MÉRIDA, Yucatán.- The Secretary of Economic Development (Sefoe) informed that Yucatán has already laid the foundations for the creation of an automotive profile cluster, which will make possible to boost the sector of suppliers, create better paid sources of employment and trigger the arrival of important foreign direct investments to the state.
The head of the Sefoe, Ernesto Herrera Novelo, explained that with the arrival of the Leoni company that already have invested more than 1.2 billion US dollars, it is foreseen that its surroundings will settle more supply companies related to the branch as it happened with the beer industry.
Last November the German company invested in its first stage 500 million pesos (20 million USD), and on early May 2018, announced a second phase with an investment of 700 million pesos (35 million USD).
Other companies in the automotive industry will also have presence as part if this cluster, such as Air Temp, a company that exports cooling and air conditioning equipment to European vehicle producers.
Herrera Novelo, considered that the creation of an automotive cluster will push the creation of more jobs for the state and increase private investments, besides, this industry requires specialized personnel that meets the labor demand of these companies, and that will bring well paid jobs for highly skilled employees.
“We have been working for several years on the creation of a cluster, first we developed careers in conjunction with universities and technological institutions in order to have graduates who can work in this type of factories. we want to conform an automotive cluster and in the not too distant future, a car assembler “.
The official of the state government explained that when an automotive cluster appears, something very similar will happen to what happened in Hunucmá with the arrival of the brewing plant.
“We are talking about something very similar to the arrival of the brewing company in Hunucmá, which is the location of the potential cluster and around which the supplier companies settle. We are already in talks with these companies and there is very important progress in that sense so that this other important pole of industrial development begins to detonate”.
Herrera Novelo, recalled that since November last year, Yucatan is part of the automotive industry in Mexico, with an investment of 500 million pesos, made by the Leoni company to start operations of its plant, with an annual production of 131,345 electrical harnesses for the same number of General Motors vehicles.
The company announced on Tuesday May 8, the construction of a second plant, with an investment of 700 million pesos (35 million USD), and it is estimated that in the next two years they will generate around 2,000 formal jobs with competitive salaries.
The facilities are built on an area of 40,000 square meters, within a lot located in Méridas Periférico Sur.
This plant will feature state-of-the-art technology, under a sustainable model, through the use of solar panels, wastewater treatment plants, that will purify it for consumption.
“The company specialized in the manufacture of automotive harnesses is opening employment opportunities from engineering levels to operational positions, because it requires engineers in production and logistics, quality assurance inspectors, maintenance technicians, among others” Herrera Novelo concluded.
Source: SIPSE
