At AED Lunch, Tonjes Honored After 20 Years

Gary Tonjes was honored today for 20 years of service to the Albuquerque Economic Development at its last investors luncheon of the year, and the event shed a bit of light on some recent economic development activities in Albuquerque.
Tonjes gave a brief overview of some of the successes AED had over the last year, including S&P Data’s decision to move to Rio Rancho, Flagship Food Group’s decision to move its manufacturing operations to the Renaissance Corridor, Google’s purchase of Titan Aerospace,Comcast’s expansion of its local operations and Global Fashion Technologies’ announced move to Belen.
At the luncheon, Tiffani Claussen of United Poly Systems talked about why her company chose to operate in Mesa del Sol and bring 35 new manufacturing jobs to the area to build plastic pipes. UPS, she said, will begin hiring in February of 2015 and plans to make a $9 million investment in the Albuquerque area. The jobs will have average salaries of $25,000 to $40,000 annually.
Tonjes addressed one “little hiccup” in a project that recently didn’t come together. Though there was an issue recruiting a large employer here, he said, “it still looks good for us.” Tonjes declined to name the firm. GreenSky Credit recently announced that it has put its plans for a new 500-person call center on hold, however.
For 2015, AED is making a big push for the state to enact a job-creation fund similar to Texas’ Enterprise Fund, though much smaller. AED and others say a $50 million fund could finance infrastructure for projects in every county.
Tonjes joined AED, whose objective is to help the city of Albuquerque recruit and grow companies, in 1994. Today he was treated to a throwback-Thursday slideshow in front of more than 500 people at the Hyatt. Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry also proclaimed Thursday, Dec. 4 as Gary Tonjes and Albuquerque Economic Development day.
By: Dan Mayfield (Albuquerque Business First)
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