Worthington Industries, Inc., based in Columbus, Ohio, reported in a statement that it will invest in its only 100 percent owned plant in Mexico for its operational expansion. The investment and timelines were not detailed.
“Tempel’s Focused Factory, which produces highly engineered traction motor laminate cores for electric vehicles. With expanded production expected to come online in 2024, Apodaca will be Tempel’s largest production site for motor and transformer laminations for the electric vehicle market,” the company reported last week.
Worthington is present in Mexico through seven steel processing plants. Three plants (León, Guanajuato; Monterrey, Nuevo León; Santiago, Querétaro) are in a 50-50 joint venture with Serviacero Planos.
Another three plants are in joint venture with TWB Company (General Escobedo, Nuevo León; Cuautlancingo, Puebla; Silao, Guanajuato), where TWB is the majority investor with 55 percent of the joint venture.
The only 100 percent Worthington-owned plant in Mexico is Tempel. Two years ago, in 2021, Worthington paid $255 million for Tempel Steel Company, a leading global manufacturer of precision motor and transformer laminations for the electrical steel market that includes transformers, machine motors and electric vehicle (EV) motors with five manufacturing facilities located in Chicago, Canada, China, India and Mexico.
The expansion announced in the northern city of Apodaca, Nuevo León will be more than 17,000 square meters. The plant currently generates more than 500 jobs and with the expansion, Worthington said, it will hire another 400 people over the next five years.