Automotive steel, software development, rubber tires, nanotechnology and residential and commercial construction are among the latest major products being developed in Mexico’s northeast.

      From Coahuila to Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, Mexico’s northeast states continue to receive interest from foreign investors.

      In Coahuila, Hexaware Technologies, a leading global provider of IT and BPO services based in India, recently inaugurated its second development center in Saltillo. In Tamaulipas, a Korean steel firm broke ground on a plant that will eventually produce 400,000 tons a year of galvanized steel for nearby automobile assemblers. In Nuevo León, Japanese tire company Bridgestone inaugurated its first plant outside of Japan that uses one of its proprietary technologies.

      Atul Nishar, founder and chairman, Hexaware Technologies, said the success of earlier ventures in Mexico gives Hexaware confidence in the Saltillo center.

      “With beneficial factors like proximity as well as the same time zone to North America, we believe that the Saltillo Center will give us the ability to serve the U.S. and Canada market with greater efficiency,” he said. “We are likely to hire about 1,000 employees from Mexico in the next three years.

      Hexaware launched its operations in Saltillo with the acquisition of FocusFrame in 2006. FocusFrame, a specialized testing services firm, has more than 100 employees, located at the development center in Saltillo. Besides the centers in Mexico, Hexaware also has global delivery centers in Mumbai, Chennai, Pune and Delhi in India and Bad Homburg in Germany.

      “Hexaware’s earlier experience with an established center in Mexico has given us the confidence to expand our operations in Saltillo,” said Nishar.

      The Saltillo center will provide software development, application and maintenance work. The facility also complies with crucial quality and security best practices including biometrics authentication for facility access. The facility is provided with state-of-the-art infrastructure to support large and key projects at Hexaware.

      Hexaware also recruited fresh Mexican talent from campuses to cater to the growing software services demand in Latin America. The first batch of employees was trained on various software skills for three months at HexaVarsity, Hexaware’s in-house university in India. The local talent also provides an advantage of Spanish language.

      Meanwhile, Korean steel company POSCO is trying to take advantage of Northeast Mexico’s continued strength in the automotive industry.

      POSCO has started construction of a melting galvanized steel sheet plant (CGL: Continued Galvanizing Line) in Altamira Harbor in Tamaulipas. The plant will annually produce 400 thousand tons of high-end material for automobiles.

      More than 200 people attended the recent ground-breaking, including POSCO President Seok-Man Yoon and Tamps. Gov. Eugenio Hernández Flores. Yoon said in his commemoration speech that Mexico has emerged as a center of the automobile industry in North and Central America since component suppliers as well as world-class automobile manufacturers cluster in this region. He also added that POSCO would concrete its global status as an auto steel sheet maker, contributing to Mexico’s development of automobile industry as well as its whole economy by successfully operating the CGL plant in Mexico.

      Hernández welcomed the entrance of POSCO, a leading global corporation, into the Tamaulipas market, representing the bright future for Mexico. He also added that he would not spare any effort in supporting POSCO to complete this project in its early stage.

  Construction is expected to be completed in June 2009. Upon completion, annual production will reach 400,000 tons of high-end steel products for automobile traveling sales including galvanized steel sheet and galvanized alloyed steel sheet, and sell those products across the Americas including Mexico. Materials needed in the manufacturing stage will be supplied by POSCO.

      Mexico has emerged as a Mecca of the automobile industry in North and Central America since its labor costs are relatively low, and the world’s major automobile manufacturers including GM, DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan annually produce two million cars as well as more than 1,000 global leading component companies, such as Autotech and Bentler, cluster in this region.

      The construction completion of the CGL plant is expected to serve as a new opportunity for POSCO to enhance its status as a global auto steel sheet maker, establishing a system of comprehensive supplement service covering manufacturing, processing and sales in the center of the newly emerged automobile market in North and Central America, based on the processing center of auto steel sheet (POS-MPC) with annual production of 170 thousand tons, which started its operation in Puebla last March.

      In Monterrey, N.L., top officials from Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Americas Holding, Inc., Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC and Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey, S.A. de C.V., along with a number of representatives from Monterrey and the Republic of Mexico, recently celebrated the grand opening of the new BSMR tire manufacturing facility in Monterrey.

      The plant is the first of its kind outside of Japan to operate with breakthrough BIRD technology, a new tire production system from BSJ.

      “We at Bridgestone Americas are very proud of this new venture,” said Mark A. Emkes, BSAH and BFNT Chairman and CEO. “Opening this plant in Monterrey, an ideal location to serve our customers, is an important component of the Bridgestone group’s global sourcing strategy to meet the needs of our customers now and in the future.”

      N.L. Gov. José Natividad González Parás said he is pleased with the Bridgestone family’s expansion into Monterrey. “The Monterrey community is delighted to host this new member of the Bridgestone global group in this capacity,” Parás said. “This partnership is a testament to our region’s high quality workforce, which is helping Nuevo León become a thriving investment destination. With the creation of more than 200 jobs and the possibility that other companies may want to be near this new facility, the benefits of the new plant will be ongoing.”

