An improving U.S. economy means employment is growing again in Durango and that has state officials happy.

      “When you grow, we grow,” says Jorge Andrade Cansino, Durango secretary of economic development to a U.S. reporter. “We’re very linked to what happens in the United States.”

      With more than $1 billion in new projects underway or being planned, Durango’s economic prospects are looking up. The first two months of 2004 saw Durango add jobs both overall and in the maquila sector for the first time in two years.

      International firms such as the Korean-Dutch electronics strategic merger LG-Philips, Japanese automotive supplier Yazaki, Japanese automotive supplier Sumitomo, Canadian automotive supplier Linamar, U.S. air conditioning manufacturer York and many more share Durango’s business success. In 2003 Coca-Cola invested $25 million in an expansion in the city of Durango and is currently spending $65 million for expansions in the state’s Laguna region.

      The national electricity commission (CFE) is spending $550 million on a power plant in Gómez Palacio and has announced plans for another $550 million project near the city of Durango.

      Among the state’s main export products are four-cylinder internal combustion engines; pants, shirts and garments; wood molds; picture frames; furniture; iron and bronze valves; harnesses; air-conditioning and heating automotive equipment; cattle; boneless chicken; gold, silver, marble and onyx; air-conditioning equipment for shopping malls and skyscrapers; and TV and PC screens and monitors, among others, to such diverse destinations as the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Turkey, Dubai, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Cuba.

      Durango, with 6.3 percent of the nation’s territory, has a vast and diverse supply of natural resources. From the 12.3 million hectares that make up its surface, 4 million are cone forests, which allow it to be the largest producer of pine wood in the country. It also has 6 million hectares of pasture, which consistently make it the third largest exporter of cattle to the United States and the top milk producer in Mexico, besides the huge mineral deposits that as well make it the second largest producer of gold and silver in Mexico.

      Because of their importance, two regions stand out in the state of Durango: the central one, where the city of Durango is located, and the Laguna region, which includes the cities of Gómez Palacio and Lerdo. The central region, where the capital city of Durango is located, as well as the municipalities of Santiago Papasquiaro, Guadalupe Victoria and Pueblo Nuevo, among others, has unlimited potential for investment. The Laguna region is also considered a top industrial center. This metropolitan area is nowadays the ideal site for the establishment of high-tech companies.

 Central region

      The central region of the state is made up of 32 municipalities, among which some stand out, such as: Durango, with 490,524 inhabitants; Pueblo Nuevo, with 45,271 inhabitants; Santiago Papasquiaro, with 43,571 inhabitants; Guadalupe Victoria, with 32,011 inhabitants; Canatlan, with 31,291 inhabitants; Mezquital, with 27,512 inhabitants; Tamazula, with 27,144 inhabitants; and Nombre de Dios, with 25,985 inhabitants. This region is currently the one with greatest potential for new investments because of the wide availability of favorable factors for industry.

      In this region the city of Durango stands out. It is located in the Valley of Guadiana, and has a great tradition, since it was founded 438 years ago. Colonial and modern styles make up its architecture.

      This city is an ideal place in which to live because of its annual average temperature of 64.4ºF; inflation below the national average; housing units adequate for every socio-economic level; land, air and railroad communications; country and sporting clubs, green areas and parks, first level hotels, hospitals and bilingual schools.

      The city of Durango has a solid education infrastructure with 14 superior education institutions of the highest quality, including the Universidad Juárez and the Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, besides 7 technical public high-schools, with more than 28 specialties, selected according to the industry’s requirements. 

      “There is sufficient labor for new companies,” says Noboru Yamawaki, plant manager at Autopartes y Arneses de México, S.A. de C.V. ( AAMSA), a member of the Yazaki Group. “Currently, one of the problems of this state is the unemployment. The local workers are very skillful and cooperative, but need some motivation to stay in their job. Their work ethic is good and they can be trained according to their education. There are schools for all education levels and students have good attitudes.”

      The central region offers a wide labor market with capacity to fully absorb the installation of companies in the following years. Currently, the labor market is made up of approximately 200,000 and increases annually by 4,000 people. Fifty-four percent of the population is younger than 25 years old, and the average city’s age is 22 years old.

      The city of Durango is strategically located within the second most important economic zone in the country, without necessarily sharing its problems. The distance from the state’s capital to the border of the United States is 522 miles to McAllen, 525 miles to Laredo and 677 miles to El Paso, all in Texas, through 4-lane toll highways. It is 199 miles to Mazatlán and 490 miles to Topolobampo, both seaports on the Pacific Ocean.

The Laguna

      The Laguna region consists of seven municipalities in the state of Durango and five in Coahuila. The largest ones in Durango are Gómez Palacio, with 273,315 inhabitants, Lerdo, with 112,435 inhabitants and Cuencame, with 32,085 inhabitants. This region has characterized in the last years for its export-oriented industrial development dynamism

      The largest metropolitan area of the Laguna region is made up by the cities of Gómez Palacio and Lerdo, both of them in the state of Durango, and Torreón, in the neighboring state of Coahuila. This metropolitan area is known for its industrial, commercial and services development, taking advantage of its excellent location within the country’s second most important economic zone and NAFTA.

      The Laguna’s metropolitan area jointly has approximately 900,000 inhabitants and an influence area of more than 1.2 million people.

