| The Other Mexico: A Wave of Investment |
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Business Week - April 9, 2009 - The Other Mexico: A Wave of Investment
Who says it's a "failed state"? Ignoring the drug wars, multinationals are pumping in billions to set up factories By Pete Engardio and Geri Smith K. Alan Russell has spent 23 years clearing bureaucratic and logistical hurdles for U.S. companies running low-cost plants in Ciudad Juárez. Never has he had to do as much hand-holding as now. Each time the Mexican city makes headlines—for kidnappings, murders, or police battles with drug cartels—Russell does damage control. He calls the headquarters of the 28 tenants at his company's industrial parks to tell executives their staff and property are safe. "They need to hear from Ground Zero that there [were] no disruptions and the violence is not affecting their people," he says. He has his work cut out. Since early 2008 the corpses of 2,050 victims of a turf war among narco-traffickers have been dumped around this city of 1.4 million. Twice, Russell had to remove ATMs from his facilities after thieves attempted heists—once with a forklift. Juárez Mayor José Reyes Ferriz estimates the violence cost 20 foreign projects last year that would have created 5,000 jobs. But there also is surprising truth in Russell's message. Even as American TV anchors report on "the war on our border," the city's 285 maquiladoras—factories making goods for export—are not fleeing. Each day, 9,000 managers cross the Rio Grande without incident from their homes in El Paso to the Juárez plants of Johnson Controls (JCI), Cummins (CMI), Emerson Electric (EMR), Visteon (VC), Delphi Automotive (DPHIQ.PK), and others. Travel to Monterrey, Guadalajara, Mexicali, and Querétaro, where Whirlpool (WHR), Honeywell International (HON), Daimler (DAI), and Lenovo (LNVGY) have been expanding, and you'll think that talk of Mexico as a "failed state" seems absurd. "Not only are we not going anywhere, but more and more of our key suppliers are in Mexico," says Randy E. Wilcox, president for the Americas for Otis Elevator. "It's the hub of our supply chain for North America." READ ENTIRE BUSINESS WEEK ARTICLE HERE |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 22 August 2009 ) |