      With a production capacity of about 8,000 tires a day, the Monterrey plant has generated more than $200 million in investment to date. It is the first plant outside of Japan to use the new BIRD tire production system, which stands for “Bridgestone Innovative and Rational Development.”

      BIRD is the world’s first production system for tires that completely automates all stages of tire manufacturing, from the initial processing of materials to final inspection of the finished product. Additionally, the BIRD system allows great flexibility and responsiveness to customer needs because of its capacity to make several different types and sizes of tires simultaneously.

      The 47th tire plant of the global Bridgestone Group, the Monterrey facility is the third to be built in Mexico; the other two are located in Mexico City and Cuernavaca. The BSMR plant will primarily serve the North American tire market, producing high performance, ultra high performance, and large rim diameter passenger and light truck tires. With the opening of the Monterrey plant, the Bridgestone Group maintains its commitment to building a global sourcing network that can respond quickly and flexibly to the continuing growth in world demand for automotive tires. The group is currently constructing three additional plants, one each in Hungary, Poland and Japan.

      “This marks a special day for the Bridgestone family of companies,” said BSMR President Yuichi Nakada. “Our efforts in Monterrey represent our growing production capacity and further demonstrate our commitment to fulfilling the needs of our customers worldwide. We look forward to being a part of the Monterrey community for years to come.”

      Formed in 2005, Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey, S.A. de C.V. is a sister company to Bridgestone Firestone de México, S.A. de C.V. and Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire, LLC.

      Also in Monterrey, international real estate firm Hines announced the closing on 120 acres of raw land in Monterrey, to be developed as the city’s first master-planned community of its size.

      The project is located on a hillside just above Cumbres, Monterrey’s fastest-growing submarket. It will consist of detached single- family houses, multi-family vertical residential, as well as a small retail component. For the project, Hines has associated with Insar Inmobiliaria, headed by Federico Sada Rivero. The firms are currently in the process of defining a select group of developers to participate in the landmark development.

      The urban infill site is one of the last remaining raw land sites located in central Monterrey. It enjoys easy access to downtown Monterrey and is just minutes from the upscale suburb of San Pedro Garza García.

  “We are leveraging our success with the Retama project, which continues to receive a positive reaction from the market,” said Hines Project Manager Palmer Letzerich. “This is the first large-scale project of its kind in Monterrey, and with this location and a world-class master plan, we will be creating a community unlike anything in the area. For this, we are looking for select development partners that understand the value of quality.”

      With permitting already in place for the residential and retail areas, the project is set to begin construction within just a few months of what will be the city’s first truly architecturally controlled environment.

      In Monterrey, Hines is currently developing Punto Central, a mixed-use center in San Pedro Garza García, as well as Retama, a condominium complex comprised of four 17-story towers. These projects, along with this new land development, are being funded by HCM Holdings LP, which is a venture between Hines and its investment partner, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS).

      Hines is a privately-owned real estate firm involved in real estate investment, development and property management worldwide. The Hines portfolio of projects underway, completed, acquired and managed for third parties includes more than 1,000 properties representing approximately 416 million square feet of office, residential, mixed-use, industrial, hotel, medical, retail and sports facilities, as well as large, master-planned communities and land developments. With offices in 68 U.S. cities and 15 foreign countries, and controlled assets valued at approximately $19.9 billion, Hines is one of the largest real estate organizations in the world.

Nanotechnology

      Industrial Nanotech, Inc., an emerging global leader in nanotechnology, has awarded exclusive distributorship rights for the country of Mexico to Distribuidora Nano de América, based in Monterrey.

      Distribuidora Nano de América is a Mexican corporation that sells industrial products throughout Mexico and Central America. They are an established supplier to PEMEX, the government owned oil and gas company, they supply products to numerous other government projects, and they supply other industries in the region through retail supply outlets and construction contractors.

      “We are pleased to have our products represented in Mexico by Distribuidora Nano de América,” says Francesca Crolley, vice president of operations and marketing. “They began introducing Nansulate in Mexico as an Independent Sales Agent in May and have now decided to purchase the Exclusive Distributorship for the region. Their current government contacts and experience in the Mexican and Central American markets place them in a position to rapidly increase the sales of our Nansulate product line to the residential and commercial building markets and the many manufacturing industries present in Mexico and Central America.”

      Industrial Nanotech Inc. is rapidly emerging as a global nanoscience solutions and research leader. The company develops and commercializes new and innovative applications for nanotechnology. Industrial Nanotech, Inc. is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council.

      Nansulate is the company’s patented product line of specialty coatings containing a nanotechnology based material and which are well-documented to provide the combined performance qualities of thermal insulation, corrosion prevention, resistance to mold growth and lead encapsulation in an environmentally safe coating formulation. The Nansulate product line includes both industrial and residential coatings.

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