Bulletin 540 - Friday, October 14, 2011

Chihuahua, Chihuahua.- During Mexico´s Aerospace Summit to be held from October 18th to the 20th in Chihuahua Conventions Center, there will be a full exhibit of products from the aeronautics industry manufactured in Mexico, the State Ministry of the Economy informed. Investors and visitors will have the opportunity to get familiar with and compare the benefits of manufacturing their products in Mexico and will learn about new market trends, intellectual property, labor at the region, logistics and costs. Companies already manufacturing in Mexico will also share some cases of success. He added that the purposes of Mexico's Aerospace Summit include providing impulse to Aerospace Industry in Mexico, attracting more international investments that foster the sector's development in Chihuahua, generate jobs and contribute to the development of Mexico's economic activity.

Source: El Diario

Celaya, Mexico.- A groundbreaking ceremony was held last Wednesday, where Governor Juan Manuel Oliva, together with the city mayors from Apaseo el Grande and Celaya, Ernesto Muñoz Ledo and Rubi Laura Lopez, respectively, as well as investors, officers and representatives from the private sector, laid the cornerstone for the new industrial development. In his speech, Governor Oliva said that projects like this new industrial park will strengthen Honda, the automobiles assembler, with companies that will provide supplies, in addition to the railroad to start operating soon and a highway being built, both to enhance transportation infrastructure in Laja-Bajio Region, which is experiencing development momentum. This new industrial park, which construction formally started yesterday, represents an MXP$222.1 million investment in the first stage and is expected to start operating in February 2012. According to estimates for the next 4 years, 30 companies will establish there, generating 2,000 jobs, even if its maximum capacity will be 5,000 direct jobs and 6,000 indirect jobs. According to the Minister of Economic Development, Ramon Alfaro Gomez, there are 10 companies interested in investing and establishing at Amistad Industrial Park, including some local companies. "There are several projects in our portfolio, many of them related to Honda's chain of supply, in addition to some in the chemicals and metal-mechanics sectors", the Minister of Economic Development said and further assured that before the year is over the names and investment amounts will be disclosed. He also said that in no later than 4 years the Park will be consolidated due to its accelerated dynamics to attract investments. He assured that the official announcement of the first company to be established at Amistad Industrial Park may be expected before 2011 is over. Marco Alberto Ramon Aguirre, President, Grupo Amistad, added that in the first stage, which consists of a 100 hectares polygon, several companies suppliers for Honda will be received; and that they are already in touch with such companies. In addition, there is land to grow by up to 100 hectares more in a second stage.

Source: Amistad

Mexico City.- President Felipe Calderon signed the decree, to be published in the Federation's Official Gazette, together with the Minister of the Treasury, Jose Antonio Meade, and the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Ferrari, before representatives from the benefited industries. In a private meeting at Los Pinos Presidential Residence last June 17th the National Council of Maquiladora, Manufacturing and Export Industry, headed by Luis Alonso Aguirre Lang, warned President Calderon about the risk the creation of 27,000 jobs in the sector was running, unless the fiscal benefit on Flat Tax these companies enjoyed since 2007 were extended. In 2007 the government applied this exemption as a relief to Flat Tax burden, which meant a fiscal credit applicable to such tax computed as the difference between the sum of IT actually paid and Flat Tax. In order to strengthen maquilador sector, Calderon extended the term of such decree until December 2013. He pointed-out that based on this decree maquiladoras may compute Flat Tax using the same taxable basis as IT applicable to this sector, instead of doing so on Flat Tax basis.

Source: El Universal

Mexico.- Volkswagen is analyzing several choices to install an assembly plant in Mexico next year; and both, Puebla and Guanajuato want this plant, the leader of Volkswagen Automotive Industry Workers Union, Sindicato de Trabajadores de la Industria Automotriz Volkswagen (Sitiavw), Victor Jaime Cervantes Rosas said. The announcement of the new Factory with a labor impact of 4,000 jobs was officially made from the company's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany and is part of Volkswagen's growth strategy for 2012.

Source: Milenio

Mexico.- Boehringer Ingelheim inaugurated today a new plant to develop and produce veterinary biological products in Guadalajara, Jalisco, which will serve the poultry, pork and cattle markets. The new plant required an MXP$100 million investment, and will have a production capacity of over 100 million of vaccine doses to be sold in the domestic market, as well as to be exported to other countries. Francisco Escudero Olivos, CEO, said that this biopharmaceutical complex will provide growth to agribusiness in Jalisco, by being spearhead in research, development and production of vaccines and pharmaceuticals for animals. "The purpose is to guarantee the supply of safe and reliable food for Mexican consumers", he added.

Source: El Semanario

Queretaro, Mexico.- Before announcing its arrival to Queretaro, Bombardier assessed for 1.5 year the conditions found in 44 cities throughout the world, Andres Firedman, Suppliers Development Manager for Bombardier Aerospace Mexico said. He further said that one of the projects on which Bombardier - which employs 1,600 people at their three plants in Queretaro - has worked the hardest is on developing their chain of supply, and the only strategy used has been "supporting the installation of new companies from the aeronautics sector in Queretaro". "What we want is to attract our own suppliers. We have also given full support for the creation of Queretaro Aeronautics University, Universidad Aeronautica de Queretaro; all aimed to strengthening the industrial presence of this sector".

Source: El Financiero

Juarez, Chihuahua.- The sector, qualified labor, proximity to the United States, technological universities and specialized research centers have made of Chihuahua an important destination for aerospace industry; the work done here in this area will be of great help to have the first airplane "Made in Mexico", 10 years from now. The history of aerospace industry in Chihuahua goes back to 1991 with the arrival of Labinal, now a Safran subsidiary. Currently, from the 238 companies in the sector established in Mexico, there are 29 in Chihuahua. Every year Mexico receives over US$1 billion in foreign investment from the aerospace sector, which exports amount to over US$4 billion per year, and generates 33,000 direct jobs in Mexico, of which one third are in Chihuahua.

Source: El Heraldo de Chihuahua