Forvia invests US$147 million in new production plant in NL

APODACA, NL – The French company Forvia inaugurated a new plant for the production of seats and interiors for the automotive sector, which will generate 1,500 direct jobs in  Apodaca, Nuevo Leon.

The company invested US$147 million to build the plant. Forvia has been present in Mexico since 1997. Globally, it has 290 manufacturing plants in more than 40 countries.

The governor of Nuevo Leon, Samuel Alejandro Garcia Sepulveda, said that with this type of foreign investment, the state is ready to compete in the economic field with other countries. He indicated that the proximity, integration and security of the entity, has caused that 50 percent of the nearshoring that arrives to Mexico, is established in that region.

“Nuevo Leon can no longer compete with other entities, because we are also the first place in practically all of Latin America. This metropolitan area of Monterrey, is having an economic boom that we can no longer talk to other states in Mexico, but talk to other countries,” he said.

García Sepúlveda also highlighted that Nuevo Leon has become an automotive hub and explained that the arrival of nearshoring is due to the speed of transportation of products assembled in the state.

“Any product assembled in Nuevo Leon can be delivered to any city in the United States in 24 hours; obviously in the south of the United States in two, four or six hours, but if you want to go to Seattle, New York or New England, your product is ready in one day,” he said.

The minister of Economy of Nuevo Leon, Iván Rivas Rodríguez, mentioned that the state is a benchmark for the automotive sector, since October 2021 to date, 125 investment projects have been confirmed and 26 percent of them correspond to this sector.

“This new plant positions us to offer exceptional value to our customers and enhances our mission to pioneer technology for mobility experiences that matter to people,” said Nik Endrud, executive vice president, Americas, FORVIA Group.