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Case
Study: New Mexico's Next Generation
Maine Science and Technology Foundation
November 22, 2002
One of the greatest challenges for Michael Skaggs, president
of New Mexico's Next Generation Economy Inc., in building
industry clusters is the diversity of his region's clusters,
from a 400-year old artisan industry to a technical
culture only a half-century old.
Skaggs
said central New Mexico's microsystems cluster strategy
has already led to spinning off a new company from Sandia
National Laboratories to produce microelectronic devices.
NextGen's public-private partnership works with other
clusters, including information technology, optics,
and biotechnology.
The
microelectronics spinoff, MEMX, licensed from Sandia
intellectual property for microelectromechanical systems
(MEMS) and microsystems technologies. MEMX's Web site
describes MEMS as complex machines, often no larger
than a grain of pollen, with micro-size features.
MEMX
spun off in 2000, and Skaggs said NextGen is building
a fabrication facility where MEMX and other local companies,
possibly including Intel and Philips, can manufacture
microdevices.
In
a separate interview to MaineScience.org, Skaggs said
that the original cost estimate to build a fabrication
facility totaled $35 million. But NextGen leveraged
local relationships and resources to obtain access to
an existing clean room at the University of New Mexico.
NextGen
is converting the university facility for $5 million
and will provide tools – fabrication equipment donated
by a local semiconductor company. Skaggs said microsystems
technology builds well on a semiconductor base, so converting
equipment requires only minor alterations.
New
Mexico, said David Sampson, faces distinct challenges
in linking its rural and urban areas for cluster development
because intentional efforts must be made to integrate
rural entities.
Gollub
suggested that rural communities work together and link
up to form a "cluster archipelago." Although he admitted
this approach "takes a little bit of willpower," he
said it's good to know and exploit the core competencies
of companies within a day's round-trip drive.
New
Mexico has already adapted that strategy to its advantage
by marketing the state's precision manufacturing machine
shops, many of which specialize in aerospace components,
to original equipment manufacturers through a virtual
network.
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