• Executive Director's Message
• Featured Client
• Announcements
• IBA Monthly Article
• Latest Trade Leads
• Upcoming Events

Based in Las Cruces, New Mexico, Lasershield Systems, Inc. is a U.S. corporation that has developed the first full-monitored wireless “Plug and Go” alarm system. It is an exceptional innovative wireless security device that can be fully functional within five minutes of taking it out of the box. This product provides families with an affordable alternative to the conventional wire alarm systems. In fact, this $200 starter kit can monitor rooms up to 1,200 square feet, and as many as 11 additional wireless units can be added to a system for a minimal cost.

With support of the International Business Accelerator, Lasershield will soon be exporting products to Mexico, as well as exploring markets in South America. According to Errol Chavez, Lasershield’s Director of International Markets, “Several companies in Mexico and South America have already expressed interest in establishing their security support services in these markets”.

Lasershield alarm systems are currently available at CompUSA, Costco, Home Depot, Skymall, Montgomery Wards, and Sears.

Lasershield Systems, Inc. was recently featured in the electronics section of the New York Times on January 25th, 2007.

The International Business Accelerator will participate in the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Day at the Legislature in Santa Fe, on February 7th, and 8th. Auto Brite, an IBA client since 2005, will be featured at this event.

Auto Brite, Inc. is an Albuquerque-based producer and wholesaler of auto air fresheners, soaps and wax products distributed in carwash establishments throughout North America. Rick Carley, President of Auto Brite, contacted the International Business Accelerator to explore the possibility of expanding his operations in Mexico. Through an extensive IBA search in Juarez and Chihuahua City, a potential joint venture partner was identified and qualified in December of 2005. The IBA arranged a meeting between Auto Brite and Alonso Mendoza, general manager of WDP International from Chihuahua City, whereupon Auto Brite laid out its strategic plan for Mexico. It was agreed that Mr. Mendoza would assist in Auto Brite’s production process for the distribution of its products into the Mexican market.

With the assistance of the IBA, a joint venture agreement was created, and by January of 2006 the first 8,000 units were produced. Initially, the two companies estimated that they would be producing and distributing 100,000 air fresheners per month. However, reaching this volume was a challenge because the learning curve between the two partners was in its infancy stage. The two partners had to solve many logistical and trade obstacles in order to begin a smooth flow of production and distribution.

The IBA was instrumental in helping both companies to overcome some of these obstacles. This included traveling to trade shows, meeting with various raw material suppliers and meeting with U.S. Customs officials at the Santa Teresa Port of Entry to properly identify and follow U.S. Customs regulations.

Within a few months of diligently working together, Auto Brite and WDP International have grown to produce and distribute over 400,000 units of air fresheners per month. In fact, with the recent design of a custom-made automated machine in Chihuahua City, Auto Brite can now produce over 1 million units per month.

As a direct result from the IBA’s efforts, Auto Brite has increased their workforce in Albuquerque by four more full-time employees. They have also expanded their facility from 10,800 square feet to 14,000 square feet. According to Carley, “Opening new distribution channels in Mexico would not have been possible without the help of the International Business Accelerator”.

You can download a copy of the newsletter here.

The Iraq war helped usher the Democrats into power in both the House and the Senate. With this political change comes speculation as to how the newly empowered Democratic leadership will deal with President Bush on issues that remain unresolved from last year. Immigration reform, for example, became such a hot potato that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans wanted to touch the issue before the November elections. Now, the issue of dealing with an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the U.S. remains in contention.

It will be interesting to see how the Democratic leadership in both houses of Congress deals with President Bush, who had tried to push forth his own immigration reform plan. Both the president and the Congress will have to establish a close relationship with newly-elected Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who stated in his campaign that he will pursue immigration reform with the U.S.

The new leadership in Congress also has been passed the controversial issue of the proposed fence project on the U.S.-Mexico border. Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives spearheaded the effort to construct this fence in strategic sections. The project was wrapped into a larger homeland security bill, which was successfully passed and signed by President Bush.

However, the method by which this project was to be funded and its overall cost remained unclear despite the bill’s passage. Now, it seems that both the Congress and President Bush have a “what now?” attitude towards this project, and its future remains uncertain. A federal government report recently has been released, stating the project could cost up to $60 billion, more than 10 times what was originally estimated.

Given the disparaging comments that many senior Democrats have made about the fence, it is highly likely that the project in its original form will not come to fruition. The scope of the fence could be reduced or reoriented towards other types of border security, such as surveillance equipment. Another possibility is that it never receives funding and the project dies a quiet death.

The new Congress also will deal with the effects of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) website, WHTI “requires all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or re‑enter the United States from within the Western Hemisphere.”

WHTI will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will affect air travelers, who by January 23, 2007, will need a valid passport or other documents as determined by DHS to enter the U.S. The second phase, which is slated to begin on January 1, 2008, will require U.S. citizens traveling between the U.S., Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda by land or sea to present a valid passport or other DHS-approved documents in order to enter the U.S.

