Ag business to expand operations locally

Portales has landed a business that will distribute and repair agricultural equipment, according to a press release from the Roosevelt County Community Development Corp.

Roswell-based New Mexico Machinery announced Monday it will expand its business to the Roosevelt and Curry county market with a new location in Portales at the intersection of U.S. 70 and N.M. 467. The business is expected to bring 12 professional-level jobs to the area.

The business will include sales and service for Kubota, McCormick and Land Pride brands of equipment. The company’s clients include farm, ranch, dairy and trucking businesses, according to the release.

The company said it plans to eventually expand its operation in Portales to include truck repair on brands such as Cummins, International and Mercedes Benz.

The company is currently remodeling the location and plans to be open in July, according to RCCDC officials.

Roswell natives Duane and Jonathan Green purchased New Mexico Machinery in 2003 and have expanded it to include a Las Cruces-based plant that manufactures its own Ag Pro brand live floor silage trailers, said the release.

“Portales and the RCCDC were great to work with,” Jonathan Green said. “We received a warm welcome and personal attention that made it easy to decide to locate here.”

Greg Fisher, economic development director with RCCDC, said he got involved when he learned the Craig Hughes Trailer and RV Center location was for sale following Craig Hughes’ death last year.

“We were courting them,” Fisher said. “They were looking at Curry and Roosevelt counties,” he said of N.M. Machinery.

Hughes’ wife, Tina, said she will be relocating Hughes Welding, which specializes in dairy construction, to a nearby location.

Fisher said approximately $80,000 in economic development funds have been approved for the business, which he said will be used for signs, landscaping and training of new employees.

“People are getting excited about it,” Fisher said. “We’ll be able to bring a lot of business in from west Texas.”

RCCDC board chairman Randy Knudson said the announcement is a sign of the work that began last fall when RCCDC hired Fisher. He said that retaining Hughes while attracting N.M. Machinery was important.

“This is a good example of how the RCCDC can assist in both business expansion and retention,” Knudson said.

Fisher said the new business is expected to generate $150,000 per year in annual gross receipts tax revenue.

“New Mexico Machinery is a quality company with a good reputation and excellent wages and benefits,” Fisher said. “We are pleased the Greens chose Portales to serve our region’s vital agricultural and trucking industries.”