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Plexus Corp. is beefing up its North America operation with the addition of a 265,000 sq. ft. plant in Guadalajara, Mexico, as the world’s leading contract manufacturers respond to growing requests from OEMs for production facilities situated closer to end customers.
After years of expanding operations in the Far East top-tier electronics manufacturing services (EMS) providers are being asked by customers to return some production to higher-cost Western locations partly in response to changing needs and also to avoid labor and ecological problems they have encountered in China and elsewhere.
Plexus, a mid-tier EMS provider that serves low to mid-volume customers, has several facilities and design centers in North America, including at its Neenah, Wisconsin, head office and others spread throughout bases in Chicago, North Carolina and California. The company also has a manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico, in addition to facilities in Malaysia, China and Thailand. The plan to add a new facility in Guadalajara gives Mexico a much needed boost at a time many OEMs are beginning to more closely examine their presence in China and, in cases, return some production to North America. Mexico stands to benefit from this re-shoring programs being implemented by companies like Apple, General Electric and Motorola Mobility.
“We are delighted that an important company such as Plexus, has considered Guadalajara, the Silicon Valley of Mexico, as the ideal location for their expansion plans in Latin America,” said Jorge Aristóteles Sandoval Díaz, governor of the State of Jalisco, Mexico, in a statement. “We are pleased to welcome Plexus at a time that Jalisco is experiencing a great moment of economic development and productivity.”
The new facility to be built in Guadalajara will give Plexus the resources it needs to address the growing demand from Western OEMs for production near the end-customers and adds to two facilities it is working to complete by the end of the third quarter in New Oradea, Romania, and Livingston, Scotland.
“As part of our strategic planning process, we carefully evaluate the Plexus value proposition and service offerings of each of our regions to ensure we meet our customers` current and future needs. With the growing demand for low-cost manufacturing solutions in the Americas, the Guadalajara expansion will provide Plexus’ quality and operational excellence while driving lowest total landed cost,” said Todd Kelsey, executive vice president and chief operating officer, in the statement. “The city of Guadalajara provides Plexus with access to a highly skilled workforce, a network of suppliers, a supportive business environment, and an efficient logistics infrastructure.”
