MCC to host Paulita's pilot plant

Paulita’s New Mexico will use Mesalands Community College’s armory building as a pilot manufacturing and worker-training facility while it looks for a more permanent site to relocate in Tucumcari.

Those plans by the Rio Rancho-based food company were revealed last week during the college’s board of trustees meeting last week, with more details from a Mesalands official on Wednesday.

During a board of trustees meeting March 15, Mary Beth Busch of Mesalands’ Center for Workforce Development said Paulita’s New Mexico will use the gymnasium in the former armory building on South 11th Street at the college to make its New Mexico-based foods and train workers there with the possibility of future employment.

Mesalands President Gregg Busch said during the meeting that Paulita’s will have the capacity to churn out 1,200 bottles of salsa per minute.

“It’s going to smell fantastic in here,” he said.

Jim Morgan, vice president of campus affairs, said during an interview Wednesday the college and Paulita’s have drafted a memorandum of understanding for the manufacturing arrangement.

Morgan said he did not know how many workers would be used at the pilot plant in the armory.

In addition to using the gymnasium, Morgan said the armory’s commercial-grade kitchen will be used.

Morgan said Paulita’s plans to place a huge freezer behind the armory to store up to $55,000 worth of green chile peppers used in its foods.

He said Paulita’s is looking for a more permanent site in Tucumcari for a manufacturing plant, including possibly building an all-new facility.

Morgan said Paulita’s briefly considered the Mesalands-owned former Alco building. He said the space Paulita’s needed is not available, as much of it in the Alco building “is spoken for” with other tenants.

Morgan noted one of Paulita’s principals, Alan Porter, has ties to Logan, which may partly explain why the company apparently is relocating to Quay County.

Porter declined to comment when contacted by email.

Paulita’s desire to relocate to Quay County first was learned during a county commission meeting in December. Tim Hagaman, a representative from the state’s economic development department, told commissioners Paulita’s was looking for a 2,000- to 5,000-square foot building with natural gas access as a second manufacturing site or moving its operations to Tucumcari.

Paulita’s New Mexico makes an array of foods using New Mexico green chiles, including chile sauce, green chile stew, seasoning, marinade, salsacue, salad dressing, mac ‘n’ cheese and salsa.

Paula and Alan Porter spent several years developing a method to dehydrate green chiles, making it easier to ship and store for long periods.

Paulita’s products are sold in several dozen stores in New Mexico and Texas, and its online store ships nationwide and to several foreign countries.