Strategic location, human talent, and economic stability, as well as logistics and market access are the key points that foreign companies take into account when they decide where to move operations and invest. And that is why some states or cities stand out more than others, both because of the number of investments they attract and/or the magnitude of the brand that comes.
Nuevo León for example, is noted for having amassed 52 investments, of which nine are new companies that had envisioned the state’s benefits and decided to start operations there and another 26 are companies that grew and extended their stay in the state.
2011 was also an excellent year for Guanajuato, which excelled by serving as headquarters for the 30 companies that chose to settle in different industrial areas there. Of these, 21 came to the region for the first time, while eight more expanded their current operations.
The state also excelled in attracting the investment of two major automotive companies, one of which is Honda. The company announced that the city of Celaya will be the seat of its manufacturing plant, in which it will invest over 800 million dollars. Similarly, Mazda has destined its assembly plant for Salamanca, at a cost of 500 million dollars.
San Luis Potosí, for its part, saw a total of 27 industrial real estate contract closes, including 16 new companies and 10 more plant expansions.
Queretaro witnessed 17 investments, of which seven were new companies, four expansions, and two re-locations.
Meanwhile Guadalajara brought together 56 real estate closings carried out by 46 different companies. Of these, 14 belonged to new companies, 30 were expansions, and 9 were re-locations.
It should be noted that, in 2011, the real estate market witnessed one of the most significant mergers at a national and international level: the number one and number two developers, AMB and ProLogis, joined forces to provide a portfolio of industrial properties that totaled 3 million square meters.
These properties are distributed in six markets: a million square meters in Mexico City, 300,000 in Monterrey, 450,000 in Reynosa, 250,000 in Ciudad Juarez, 450,000 in Guadalajara, and 400,000 in Tijuana.
Nuevo León: A State in Movement
During 2011, the state of Nuevo León showed high economic activity. As of September, it had registered 1.3 billion dollars of direct foreign investment, as indicated by the State’s Undersecretary of Direct Foreign Investment, Andrés Franco Abascal.
“Most of the investments made in the state were made by companies that expanded their plants, which reflects the success that they have had in Nuevo León, despite the external perception of insecurity and hurricane Alex. Nuevo León continues to be attractive to investors,” said Abascal.
Nowadays, around 2,600 foreign companies have recognized the state’s excellent strategic location, skilled workforce, and excellent logistics and have established themselves there.
"If the goal of an entrepreneur is to access the North American markets, Nuevo León is the best option because it is known for its logistic platform since it is close to the border. When that benefit is added to the human factor, the result is very attractive," stressed Abascal.
Among the companies that were first installed in the state, Blue Diamond Truck stands out for its interest in Escobedo Park Industrial Center, where it has an 117,997 square-foot warehouse. Likewise, Ernest Industries settled in a 25,000-square-foot area of La Silla Apodaca Industrial Park.
Uline is another new business in the area and is situated in 143,469 square feet of the ProLogis Park Apodaca, whereas Yezaki claimed a 55,000-square-foot plant at the Vynmsa Miguel German Industrial Park in Apodaca.
Similarly, Sisamex, of auto industry fame, made the news in 2011 for expanding its operations twice: first by 164,150 square feet in Apodaca and secondly by 128,950 square feet in Escobedo.
K + N, in turn, announced its expansion and relocation after its great success in the region. The company moved from a 69,000-squre-foot area in the Stiva Apodaca park to one of 109,000 square feet in the ProLogis Agua Fría Industrial Park.
Criotec is another illustrative company that changed locations in 2011, by situating itself in a 261,238-square-foot area at the Diamante Industrial Park in the Santa Catarina municipality.
For René Guajardo and Abigail Rodriguez, market analysts for Citius Capital, 2011 was a positive year for the country, since investments were divided among different and highly representative markets. And 2012 will be a fruitful year as far as real estate closes are concerned, since companies are already known to be interested in settling in the state.
Andrés Franco Abascal said that the Secretary has been in talks with Japanese, French, German, Finnish and Danish investors who have already envisioned the state’s competitive advantages.
"In the state, 40 Japanese businesses are already located in the auto parts sector, and we want them to keep coming and incorporating their research, development, and manufacturing centers here, along with companies from other countries," said Abascal.
SEDEC (Nuevo León’s Department of Economic Development) currently has a portfolio of more than 50 investment projects from companies in different sectors and are working to have these projects based in Nuevo León.
Guanajuato, the Automotive Epicenter
With Honda and Mazda’s closes in Guanajuato, the Centro-Bajío region has become extremely attractive for investments.
For several years, the major Japanese assembly plants Mazda and Honda have intended to settle in the center of Mexico.
These companies have generated a housing bubble by requesting large land tracts in which they will install their plants and production.
