Bulletin 440 - Friday, October 2, 2009

Puebla, Mexico,- Cadbury, the British candy company will invest this year US$50 million in their plant located in Puebla to develop a new chewing gum line for export. Erik Seiersen, CEO for Cadbury de México, pointed-out that Mexico represents a country with stability for the Firm, and they therefore decided to make long term investments in their facilities at the State of Puebla. These investments are estimated to generate 160 direct jobs, Seiersen explained. He further said that in the last five years the company invested US$200 million in the operation of the Mexican market.

Source: Milenio

Monterrey, Mexico,- Yakult is planning to open a third plant in southern Mexico, with an investment of around US$45 million and without resorting to debt, Carlos Kasuga Osaka affirmed. Mr. Kasuga, CEO for Yakult in Mexico, said that, after Korea, Mexico is the second fastest growing country in sales of this fermented dairy drink in the 30 countries where this transnational company is present, and they are therefore pursuing expansion. The company currently has two plants, one in the State of Mexico and another one in Jalisco, with more than 2 thousand 200 employees and a network of 7 thousand 600 independent women working door to door. "Plans are expanding to other sites in Mexico and in less than two years we will be opening the third plant", he said at the end of his conference "Social Business Responsibility" in Universidad de Monterrey before more than 200 alumni from Business Division.

Source: El Norte

Mexico City,-Chrysler de Mexico will produce up to 100,000 units per year of FIAT 500 model; assembly will start in Chrysler Plant located in Toluca, State of Mexico in the last quarter of 2010 or March 2011, at the latest. Peter Fong, President and Chief Executive Officer - Chrysler Brand, lead sales executive and responsible for Chrysler product portfolio, said to Automotive News Europe that 80% of Chrysler Dealers in the USA will sell FIAT 500. This arises from the strategic Alliance entered last February by Chrysler LLC and Italy's FIAT Group, after Chrysler filed under Chapter Eleven, the US Government bailout and Cerberus Group became minor stockholder. The first effective step in this Alliance is that the Mexican Chrysler Plant, located in Toluca, State of Mexico, will manufacture model 500 for the American market "taking advantage of the Trade Agreement between Mexico and Brazil", Fong said, and assured FIAT is among sales leaders in Brazil.

Source: Al Volante

Aguascalientes, Mexico- Nissan Mexicana Plant in Aguascalientes has produced 7 million engines since the assembler started operations in Engines and Stamp Area in 1983, Nissan informed. "The Plant's productivity was increased 60% when compared to 2007, when engine number 6 million was produced and 67 engines were assembled per hour", the assembler informed. The plant is currently manufacturing 107 engines per hour, to reach one thousand 779 per day. "High quality and cost and time efficiency achieved in this Plant make it a point of reference for other Nissan plants in the world", Toshiyuki Shiga, Chief Operations Officer, said. Francisco Carbajal, Plant Manager, said Nissan investments in the next 2 years will be meant to increase production through new processes, and there are no plans to build a new plant in Mexico.

Source: El Diario

Mexico City,- With a US$4,1 million investment, Pfizer de Mexico inaugurated the expansion of the Quality Operations building in their plant located in Toluca, State of Mexico. "These new facilities will allow making all the studies required by ruling agencies in Latin America and this will provide for an increase in our exports to those countries", Jorge Bracero, CEO for Pfizer Mexico, Central America and Caribbean, explained. With this expansion the plant will employ 300 people, while all over Mexico Pfizer has 2 thousand 500 workers. "In Pfizer we are convinced that both Government and industry must put their money on competitiveness, propitiating an environment which encourages investment and provides for the creation of more and better jobs for Mexican families", he added. Toluca Plant currently produces more than 60 million units of medicines per year and exports 20 products to 16 countries in Latin America, including Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

Source: El Norte

Hermosillo, Sonora,- The generation of the first one thousand jobs in Governor Guillermo Padres Elias' Administration is a reality, after the announcement made by Jabil Circuits Inc. of their operations start in one of their plants in Nogales, Sonora. Scott Sickles, Regional Operations Director for Jabil Circuits Inc., Aftermaket Services Division, made the formal announcement to Governor Padres Elias in a meeting where the Minister of the Economy, Moises Gomez Reyna and the Chairman of the Board for Sonora Economic Promotion (COPRESON), Francisco Burquez Valenzuela were also present. Scott Stickles informed that the company, which will start operations next November, will receive a US$12 million investment throughout three years and will generate one thousand jobs in the first year, until reaching around three thousand jobs in those three days. The monthly economic contribution in the region by this new plant in Nogales is expected to reach MEP$2.5 million only in compensations.

Source: El Autónomo

Mexicali, Baja California,- Only 20 days after opening a plant here, Krystal International have manufactured their first car. The finished model is a Lincoln Towncar, ready to be delivered to the customer. The company opened its doors and started training for the production of high-end vehicles last August 3. They have only one Monday to Friday shift and around 250 employees. They are installed inside El Dorado Industrial Park and are currently working in 25 vehicles. "The process to make cars starts when vehicles are directly brought to the factory; cars are completely disassembled: seats, rugs, wires, lights, then it is cut in half and the body is extended to make it bigger, more spacious and luxurious. Then, the three parts are assembled back to create a new car, which is not only better but its manufacture is supported, recognized and approved by General Motors and Ford", says George Jaramillo, Krystal International Vice-president. He pointed-out that no one in the Automotive Industry has done this, and making it in Mexicali is quite significant, because what has been done in these few days is amazing, bringing the product, the material, employ personnel, train them; there are also engineering, design, administration and sales personnel, and all of this translates into a finished product leaving the company's premises.

Source: Siglo 21