Prompted by a new trade agreement and increasing demand for its product, Kyungshin Cable recently completed a $20 million expansion at its factory in Durango City, Mexico.
The South Korea-based company, which produces wire harnesses for the automotive industry, expanded the production capabilities of its Durango City plant and doubled the workforce to around 400 employees.
Kyungshin is transferring production from South Korea to Mexico to comply with the new country-of-origin provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to company officials.
The company will import less copper from Asia, producing more in Mexico, in order to meet the requirements of the USMCA, according to a release.
Kyungshin Cable makes wire harnesses used in the automotive industry for companies in Mexico, the United States and Canada, according to its website.
Kyungshin opened the Durango City factory in 2009. The company’s main client in Mexico is Kia Motors Corp., which has a large manufacturing plant near Monterrey, Mexico, about 140 miles from Laredo, Texas.
Kia produces around 300,000 Forte and Rio model cars at the 3 million-square-foot facility, with the capacity to produce up to 400,000 vehicles annually.
Kyungshin officials also announced they are moving ahead with plans to build another wire harness factory in the central Mexican city of La Laguna. The new factory will cost $45 million and employ 2,100 people when completed by the end of 2022.
“Today, with the world going through a difficult time economically, we welcome Kyungshin Cable Mexico, which gave us a vote of confidence, investing $65 million between the capital [Durango City] and La Laguna, generating jobs that will sustain thousands of families,” said José Rosas Aispuro Torres, governor of the state of Durango, during a Friday press conference.
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