Geobrugg to expand current Algodones hub with the help of state funds

Aug. 9—An international manufacturer of steel wire netting used for safety applications will expand its New Mexico presence with the help of state funds, a move that will create dozens of jobs in the process.

Geobrugg, whose headquarters are in Switzerland, plans to break ground later this month near its current operations in Algodones with a new 20,000-square-foot factory building and a 4,195-square-foot office, the New Mexico Economic Development Department announced Tuesday.

The expansion, expected to be completed later this year and aided by $500,000 in Local Economic Development Act funds, will also create 60 new jobs, according to the state.

"North America is a key market for Geobrugg products to protect people and infrastructure from geohazards," Andrea Roth, the CEO of Geobrugg Group, said in a statement. "The planned expansion in Sandoval County will give us the potential to meet the growing demand in the market and offer possibilities for other products from the BRUGG Group such as EV charging cables or wire ropes for cable cars."

The company is a global leader in mobile debris fence systems used for motorsports events such as NASCAR and Formula 1. But Geobrugg, which constructed its first installations made of wire rope net in 1951, also focuses on creating products for other hazards like rockfall, landslides, avalanches and coastal erosion, according to its website.

Geobrugg has had a presence in New Mexico for nearly four decades.

The company first opened in Santa Fe in 1985 before it moved to Algodones in 2011. The company last expanded its Algodones facility in 2018 — aided by a $50,000 grant from Sandoval County — when it added 7,000 square feet of space.

The state said Geobrugg will receive the LEDA incentives when it meets economic development benchmarks, with Sandoval County serving as the fiscal agent for the funds. According to the EDD, staff with Geobrugg in New Mexico earn anywhere from $36,000 to $300,000 annually.

"The interstate system, our workforce, and New Mexico's business climate is driving manufacturing growth in the state," EDD Deputy Secretary Jon Clark said in a statement. "Geobrugg and other companies are seeing these advantages and choosing New Mexico to expand operations."