Constantino Suárez A, Director of the FIPASI Park in Guanajuato, believes that the arrival of the two companies will bring benefits that will be reflected in the economic spillover, be they from the creation of jobs in construction or the staff who will operate the plants.
"The arrival should cause improvements in both wages and the area’s general infrastructure, making new access to highways that will be indispensable, and it should also expedite the construction of alternative roads in León Salamanca. If they do not do so, the local government will pay a high price for what they are now advertising as one of the administration’s major achievements,” said the manager.
During 2011, other companies in Guanajuato were noted to have signed lease contracts or purchased land for starting first-time operations in the region. Three such companies are American Axle Manufacturing, which was installed in a 106,752-square-foot plant in Colinas Industrial Park; Hiroshima Aluminium México, which invested $25 million to locate its plant in an 858,572-square-foot space in the Guanajuato Inland Port; and Krautex Textron, which settled into a 428,414-square-foot space into which it invested approximately $14 million.
Meanwhile, Delphi, Andrea Shoe Factory and Relats León stood out for their growth and investments in expansion.
The Attractions of San Luis Potosí
For Maricela Valencia, Market Analyst for Citius Capital in the Bajío Region, 2011 was a year of recovery in the acquisition of real estate industry.
"We started 2011 with a lot of work and many visits from companies interested in investing in San Luis Potosi, whether in land or industrial buildings, which shows that there is more and more confidence in this area," said Valencia, who stressed that last year saw the construction of built-to-suit and speculative buildings.
Companies such as L'Oreal, Magna, ALASA, Clark, Dymos, General Products, Gohner, Grupo Alen del Norte, McQuay, Otscon, Prodam, Replas, Revston, and Teknia stand out for investing and having a first-time presence in San Luis Potosí.
The manufacturer of cosmetics and beauty products L'Oreal invested more than $50 million in 2011 for the construction of its new manufacturing plant in the Logistik Industrial Park. Magna, also located in the same park, allocated about 100 million dollars to start operations in a 323,000-square-foot plant.
In the same way, the logistics company ALASA claimed 182,986 square feet in the Interpuerto Parque Logístico, and Cummins settled in a 129,171-square-foot plant in the Milenium Industrial Park.
"Next year I predict that the recovery will continue as it has until now, since it is rumored that more assembly plants will arrive in the region. San Luis Potosi could benefit from the new arrivals," said Valencia.
Saltillo, an Industrial Center
Although the city of Saltillo in Coahuila did not have large amounts of real estate closes as did Nuevo León, San Luis Potosi, and Guanajuato, it, too, was notable in 2011 for promoting and growing a new industrial zone in the Derramadero Valley.
"Derramadero is a flat area. It has helped both the state and the city to attract large anchor companies, such as Daimler, Freightliner, and FIAT, among others," said Arnoldo Saucedo Dávila, Director of Government and Institutional Relations for Alliance Group, a developer of the Alianza Derramadero Industrial Park, which has been successful and has grown considerably in the two-and-a-half years since it started operations.
The aforementioned park stood out last year for converging there three of the eight real estate closes that occurred in the region.
One of the closes belongs to the Commercial Vehicle Group, which installed a 159,553-square-foot plant where it will produce truck seats and interiors, as well as some harness parts for Daimler. The company started operations in September, almost on par with the Tube Specialties Company, who in the last quarter of 2011 installed itself in an 86,112-square-foot space in the park where it will produce exhaust systems.
Axle Alliance Company, a subsidiary of Daimler, also made its headquarters in the Derramadero park, where it will produce exhaust systems for the automotive industry, specifically for Daimler, from a 96,875-square-foot park.
"Speaking of park development, Grupo Alianza is spearheading the new Saltillo industrial zone south of the city, since it has all the necessary infrastructure: available electricity, a reducing substation, water treatment plant, gas network, and a water supply for the industry’s needs,” highlighted Arnoldo Saucedo.
Querétaro
During 2011, Querétaro concentrated as before on investing in the aerospace, appliance, automotive, and metalworking sectors.
In the fourth quarter, it was announced that Eurocopter will invest $100 million to build a new manufacturing facility in Querétaro, which will be located in the Aerotech Industrial Park and where they will produce and assemble aerospace industry components, such as airplane doors and helicopter sub-assemblies.
In addition to all of the above, in Queretaro the investments made by 7 new companies coming to the state for the first time also stand out.
These companies include AB Steel, Brovedan, Erreka, and Harman Becker. The first two are located in the Queretaro Industrial Park in a 419,792-square-foot and 333,681-square-foot plant, respectively.
For its part, the Parque Tecnológico Innovación Querétaro will host two of the seven new companies in the region. Alestra has closed a contract for a 146,225-square-foot plant and Productos de Plástico Carcal for a 150,595-square-foot one.
