Bulletin 441 - Friday, October 9, 2009

Mexico City,- Flavio Diaz Miron, CEO for Bombardier Mexico, informed Mexico was chosen as the site to assemble Learjet 85, thanks to the fact that productivity by Mexicans was 25% higher than that in Belfast and Montreal. During his speech in Mexico Summit Forum, organized by The Economist, Mr. Diaz Miron, head of this company which manufactures rail vehicles and aircraft, informed that the first carbon compound prototype will be built in Queretaro, thanks to the support granted by federal and state governments. He stressed Mexico's the advancement in the last five years in aviation development, which has gone from 61 to 164 manufacturing enterprises; presence has also been expanded from three to sixteen states, which crushed efforts to create industrial corridors for this sector. In the next 10 years, he said, estimates are 11 thousand 500 executive airplanes and 12 thousand 400 commercial units will be assembled globally, which could represent an opportunity for Mexico.

Source: El Diario

Monterrey,- Whirlpool's subsidiary in Mexico will invest US$55 million in a new plant at their facilities in the State of Nuevo Leon, in northern Mexico, Francisco Reyes Pacheco, CEO, informed yesterday. Mr. Reyes Pacheco explained that this new plant, in Apodaca Municipality, will start operating in 2010, will create around one thousand 100 new jobs and will occupy around 7 thousand square meters (75,347.064 square feet). He further pointed-out that Whirlpool de Mexico will manufacture 18 and 23 cubic feet refrigerators in this new plant, for both the domestic and export markets.

Source: El Diario

Mexico City,- With a US$3 billion investment, Ford de Mexico re-inaugurated their operations in their plant at Cuautitlan, State of Mexico, to assemble the new Ford Fiesta as of April 2010. The plant closed for one year to adapt it to manufacture the new vehicle, and recently hired 350 people to assemble the first car bodies. Eduardo Serrano, President and CEO for Ford de Mexico, pointed-out that the company keeps on investing in every region in the world with its own resources to ensure leadership. "We ratify the commitment Ford has in Mexico, where our investments reach US$3 billion in several sites", he said.

Source: El Diario

Cd Juarez, Chihuahua,- Delphi, auto parts manufacturer and main employer in Ciudad Juarez, announced yesterday they are emerging from bankruptcy after a 4-year restructure. Xochitl Diaz Porras, Corporate Affairs Manager for Delphi in Mexico, informed that after leaving behind Chapter Eleven, the Company is now the best positioned in its field all over the world. She explained that in spite of the crisis, they could emerge from bankruptcy, restructure and keep the businesses with the best yield, while a large number of their competitors are only starting this process. She pointed-out that Mexico, and especially Ciudad Juarez, are maybe the sites that will take the best advantage of emerging from bankruptcy, because Mexico is one of the countries where Delphi kept the largest number of operations. In spite of the harsh restructure process that forced the corporation to sell some of its divisions, they kept 44 plants in Mexico, out of 53 they once had; while in the United States they saved only four out of the 37 operations.

Source: El Diario

Mexico City,-After seven months in a row losing jobs, last August 9 thousand jobs were generated in maquilador sector, according to information from National Council of Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry, Consejo Nacional de la Industria Maquiladora y Manufacturera de Exportación (CNIMME). The Council explains that the rebound in August is still insufficient to compensate the loss of 125 thousand 500 jobs posted up to July, which represented 6% of the sector's labor force. "Up to last July employment figures were negative, fortunately figures in August are positive, which is a good sign", Cesar Castro CNIMME Chairman pointed-out. According to CNIMME, jobs generation is a direct consequence of support programs implemented by the Government, as well as the consolidation of new investments made throughout the year.

Source: El Diario

Chihuahua, Chihuahua,- The State of Chihuahua has consolidated as one of the main auto parts manufacturing centers in Mexico, and given the importance of and work made by the 25 corporations in the State, a full airplane can now be assembled here. In the immediate future aerospace cluster is very promising, because there are at least 10 more companies planning to "land" at the State, encouraged by the promotion made by the "triple helix" made up by government, businessmen and education institutions, as well as by the regional development stream of the big aircraft assemblers in north Mexico and south United States. Jose Luis Rodulfo Mercado, Director of Maquiladoras and Exporters Association, informed that in Chihuahua there are 25 out of the 194 aircraft parts plants operating in Mexico, and occupies 25% of the 27 thousand workers the sector has throughout Mexico. This speaks of the strength aeronautics sector has in the State, standing out the fact that three important original equipment manufacturers are operating in Chihuahua City, which leads to think a full aircraft could soon be assemble here.

Source: El Diario

ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua,- A company in the electronics field is looking for a strategic alliance with an industrial plant in Ciudad Juarez, where they can assemble LCD screens, which they are expecting will generate 2 thousand 500 jobs, Maquiladoras Association informed. "There is an LCD screens manufacturer in Tijuana which has informed AMAC they are coming to Ciudad Juarez this week to establish a partnership with one of the six LCD assembly plants here, in order to cover production to meet demand in the international market", Soledad Maynez Bribiescas, AMAC Chairwoman, said. She said AMAC will call all local TV sets assemblers to a meeting, to see which of them could be interested in supporting production projects of this Tijuana-based company.

Source: El Diario