again begun.

The $8 million project will create up to 75 jobs, in addition to retaining the 100 jobs lost after the fire.