Bulletin 539 - Friday, October 7, 2011

Celaya, Guanajuato.- Ramon Alfaro, Minister of Sustainable Economic Development for the State of Guanajuato, informed that works for the construction of Honda's assembly plant in Celaya will start soon. "They will start preparing the land by the end of this year", he confirmed. Mr. Alfaro said that the cornerstone for Honda's first plant in Mexico will be laid in the first quarter of 2012. Works for a railroad spur will also be made to provide for easy, fast and safe freight handling. Honda will install an assembly plant over a 566 hectares surface Celaya investing US$800 million and generating over 3,200 direct jobs. Plans are to start operations in 2014 with capacity to produce 200,000 units of a subcompact car to be sold in Mexico and North America markets. Honda is the largest investment in Mexico from the automotive sector.

Source: El Zocalo

Mexico City.- Mexico is already a world power in aerospace industry and in no later than 10 years it will be in the position to assemble the first 100% Mexican airplane, Luis Olive, Head of Investment and International Business Promotion Unit with ProMexico, estimates. He said that exports by aerospace industry amount to US$3.2 billion through more than 300 companies installed in Mexico. During the presentation of Mexico's Aerospace Summit being organized by Mexico Now, to be held from the 18th to the 20th this month in Chihuahua, he pointed-out that foreign investment arriving every year to Mexico adds to over US$1 billion. In a press conference held together with Sergio Ornelas, Mexico Now's Director and Gabriela Jaschack, from Chihuahua State Ministry of the Economy, he reaffirmed that Mexico is a world power and the most attractive country for investments by aerospace industry.

Source: El Universal

Mexico.- Microsoft, the company leader in technological innovation, inaugurated the first Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) in Latin America and announced an investment plan for over US$600 million in Mexico. During the celebration of Microsoft's 25th anniversary in Mexico, President Felipe Calderon congratulated the firm for revolutionizing the technological world and acknowledged that this new center, which will train around 2,300 software developers, will provide significant impulse to Mexico's development and economic growth. Chuck McCann, Worldwide MTC Alliances Program Director with Microsoft, said that the purpose of this MTC is bringing technology to companies in an easier and simpler way, with the clear purpose of making more accessible complex and hard to understand platforms.

Source: El Financiero

Guadalajara, Mexico.- As a fruit of the commercial mission by businessmen and authorities from Jalisco to Japan, there are six investment projects that could arrive to Jalisco. The capital that may be injected by each of these Japanese companies in the automotive and biomedical fields, interested in establishing here, is between US$15 and US$25 million, which means that all of them together would bring between US$90 and US$150 million. "These are special times in Japan; many of their automotive and auto parts companies want to have investments elsewhere in the world, and Mexico is being benefited by such investments", the State Minister of Economic Promotion, Alonso Ulloa Velez, said. He pointed-out that companies in the automotive industry are among those most interested in making business in Mexico, while the pharmaceutical branch could delay their decision until early 2013.

Source: El Mural

Sonora, Mexico.- Michele Martin, UAW's spokeswoman, pointed-out that Fusion assembly made in Ford's plant at Hermosillo, Sonora will stay in Mexico. A source close to Ford Motor Company de Mexico said that "there are many projects for Hermosillo, which will not be reversed, quite the opposite, research and training are underway to prepare hundreds of young people to participate in these plans, which include continuing with Fusion and Lincoln production". Ms. Martin further said last Friday, September 30th, that it is not precise that Ford Fusion production will be transferred from Hermosillo Plant in Mexico to some of the factories in the United States, but it will stay in the State of Sonora.

Source: Al Volante

Mexico.- Celebrating Bosch's 125th anniversary in the world, as well as 56 years of operations in Mexico, the company will increase its investments from over US$21 million in 2009 to over US$78 million upon closing this year, Charles Visconti, President and CEO for Bosch Mexico, declared. Interviewed in Mexico City World Trade Center, Mr. Visconti said that if economic recovery continues in Mexico and the USA, investments next year will amount to US$100 million. These investments would be made in machinery and tooling for the 13 plants the company has in Mexico. In Mexico, Bosch has a little over 8,000 employees, whose expertise provided for the introduction of new technologies.

Source: El Financiero

Monterrey, Mexico.- Lego, the Danish company, inaugurated a new building in their Cienega de Flores, Nuevo Leon plant. This new building has 520 plastic injection machines where 450 people work. Pablo Salazar, Chief Operations Officer for Lego Mexico, pointed-out that the company's investments in Nuevo Leon add to US$500 million, which include a 100% automated warehouse, to be inaugurated in September, 2012. Mr. Salazar added that their plant here concentrates the largest manufacturing center in the world, where 1,700 people work, of which 700 joined the company in the last 4 months and by next summer 300 more will be hired when 100 additional machines are installed and the warehouse is working.

Source: Reforma