      The Laguna region, particularly Gómez Palacio, is considered a first order industrial center. In it, important industrial clusters develop: the automotive, apparel, food industry, the metal-mechanics, and most recently, the electronics one. In this region there is a sustained, competitive, export-oriented dynamic trend, with almost 300 companies focused on export goods.

      The Laguna metropolitan area has several golf courses, tennis clubs, museums, theatres and international cuisines restaurants, as well as bilingual schools, convention centers, hotels and hospitals. It even has professional football and baseball teams. Average annual temperature in the Laguna region is 77ºF; Lerdo’s own temperature ranges just 36º F below that average, being known as the Ciudad Jardin or City of Gardens, a nice place to live in.

      In the metropolitan area of the Laguna region there are 11 universities and six superior level technological institutions, in which 38 professional careers are taught. Among the institutions, that stand out: the Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Universidad Iberoamericana and the Universidad LaSalle.

      In the Laguna region there are a variety of industrial parks which provide the investor with a solid infrastructure for development. The industrial park in Gómez Palacio is the largest employer of its kind in the country.

State major sectors

      The textile and apparel industry in Durango employs about 24,000 people. This sector was hit hard in 2000 when the United States extended favorable tariffs to Caribbean Basin nations, and again after the Sept. 11 attack in the United States. Employment fell from a peak of 44,500 to 19,000. Andrade says he expects employment in this sector to reach 30,000 by the end of 2004.

      The state of Durango is the second largest producer of jeans and designer pants for worldwide known brands such as: Levi’s Strauss, Guess, Tommy Hillfiger, Docker’s and Nautica, among others.

      The forest and wood products sector has nearly 620 establishments employing 18,000 people. The wood, cellulose and paper industries boost other industrial, commercial and services activities. This cluster includes sawmills, producers of agricultural packaging, pallets, broom sticks, class woods, molds, panels, plywood and laminated beams for the construction and furniture industries; to furniture producers, cellulose, kraft paper, cardboard for cement and packaging for electronic products, among others.

      The autoparts sector is the fastest growing sector in the state. In recent years Durango has received important companies such as Yazaki, Sumitomo and International Wire. The state has suppliers established for the automotive sector through several companies that offer products such as four-cylinder internal combustion engines for Renault vehicles, air-conditioning and heating units, automotive radiators, evaporators, harnesses, harness cable and wires and automotive seals.

      The metalic products, machinery and equipment sector’s importance is highlighted because of its high added value and exports rate. The cluster is made up of almost 500 establishments within the fabrication and assembly of engines, parts and equipment for the automotive and auto-parts sectors, York Air Conditioning makes equipment for shopping malls and skyscrapers, industrial tanks and boilers, metallic structures and foundry pieces, deep well valves, steel tubes and stainless steel products, among others.

      This sector alone represents 12 percent of the state’s employment, as well as 22 percent of the establishments within the manufacturing industry and 6 percent of exports.

      Mining holds a privileged place in the state’s history and economic activities. Its development dates to 1552. Currently, Durango ranks second nationally in gold and silver production, as well as ranking among the main producers of lead, zinc and copper. Durango is also an important producer of industrial minerals such as bentonite, celestite and marble, besides possessing huge deposits of kaolin, fluorite, perlite, silica sands and gypsum.

      The food industry cluster is made up by more than 500 establishments. This sector mainly consists of the fabrication of eatable oil and greases, balanced foods, and meat and milk products. It occupies around 9,000 people and focuses primarily on the domestic market, specially as to balanced foods and meat and milk products refers.

      The electronics sector is currently the one with the highest potential in the state, mainly because of the installation of the LG-Philips Display Components center, considered among the most important of its kind in the whole continent. At this center, cathode ray tubes for screens and monitors are produced in a first stage. In a second stage, high-tech television sets are manufactured.

      The dynamics generated by the new industrial companies, has boosted the installation of large commercial projects, such as: Wal-Mart, Sanborns, Vip’s, Sam’s Club, Honda and BMW auto-dealers, McDonald’s, Casa Ley, El Portón Restaurante, as well as the building of three international franchise hotels.

Success stories

      Industrias de Linamar was established in Gómez Palacio in 1984. Producer of four-cylinder internal combustion automotive engines for Renault vehicles, Linamar has an installed annual production capacity of 378,000 engines. It exports to France, Argentina and Brazil.

      AAMSA – Yazaki was established in Durango in 1999. It is one of the main automotive harness producers worldwide. It has five plants in Durango and exports to: United States and Canada, mainly for Honda and Toyota.

      York International was established in Durango in 1959. It manufactures air-conditioning equipment for shopping centers and skyscrapers. Its products cool Le Louvre Museum in Paris, the new Tokyo airport, and even NATO’s aircraft carriers, as well as the Kremlin building in Moscow. It also exports to: Saudi Arabia, Western & Eastern Europe, Asia, South America and the United States.

      L.G. Philips is a global leader in the R & D, as well as in the manufacture of electronic products. It produces giant monitors for T.V. and P.C. screens.

      Corporación Durango is the main producer of brown paper and corrugated cardboard in Latin America. It is one of the largest paper factories for editorial industries in Mexico and Latin America, and one of the largest producers of bond paper in México.