Industrial and technology group ThyssenKrupp has announced this week plans to expand its auto parts park located in the Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende, in the state of Guanajuato.
According to ThyssenKrupp, it plans to build a new plant at the San Miguel de Allende site for active and passive damper systems, following the construction, earlier this year, of a production plant for cylinder head covers with integrated camshafts.
The company said total investment at the new industrial park should reach EUR 150 million.
ThyssenKrupp expects to supply OEMs in North America by 2017 or 2018. The 200,000 square meter components site is expected to create some 750 new jobs.
“Mexico plays a central role in the expansion of our auto components business,” said Karsten Kroos, CEO of the company’s components technology business.
“Our investment programs there are a key part of our growth and regionalization strategy. On completion of the new components site in San Miguel de Allende we will more than double the size of our production network in Mexico to altogether eight production sites in just a few years,” he said.
Mexico’s burgeoning automotive industry has attracted several auto-focused companies, such as KIA Motors, auto supplier Edscha, BMW and Ford, which expects to double auto production in the country by 2018.
Citing industry projections, ThyssenKrupp said Mexico could become the world’s sixth largest automotive producer.
“The components technology business area at ThyssenKrupp is profiting from this growth with a good order backlog for both chassis and engine components. Last fiscal year the components division increased its sales in North America by 17 percent year-on-year to around 1.9 billion euros,” the company explained.