Introduction
The world of manufacturing is constantly evolving, and one of the countries that has emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse is Mexico. It has been increasingly attracting investment from companies worldwide across different fields and industries thanks to its strategic location, an abundance of skilled and affordable labor, overall lower costs, and favorable laws and trade agreements.
Mexico is the largest country in Central America, and 13th largest country in the world by area, and 10th in the world by population size. It has distinct regions with cultural and geographical differences, but in this article, we will focus on three specific areas of this vast country, and we will do so from a manufacturing perspective.
We think that these three are the best examples of Mexico’s manufacturing centers and each of these offers unique opportunities and advantages for investors who wish to establish operations in the country.
Let’s take a look at manufacturing centers in Tijuana, Juarez, and Mazatlan, and what makes them popular and unique.
Tijuana
The furthest west of the three is Tijuana, which is located along the border with the United States in the state of Baja California. This proximity to the American border is one of the factors that makes Tijuana one of the largest manufacturing centers in the country as it can serve as a strategic gateway for all companies looking for quick and efficient access to the North American market.
The manufacturing sector within the city is diverse with some of the key industries and fields of production including medical devices, electronics, automotive, and aerospace.
The city’s infrastructure is robust and can accommodate the increasing number of businesses that are moving to the area, with its industrial parks and a well-developed transport network.
When you combine that with a skilled and abundant workforce at a competitive labor price, it becomes crystal clear why this center of the Cali-Baja megaregion continues to grow despite competition from manufacturing centers both within the country and abroad, and why it’s still the prime example of Mexico’s manufacturing centers.
Juarez
Juarez is another border town, situated on the border of the state of Chihuahua and the United States, just south of the town of El Paso, Texas. It is a prominent manufacturing center that is particularly well-known for its maquiladora industry. Maquiladoras are factories along the US-Mexico border that operate duty and tariff laws, making their operations largely duty and tariff-free.
The proximity of the El Paso International Airport, along with a well-developed transportation system consisting of highways and railroads, makes Juarez an excellent choice for all businesses that want to establish manufacturing operations in North America.
Much like the other examples of Mexico’s manufacturing centers in this article, and being the second largest city on the list, with a population of over one million people, Juarez also has access to a plentiful labor force that is skilled, hard-working, and relatively cheap.
Investors in a plethora of industries and fields recognize Juarez as one of the great manufacturing hubs and a center of electronics and medical device manufacturing.
Mazatlan
Mazatlan is the only one of these three examples of Mexico’s manufacturing centers that is not located on Mexico’s border with the United States, but it has a different strategic advantage based on its location. Mazatlan is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in the state of Sinaloa., and it’s the smallest of these three with a population of around half a million people.
It was traditionally a fishing and tourism hub, but it has recently been increasingly attracting investment in manufacturing, especially in the fields of textile, automotive, and electronics manufacturing.
Mazatlan’s greatest assets are often thought to be its seaports which, coupled with a well-developed grid of highways and railroads, make Mazatlan a real transport hub which is able to facilitate trade with domestic and international markets with ease.
Conclusion
Mexico is an amazing country famous for its people, culture, food, and of course, manufacturing. The country has a great strategic location between two continents and two oceans which gives it unique opportunities. Its manufacturing sector is one of the best-developed in the world, and boasts numerous advantages in terms of costs, abundant labor, well-developed infrastructure, and favorable laws and regulations.
Juarez, Tijuana, and Mazatlan stand out as three of the best examples of Mexico’s manufacturing centers. Each of these three is similar in terms of being a great place to invest in manufacturing, but they have their own unique advantages, based on size, strategic location, and other factors, so it is up to each investor to research each in order to choose the one that best fits their respective needs and priorities.
Anyone who would like swift and easy access to North American markets should seriously consider Mexico for the base of their manufacturing operations.