The requirement of North American residents to present a passport to enter the U.S. has become a hotly debated subject. While few people are arguing against this measure on the basis of increased security, many believe that this places an undue hardship on the disadvantaged. Many poorer citizens of the U.S. have relatives in Mexico whom they visit frequently. It is a common site to see cars or vans loaded with family members heading south for visits, especially during the Easter and Christmas holidays. The cost of obtaining passports for a family of five could be too expensive to bear for poor families.

To address this situation, the Department of State, in conjunction with DHS, has created the PASSport, which is an identification card the size of a driver’s license that can be used in the place of a passport for citizens reentering the U.S. The card would have radio frequency identification (RFID) technology that can be used to identify the cardholders entering the U.S. at land ports of entry. The card would cost $20 per adult and $10 per children with a $25 execution fee – much less than the cost of a passport. However, if the glitches occur in the implementation of the WHTI program, Congress and the president may find themselves on the hot seat.

How Congress and the president address trade liberalization will also be an interesting subject to watch this year. President Bush has been an advocate of free trade and has pushed forth trade agreements with Colombia and Peru, both of which need to be approved by Congress. Charles Rangel (D-New York), the new Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has joined with senior Democrats to state that they want to see tougher labor and union rights inserted in the already completed agreements, slated to be reviewed by Congress this year.

The issue of workers rights is a key concern and could be the line in the sand over which the battle to approve these two agreements centers. There is a good chance that with their majority in both houses of Congress, the Democrats could kill both pending agreements if their terms are not met.

The negotiation and diplomacy required of the executive and legislative branches of the federal government to address these issues promise to make 2007 an interesting year.

• Business Type: Manufacturer
• Business Interest: Sell
• Country: USA
• Description: A leader in technological innovation, production quality and service in the printing and commercial packaging publication industry is ready to provide businesses with advanced and complete in-house high-volume printing services.

• Business Type: Manufacturer
• Business Interest: Buy
• Country: Mexico
• Description: An electronic component manufacturer is interested in sourcing galvanized steel, electro-coated metal stamping, packaging, corrugated boxes and high volume printing.

• Business Type: Construction Concern
• Business Interest: Buy
• Country: USA
• Description: A company in New Mexico is interested in buying 1,000 panels of chain-link fence size 15ft. X 6 ft. built with 18 gauge pipe and 11.5 gauge yard chain link (non-coated metal) with 500 posts measuring 7.5 feet in height to be used for attaching the panels. Each panel should have two O rings on each side for attaching the panels.

• Business Type: Wholesale Dealer
• Business Interest: Buy
• Country: USA
• Description: A specialty food broker is interested in buying high volumes of type #1 triple clean pinto beans. The beans need to be packaged in twenty-five pound sacks for the initial order.

• Business Type: Investor
• Business Interest: Buy
• Country: USA
• Description: An investor in New Mexico is interested in buying an ammonia processing plant (new or used) to install in southern New Mexico.

• Business Type: Manufacturer / Distributor
• Business Interest: Buy
• Country: USA
• Description: A hydro cutting company in New Mexico is interested in sourcing deep drawn metal stamping services to produce 10,000 units of metal bowls.

• Business Type: Supplier
• Business Interest: Sell
• Country: Mexico
• Description: A Company from Durango wishes to sell its decorative and construction minerals in the U.S. Products include perlite, which is non-metallic mineral used in construction/industrial applications for its thermal insulation qualities. This mineral can also used in horticulture applications in order to retain moisture in gardens, plants, fields, and yards. The company can also supply other minerals such as geodes, obsidian, beryllium, zeolite, opal, and calcite for optical purposes.

Click each image to see a larger version.

Beryllium

Geodes

Obsidian

Perlite

Perlite

Calcite

• Business Type: Manufacturer
• Business Interest: Sell
• Country: USA
• Description: A producer of home and workplace tests like urine, hair and saliva drug testing kits, HIV testing kits for HIV virus, home fertility tests and much more. As a trusted supplier of drug testing kits across the United States to both parents and employers alike, this company keeps abreast of the drug testing products. Whether you are a parent seeking to discreetly test your child for substance abuse or an employer wishing to perform drug screening on your employees, TestCountry can provide the right drug test for you at the right price, giving you the same reliability as a lab test. For company web site and product catalog click here.

See details above.

Showcasing Mexican handcrafted items in the following areas:

• Wrought Iron
• Jewelry
• Clay
• Wood
• Pewter
• Glass/Blown Glass
• Ceramics
• Lighting
• Apparel Clothing & Accessories

“El Refugio” Convention Center

Tlaquepaque, Jalisco

Mexico

Objective: To examine the huge market for natural products, organics and sustainable products in the Japanese and American markets. The demand for these products, how to export them and other strategies will be presented at this event, in addition to general approaches to conducting business in Japan and the U.S.

The Event is Targeted to: Producers and related organizations.

Program/Agenda

• I. Presentations:
  • The market for LOHAS businesses and products in the United States and Japan.
  • Specific product selection from Chihuahua for the Japanese LOHAS market.
  • Strategies to export LOHAS products from Chihuahua to Japan.
  • Foodex 2008 (February 20, 2007).
• II. Associations and Strategic Alliances:
  • Change agents, developers, brokers and other support services
• III. Visits to Businesses