Building Businesses on the Border (cont.)

Based on that earlier success, and given FUMEC’s overall mandate to act as a bi-national science and technology catalyst, Sandia and FUMEC worked energetically to obtain support and funding from both federal governments. In October 2004, they secured a two-year grant for $400,000 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and a matching commitment from Mexico’s Consejo Nacional de Ciencias y Tecnología (CONACYT),Mexico’s equivalent to the National Science Foundation.

FUMEC worked closely with Sandia and border state academic institutions (Texas A&M, the University of Texas at El Paso, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juarez, and others) in obtaining support for the BNSL. They also worked closely with the Border Governors Conference, led in 2004 by Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico and subsequently by Governor Martin of Coahuila, Mexico. Today, the list of BNSL’s strategic stakeholders also includes New Mexico’s Economic Development Department, New Mexico State University, New Mexico Tech, Monterrey Tech (Juarez), Delphi Corporation (Juarez), Team Technology, Verde Realty, the national Advanced Materials Research Center (CIMAV) of Chihuahua, New Mexico’s TVI Community College, El Paso Community College and others.

In September 2005, the BNSL formally opened its doors at a 4,600-square foot facility in Santa Teresa, to begin fulfilling the hopes and vision of its creators.

BNSL vision and structure

The BNSL, a non-profit corporation, sees itself as an engine of research excellence for sustained economic development on the U.S.-Mexico border. Its mantra is “building border businesses.” The BNSL’s goal is to create bi-national, publicprivate partnerships for economic development in the entire U.S.-Mexico border region, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. These partnerships will combine the “triple helix” of business, academia and government to work collaboratively in achieving the overall vision of the BNSL.

The BNSL envisions using distributed facilities and activities appropriate to the strengths and opportunities of specific border regions.While initially focusing its attention on the Paso del Norte (central border region), the BNSL expects to expand rapidly by creating centers of focus, or nodes, in other regions of the border as opportunities and resources permit.While the facilities and activities are expected to be dispersed, the various programs and projects will be coordinated and managed through a central leadership under a single Executive Director and a bi-national board of directors.

How does it differ?

The BNSL differs from existing approaches by focusing binational, public-private resources on business formation and expansion, using applied technology research and a proactive commercialization process. The closest comparison would be to global corporate laboratories, which – while having many technical and business assets and strengths – lack the BNSL’s ability to partner widely.

The BNSL’s approach focuses on the aspects of technology commercialization typically characterized as the “valley of death” – the place between technology prototype and commercial product.

The BNSL’s approach goes beyond typical business development and incubator initiatives by focusing on the aspects of technology commercialization typically characterized as the “valley of death” – the place between technology prototype and commercial product. Its staff and partners will provide expertise in technology development, product realization, business planning and project financing. This approach will not only increase the number of successful transitions from prototype to company but also address the problem of new concepts whose developers lack the skill, or will, to commercialize the products themselves. The BNSL will link the diverse cultures of academia and the business and financial world, looking for market “pull” in lieu of technology “push.”

The BNSL’s bi-national synergy is further emphasized by the strength and breadth of its board, which consists of 14 high-level business leaders (CEOs, vice presidents, directors, etc.), academic professionals and governmental officials from both sides of the border and representing the diverse geographic regions of the 10 border states.

Strategies for economic development include applied research, technology/product development, advanced training, business planning, mentoring, incubation, business and technology acceleration and marketing, among others. The Santa Teresa facility has some 1,600 square feet of office and lab space and 3,000 square feet of high-bay light industrial space. The flexible facility can accelerate or incubate between seven to 10 companies or start-ups.

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