Roswell and Chaves County: land of milk and honey

New Mexico Business Journal, August, 1994 by Kalynn Huffman Brower

Roswell, once called the prettiest little town in the West by Will Rogers, may well become the land of milk and honey.

Milk, that is, from the thriving dairy industry and related processing industries in Chaves County; and honey, meaning there are millions of dollars waiting to be made in Roswell's effort to dramatically diversify its business and industrial base.

J. J. Johnston, chief executive officer of the Roswell Chamber of Commerce and major economic development planner, contends that from all economic indicators, the strategy is paying off.

"We've got a growing labor force and a shrinking unemployment rate," says Johnston.

It's a long way from the days when the skeptics were spreading gloom and doom for Roswell and Chaves County when Walker Air Force Base closed.

The skeptics said there was no hope for Roswell, but a lot of tough planning, tough marketing and tough campaigning has turned Roswell around.

Leprino Foods Inc., Aerotech and Renown Aviation have become major economic contributors to Roswell's future; Southwest Coca-Cola Bottling Co. is still weighing in as a Roswell heavy-weight; construction of the $2.4 million civic center and plaza is to begin in September.

Eastern New Mexico Medical Center has put the finishing touches on a regional Cancer Treatment Center and continues modernizing and expanding its other medical facilities.

The Roswell Industrial Air Center, located on land that was once Walker Air Force Base, remains a significant drawing card, building on Aerotech and Renown Aviation.

New restaurants, motels and department stores are on the rise.

Leprino Foods, soon to have the nation's largest mozzarella cheese plant, promises 300 new jobs and the perfect partnership for the dairy industry in Chaves County.

When the bean counters get through with their arithmetic, they'll find at least over 600 basic new jobs plus another 1,000 paychecks in the service sector.

Johnston says all indicators in Roswell and Chaves County are rising on the economic scale.

Residential real estate values are rising at about 10 percent a year, according to Thelma Gillhan of Associated Realtors, particularly on homes in the range of $50,000 to $100,000; construction is up.

A steady migration of retirees is coming to Roswell, largely because of the chamber's aggressive retirement services division; 20 families a month are moving to Roswell.

For the past 10 years, Transportation Manufacturing Corporation (TMC) has been the city's single largest employer, but after a series of recession-induced layoffs and cutbacks, TMC's parent company, Motor Coach Industries International (MCII), has announced its decision to sell TMC or close operations.

Despite TMC's uncertain future, the bus manufacturer continues to get orders, the latest for a defense conversion project using experimental fuel cells.

While the future for TMC has some acting nervously, Johnston says there are plans to fill the gap regardless of what happens to TMC.

Johnston and former mayor William Brainerd have worked more than two years to bring an unnamed high-tech California firm to Roswell. Johnston noted the likelihood for relocation is promising.

"It's time to show an aggressive attitude and to look for win-win situations," says Rudy Cordero, president-elect of the chamber. Cordero believes the current California exodus is a clear signal for Roswell to intensify its recruiting efforts.

TMC meanwhile has attracted serious inquiries, but through June there had been no firm offers.

Still, it's a long way from 1967 when the Walker closing was an economic disaster; the city lost a third of its population and a million-dollar a month payroll overnight.

"All along North Main across from the motels were moving vans," remembers Brainerd.

Even while doomsayers were predicting Roswell's total collapse, a team of citizens was putting together a plan to resurrect the base property for private industry use.

And now, 27 years later, Roswell has turned the once empty base into a dynamic industrial air center.

"All the people who were wringing their hands after the base closed have been proven wrong," says Brainerd, who became mayor in '68 before the Roswell Industrial Air Center looked like a sure thing.

"The first tenant out there was Longhorn Manufacturing," says Brainerd, "... and they moved in the first day we got the base."

Roswell seems blessed with its ability to turn negatives into positives -- with a lot of elbow grease.

In 1969, Pan Am came in with its 707s for pilot training on the once empty runways; Boeing came in to test its 747s; Boeing's new 777s will be tested at the air center in August.

Roving Sands, the single largest military exercise in the nation, bases its operations at the air center each May with over 2,200 personnel temporarily stationed in the Roswell area.

Airport manager Dennis Ybarra says the military spent $120,000 last year in airport and fuel flow fees alone; the service sector benefitted to the tune of another $3 million.

A new tower and stand-alone radar will be installed on site at the Roswell airport after a long drawn-out battle with the Federal Aviation Administration.