Chinese company to launch maquiladora in Reynosa
REYNOSA — HCP Packaging, a global supplier of custom cases for some of the world’s top cosmetic companies, will launch a new maquiladora early next year, the company said recently.
HCP Packaging USA Inc. — a subsidiary of the China-based parent company — expects to open the 60,000-square-foot facility at the Villa Florida Industrial Park in early 2010, adding 130 jobs to Reynosa.
Officials from the company, which supplies cases for lipstick and eye shadow and other cosmetics for Maybelline and L’Oreal among other companies, could not be reached for comment Thursday. A woman at the company’s New Hampshire office said Steve Levine, president and chief executive officer, was in China.
Ralph Garcia, vice president for business recruitment at the McAllen Economic Development Corp., said HCP is shifting production to save on labor costs and be closer to customers. The close proximity to the U.S. will allow the company to keep inventory levels low and costs down.
“One of the primary reasons (for the move) is that some of the management staff had previous experience here in Reynosa and had liked the area,” Garcia said.
With next year’s expansion, HCP will be among a number of manufacturers that have shifted production to Reynosa in recent months. Amid a global downturn in manufacturing, the city’s maquila industry has proven attractive for companies from the United States and within Mexico because of its proximity to the U.S. market.
Kohler Co. is in the process of closing an Arkansas plant to fold the production of stainless steel sinks into its maquila. Steelcase, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based office furniture manufacturer, is expected to open a new factory in early 2010.
South Korea’s LG Electronics said in July that it was creating 1,200 jobs by shifting production of electronics from a plant across the border from California, to its Reynosa facility.
Late last year, the global economic downturn assailed Reynosa’s maquilas, contributing to a 5.3 percent rise in unemployment. Since then, analysts have said the job loss has slowed, and some expect the border town’s manufacturers to begin recovering by 2010.
Showing posts with label maquiladora. Show all posts
Showing posts with label maquiladora. Show all posts
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Two U.S. Companies Shifting Production to McAllen, TX Border Town, Reynosa, MX | NAI Rio Grande Valley
Kohler sinks U.S. plant, expands in Reynosa
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Steelcase said it was unsure how many jobs the new facility would create.
Kohler said the expansion of its factory in Reynosa will not create new jobs. The company will rehire workers that had been laid off. Kohler declined to say how many jobs have been cut this recession.
With the downturn in housing, demand for sinks manufactured at Kohler’s Searcy, Ark., facility had fallen and the company had to fuse production with the factory in Reynosa, Todd Weber, a vice president for the Kohler, Wis.-based manufacturer said.
“Both of our plants are underutilized,” he added. Kohler expects to close the Searcy facility by the end of the year.
Steelcase expects to launch production at its new factory in early 2010, said Jeanine Holquist, a company official. None of the company’s other factories will be closed and no workers will be laid off, she added.
“We were looking for a place to consolidate our chair production,” Holquist said. “It gave us a great location to serve customers across North America and it helps us to control shipping cost as well.”
Kohler and Steelcase are the latest major manufacturers this summer to announce expansion in Reynosa. LG Electronics said in July that it was folding production at a plant just across the border from California into its Reynosa maquiladora. The South Korean manufacturer said it expects to create 1,200 jobs with the shift which is expected to finish this month.
A global downturn in manufacturing has slammed Reynosa’s maquiladoras this year, contributing to a 5.3 percent decline in employment. Analysts have said the job loss is slowing and that manufacturing in Reynosa should begin recovering by 2010.
Often, new employment in Reynosa comes at the cost of domestic manufacturing jobs. At the Searcy, Ark. plant, which famously weathered a strike that lasted from December 2006 to November 2007, the majority of Kohler’s 57 employees will lose their jobs the day before Thanksgiving.
Buck Layne, president of the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that while the city was disappointed to lose the factory, the area has actually added jobs in recent months that could help mitigate the loss. The factory, which opened in 1966, once employed more than 400 people, Layne said.
The Reynosa plant, the other facility which manufactures sinks, opened in 2002 when the “housing market was thriving (and) demand for stainless steel sinks was equally robust,” the company said in a press release.
The recent economic revitalization in Searcy, a city with a population of about 20,000, has been led by natural gas companies, which have added about 2,000 jobs in the last 18 months, Layne said.
“It’s a global economy these days, but we need to make sure that we’re playing on an even field,” Layne said. “It’s just very discouraging to see jobs leaving the U.S.”
Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-443
September 16, 2009 11:23 PM
By Sean Gaffney
McALLEN — Two U.S. companies announced plans this week to shift production to factories in Reynosa, bolstering unemployment in a maquiladora industry assailed by a global downturn in manufacturing.
On Monday, Kohler Co. said it will shutter a U.S. plant and fold production of stainless steel sinks into its Reynosa facility. On Wednesday, Steelcase, an office furniture manufacturer, said it will open a new facility to build chairs in early 2010.
Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Steelcase said it was unsure how many jobs the new facility would create.
Kohler said the expansion of its factory in Reynosa will not create new jobs. The company will rehire workers that had been laid off. Kohler declined to say how many jobs have been cut this recession.
With the downturn in housing, demand for sinks manufactured at Kohler’s Searcy, Ark., facility had fallen and the company had to fuse production with the factory in Reynosa, Todd Weber, a vice president for the Kohler, Wis.-based manufacturer said.
“Both of our plants are underutilized,” he added. Kohler expects to close the Searcy facility by the end of the year.
Steelcase expects to launch production at its new factory in early 2010, said Jeanine Holquist, a company official. None of the company’s other factories will be closed and no workers will be laid off, she added.
“We were looking for a place to consolidate our chair production,” Holquist said. “It gave us a great location to serve customers across North America and it helps us to control shipping cost as well.”
Kohler and Steelcase are the latest major manufacturers this summer to announce expansion in Reynosa. LG Electronics said in July that it was folding production at a plant just across the border from California into its Reynosa maquiladora. The South Korean manufacturer said it expects to create 1,200 jobs with the shift which is expected to finish this month.
A global downturn in manufacturing has slammed Reynosa’s maquiladoras this year, contributing to a 5.3 percent decline in employment. Analysts have said the job loss is slowing and that manufacturing in Reynosa should begin recovering by 2010.
Often, new employment in Reynosa comes at the cost of domestic manufacturing jobs. At the Searcy, Ark. plant, which famously weathered a strike that lasted from December 2006 to November 2007, the majority of Kohler’s 57 employees will lose their jobs the day before Thanksgiving.
Buck Layne, president of the Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce, said that while the city was disappointed to lose the factory, the area has actually added jobs in recent months that could help mitigate the loss. The factory, which opened in 1966, once employed more than 400 people, Layne said.
The Reynosa plant, the other facility which manufactures sinks, opened in 2002 when the “housing market was thriving (and) demand for stainless steel sinks was equally robust,” the company said in a press release.
The recent economic revitalization in Searcy, a city with a population of about 20,000, has been led by natural gas companies, which have added about 2,000 jobs in the last 18 months, Layne said.
“It’s a global economy these days, but we need to make sure that we’re playing on an even field,” Layne said. “It’s just very discouraging to see jobs leaving the U.S.”
Sean Gaffney covers business, the economy and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-443
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