After one year and four months after the announcement of the investment, the German manufacturer of braking systems for commercial and railway vehicles, Knorr-Bremse, inaugurated its fourth production plant in the Mexican border city of Acuña, Coahuila, the state government reported.
In January of last year, SteelOrbis reported on Knorr-Bremse's investment in Mexico through its subsidiary Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems (Bendix). Then, as now, the amount of the investment was not disclosed.
Now, they reported that the new plant of around 17,200 square meters has more than 1,000 photovoltaic panels that will generate around 10 percent of the plant's electrical energy needs.
In addition, the consumption of solar energy will generate an estimated annual savings of $170,000 in energy consumption expenses. Thus, Bendix Acuña will also avoid the generation of hundreds of tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
With the new plant, Knorr-Bremse in Mexico manufactures the new systems: Global Scalable Brake Control (GSBC) and Global Scalable Air Treatment (GSAT).
Data from the Mexican business chamber Industria Nacional de Autopartes (INA), Coahuila is the largest Mexican economy in auto parts with a production of $3.1 billion, a figure that represents 15.2 percent of the $20.6 billion that companies in Mexico manufactured in the first two months of the year.