German manufacturer Leoni AG opened its fifth plant in Mexico yesterday in the Yucatán port city of Progreso de Castro.
The new wiring systems division plant will manufacture cabling and harnessing for automotive assembly plants in Mexico and for export to General Motors, BMW and Volvo plants located on the Asian continent and in the United States.
The plant currently employs over 2,000 people, 65% of whom are women. Division vice-president Ralf Maus explained that once the new facility reaches its full capacity sometime next year, over 2,600 people will be directly employed by it.
The 25,000-square-meter factory, an investment of 350 million pesos (nearly US $19 million) produces about one-third of its energy needs with 1,500 solar panels and employs a water recycling system that saves 100,000 liters of water per year, the federal Economy Secretariat said in a statement.
Maus was joined at a dedication ceremony by Yucatán Governor Rolando Zapata Bello and federal Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.
Zapata recalled that Leoni’s presence in the state was the result of a business trip he took to Germany last year.
The new plant, he said, offers “new horizons [and] confirms that Yucatán can aim higher and progress.”
The governor pointed out that the state has everything it needs to become a strategic and innovative link in the automotive industry supply chain.
The creation of new and modern infrastructure, he continued, is the way of closing gaps and to continue consolidating the state as a logistics and business platform for the benefit of citizens.
Maus said Leoni chose Yucatán for its newest Mexico plant for its logistics infrastructure, security, education, the high qualifications of its human capital and the professionalism of its administration.
Secretary Guajardo said the automotive industry has changed drastically over the last decade.
“Six of every 10 auto industry jobs will cease to exist and will become different kinds of jobs over the next decade. For this reason, we must be on the front lines of innovation,” he said.