Aerospace Manufacturing in Mexico Continues to Grow
April 10, 2013
Mexico could not have picked a more opportune decade to welcome and recognize Aerospace manufacturers. The aerospace industry is eager to continue manufacturing in Mexico and expand aggressively.
Aviation Week announced that Mexico’s attractiveness derives from its lower wage-structure and the country, “aggressively pursing high-tech aerospace jobs as part of a broadening of its industrial base beyond automobiles and electronics” (two already popular industries for manufacturing).
The aerospace industry is now 270 factories strong and is continuing to grow. As a country that was previously known for its agricultural exports, it has proven to stay on pace with global manufacturers, with industrial parts being 90% of its export earnings. It is currently ranked number 13 as the world’s largest economy and maintaining the number 11 spot for purchasing power.
The aerospace is not a new industry to Mexico. Its residency dates back to the mid 1970’s, when basic parts were sent across the border (mainly Tijuana and Mexicali due to its close proximity to the U.S.) for assembly and research in the field closely following.
NAFTA and political reform are key components to the aerospace industry’s growth within the last decade. Aiding to this would be its ideal location for trade and close connections with the United States. The potential growth for companies looking to manufacture in Mexico is incomparable to manufacturing in other places like Europe or even the United States. Manufacturers are able to go from nothing to 75,000 square foot factory space within a few months, something that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.
Behind the scenes in all of this success are service providers that foreign manufacturers turn to. Shelter services, like North American Production Sharing, allow companies to run business at a regular pace, while the shelter provider handles all the administration and compliance management required under the IMMEX (previously known as Maquiladora) program.