Francisco Estrada, regional director of Mexico City-based Corporacion Inmobiliaria Vesta, which is developing AIC in joint venture with Intramerica, a subsidiary of GE Real Estate, says the developer is negotiating with several other companies to locate in the complex. He expects eight or nine additional tenants to have signed for space by the end of next year. The 173-acre AIC, which is situated within Querétaro International Airport, is being built on land donated by the State of Querétaro. The state has also set aside funds to pay for construction of new roads and water and power lines to serve the site. At completion about 30 manufacturing tenants are projected to occupy the development's 2.4 million sf of space.

The Bombardier plant, which can be expanded to one million sf, is the second major aerospace facility to open in the city since fall. France's Messier Services Américas dedicated a 100,000-sf building in October that it uses to perform maintenance and repairs for Bombardier, De Havilland, Airbus and Boeing aircraft. In addition, Spain's Aernnova Aerospace has announced plans to build a $134 million, 215,000-sf factory in Parque Industrial Queretaro, a 1.2 million-acre complex where the Aeroquip Group of Cleveland's Eaton Corp. has had an airplane parts plant since 1999.

According to he US Department of Commerce, last year Mexico was the 10th largest supplier for the US aerospace industry. The Mexican government has made expansion of the industry a primary economic goal, with the aim of becoming one of the top five US suppliers over the next decade. But the country is marketing itself to European and Asian manufacturers as well. The nation's vice-minister for international trade recently escorted a contingent of 29 Japanese aerospace executives

Querétaro is not the only market attempting to transform itself into the nation's premier aerospace center. The states of Chihuahua and Nuevo Leon have also targeted the sector, and in February Saltillo, the capital of the State of Coahuila, made a bid to join the club by inviting 30 companies that attended Air Show Singapore 2008 to tour the city. Five accepted the invitation and will visit in coming months.

But all the above areas trail far behind Baja California, which boasts Mexico's largest cluster of aerospace companies. Of the nation's 124 aerospace firms, 42 are in Baja, including 20 in Tijuana, 15 in Mexicali, four in Tecate and three in Ensenada. Combined they provide more than 12,500 jobs. Last month, GKN Aerospace, which previously operated a 42,000-sf facility in Mexicali, moved to a 150,000-sf it purchased last year in the same city. The company expects to invest $12 million in the plant this year and $50 million in the next five years.

"Mexico's aerospace sector will grow significantly in the next few years," says Gabriel Cerdio, director of business development for Intramerica, who tells GlobeSt.com that participating with Vesta in the development of an aerospace cluster is a logical action for his company. "The dynamism it will provide both the local and national industrial market will be repaid many times over."

Instant Insights /

Querétaro Seeks to Become Hub of Mexico's Aerospace Industry

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