ThyssenKrupp Materials de
Mexico S.A. de C.V., for its Lagermex brand, a unit of ThyssenKrupp Materials NA, Inc. (TKMNA) is expanding its current blanking operations in Silao, Guanajuato,
Mexico with a $20 million USD investment that will add nearly 55,000 square feet (5,100 square meters) and a new, state-of-the-art aluminum and carbon steel blanking line. TKMNA expects to complete the expansion project and begin production in the fourth quarter of 2015.
“This expansion is important to our business as it positions us as the first
Mexico-based facility to offer both aluminum and advanced high-strength steel configured blanking capabilities for our customers,” said Christian Dohr, President and CEO, TKMNA. “Once complete, it will also benefit the Silao community, adding 35 full-time positions to the facility.”
The expansion centers around a new Schuler blanking line with the ability to process both aluminum and carbon steel, addressing the automotive industry’s needs in using aluminum in place of other materials for specific automotive applications. Additionally, the line will process carbon steel for exposed and unexposed automotive applications, including high-strength steel up to 1,500 MPa of TS. The new blanking line and expanded facility will increase the processing capacity of the Silao plant by nearly 70 percent, to 270,000 metric tons per year.
The expansion recently broke ground on a newly-acquired 3.7 acre piece of land adjacent to the existing facility.
The Silao facility currently offers steel blanking and warehousing services for aluminum and steel products in the automotive and aerospace industries. TKMNA also has warehousing and material processing locations in Saltillo and Puebla,
Mexico, totaling more than 380 employees at their three
Mexico locations, combined.