German cold rolled steel products manufacturer Waelzholz has started construction of its first production plant in Mexico, located in Ramos Arizpe in the state of Coahuila, with an investment of approximately $68 million, according to media reports.
The new facility will integrate Mexico into Waelzholz's global manufacturing network and is intended to strengthen the company's ability to serve industrial customers in North America, particularly the automotive sector.
New plant to have 50,000 mt annual capacity
The plant will be constructed at the Chuy María Amistad Industrial Park on a site covering approximately 60,000 square meters. Once operational, the facility is expected to have an initial production capacity of up to 50,000 mt per year of cold rolled steel products tailored to customers' specific requirements.
According to Coahuila governor Manolo Jiménez, the investment amounts to approximately MXN 1.2 billion ($68 million).
Waelzholz targets North American automotive customers
Waelzholz selected Ramos Arizpe due to the concentration of vehicle manufacturers and industrial suppliers across northern Mexico and the southern United States, as well as the location's proximity to raw material sources.
The company is also working to develop and qualify regional suppliers of hot rolled strip, which could increase the share of North American raw materials used in its supply chain.
The new Mexican operation will complement Waelzholz's existing service center in Cleveland, US, allowing the company to shorten delivery distances to customers in North America. Some specialized steel products currently supplied to automotive industry customers in Mexico travel between 2,000 km and more than 10,000 km, depending on their technical specifications and quality requirements.
The investment will establish Waelzholz's first manufacturing presence in Mexico and add specialized cold rolled steel production capacity to Ramos Arizpe, one of the country's main automotive manufacturing centers.
