Television has been king in Baja California for decades but that could soon change as the region attempts to develop an automotive cluster.

        Toyota Motor Company is building an assembly plant between Tijuana and Tecate, and looking for vendors to get closer. The opportunity created by Toyota has already convinced some area plants to change their product line to establish a relationship with Toyota.

        “Tijuana is a good place to sell parts for television sets,” says Ramiro Santillán, vice president of SMK Electrónica S.A. de C.V. in Tijuana. “But with the coming of Toyota, we are now going to have a 180 degree shift in our vision.”

        Toyota has made a lot of heads shift in Baja California since it announced in early 2002 that it would make and ship truck beds for the Tacoma pickup truck here.

        Toyota will provide employment for a workforce of approximately 460 people when TMMBC reaches its announced capacity in 2005. The plant will build approximately 170,000 Tacoma truck beds to be used at TMMBC and New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) - a joint venture plant in Fremont, Calif., co-owned by Toyota and General Motors starting in 2004. In addition, it will assemble an estimated 20,000 Tacoma pickup trucks per year, beginning in 2005. TMMBC operations will include welding, paint and assembly. TMMBC is being built within Toyota’s strict North American environmental standards, which in many cases exceed state and national requirements.

        Baja California is one of Mexico’s most urban states, with four major cities that have recently undergone spectacular growth: Mexicali (the state capital), Tijuana, Tecate and Ensenada. Tijuana’s economy is based on maquiladoras, tourism and trade with the United States.

        Tourism and retirement homes are Ensenada’s main activity. Tijuana, in contrast, has specialized in short-term recreational tourism. Irrigation agriculture, fishing, aqua-culture and, particularly, wine and beer production, are now promising ingredients in Baja California’s ever diversifying economic activity. To promote development, about 50 industrial parks have been opened in Baja California’s major cities, and numerous organizations support the state’s industrial development.

        Because of its proximity to the United States border, the growth of Mexicali has been greatly impacted by the maquiladora industry, trade and the increase in the export of its agricultural products, as well as its commercial development, and the strength of its agricultural production.

        An abundance of water provided by the Colorado River and the city’s aquifer system makes the Valley of Mexicali a prominent supplier of agricultural products, including exotic vegetables, cotton and wheat.

        Tecate, long known for its namesake beer brewed here, is emerging as well as a maquila destination. Tourism also plays a major role in Tecate’s development.

        Baja California has six border crossing points by ground with California and a seaport in the Port of Ensenada. The custom buildings for traffic by ground are located in Tijuana, Tecate and Mexicali, and border with the U.S. towns of San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate in San Diego County, and with Calexico and Los Algodones in the Imperial County. All those border cross points have custom buildings and services.

        The buildings are some of the most modern and largest in Mexico and are designed to meet service demands for the next 15 years. Within Baja California there is a large amount of registered custom agencies that offer services for companies that do international commerce.

Infrastructure

        Baja California has a roadway network of 6,955.6 miles; the four lane roadways cover 232.5 miles, the two lane roadways equal 1,501.25 miles, the covering roads equal 2,557.5 miles. Four lane roadways connect the four main cities in the state. Transportation by roadway is the main medium for transporting people and products throughout the state.

        Electric energy is provided by various generating sources and is ample. In fact, surplus electricity is sold to neighboring Sonora, Mexico and the United States.

        The electric industry has enough production capacity to meet demand for the next seven years.

        Baja California has more than 80 industrial parks for investors to choose from; the most of any state in Mexico. Parks are distributed in the following manner:

        •Tijuana ............. 51

        •Mexicali ........... 24

        •Ensenada ........... 6

        •Tecate ................ 3

        •Rosarito ............. 2

        Combined, these parks cover more than 2,600 hectares of surface destined for industrial purposes. All these parks and centers have the urbanization services and industrial infrastructure up to the level and demands of their users.

        Telephone services in the state meet demand. Important investments have been made to increase installed capacity and to introduce modern technological advances. The entire telephone network is fiber optic, which allows digital technology in communication.

        Local connections exist with other forms of telecommunication networks such as cellular telephone service. The communication services offered are the Frame Relay, an efficient connection of LAN’s and WAN’s, and other computer and transmission of digital data systems. Also the transmission of voice, data and video signals is possible.

        Four international airports in Tijuana, Mexicali, San Felipe and Ensenada can transport passengers. International airports in San Diego and Los Angeles are less than two hours from the border, making it possible to fly to any place in the world.

        In Baja California there are more than 40 transportation companies that can cover the national and international carrying services. As a result of the North America Free Trade Agreement, it is expected that the number of transporters will increase with companies from the United States that have been authorized to offer their international carrying services in the border states of Mexico.

        The national railway system enters by Mexicali and continues to California. Port installations in Ensenada provide a complete service of load transportation. Also, the Long Beach Port, the biggest in South California, offers its services.

30 years experience

        After more than three decades as an offshore location and headquarter to high technology and other industries, Baja California offers mature work forces, sharp and skilled hands. It offers professional and technical human resources that world class companies require.

        Baja California is home of CICESE, the most advanced research and development center in Latin America. Throughout the years, its education institutions, which include 28 universities, 17 research and development centers and 87 technical schools, have worked with the public and private sectors to meet the high-tech industry’s demands. School-industry linkage programs such as electronics, metal mechanics and plastics are examples of this collaboration for industrial development.

     In Baja California you will not only find the qualified work force to manufacture your products, you will also find trained professionals who can help you create and develop new processes and products. It is not uncommon that the Baja California plants of multinational companies achieve the highest productivity levels, the greatest degree of innovation and highest profit margins within their organizations.

        Baja California provides a solid base for high-tech production. Consider:

        •Baja California ranks first in number of industrial parks in all Mexico.

        •Baja California has an electricity generating capacity of 2,285 Mw.

        •Baja California has four geothermal plants which produce 720 MW, plus a 627MW thermoelectric plant and a 559 MW combined cycle; as well as 4 small plants that produce 379 MW.

        •Natural gas is available in Mexicali and a 500 million cubic foot gas pipeline is under construction to supply Tijuana.

        More than three decades of factory-work experience have shaped Baja California’s infrastructure and made its services so sophisticated that now the entire economy supports industrial growth. Baja California offers a wide variety of public and private organizations whose sole purpose is to streamline the establishment of new industries and optimize operations. Human and technical support is available from municipal, state and federal government offices, as well as from private businesses.

        There are also many firms, including custom brokers, accountants, attorneys, contractors, multimodal carriers, industrial parks and more that cater to your industry needs.