FreightCar America, a manufacturer of freight cars for the railway industry, based in Chicago, Illinois, inaugurated the expansion of its production plant in the northern city of Castaños, in the Mexican state of Coahuila, the local government reported.
“We accompanied Freightcar to the inauguration of its new plant. With an investment of MXN 600 million pesos ($34 million, at today's exchange rate) it will generate 500 new jobs,” said Governor Manolo Jiménez Salinas, according to the press release.
The city of Castaños is eight miles south of Monclova, the home of the steel giant Altos Hornos de México (AHMSA), paralyzed by financial insolvency. It is also 160 miles southwest of the border city of Eagle Pass, Texas and 168 miles west of Laredo, Texas.
As of last month, the Castaños plant had 2,000 employees with four production lines with an annual capacity of more than 5,000 rail cars. According to this information, the expansion would be generating a 25 percent increase in payroll.
FreightCar America has a joint venture with the Mexican company Fabricaciones y Servicios de México (Fasemex), an industrial conglomerate linked to the metalworking industry, and producer of trailers, dollies, platforms and other products for heavy cargo transportation and for the transportation of the oil industry, with the Liddell trademark. The Mexican is the holder of a minority stake in the shares of FreightCar America.