Baja California Positioning Itself As Aerospace Manufacturing Hub

By Ruxandra Guidi
July 22, 2011

Photo by Ruxandra Guidi
Mexican and American executives meet after a presentation at the Baja Aero Space Show in Tijuana.

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Baja California has more than 50 aerospace and defense companies producing parts for companies like Delphi, Honeywell, Goodrich, and Gulfstream. Most of them are located in Tijuana and Mexicali, close to the U.S. and to ports that cater to the Asian markets.

In an effort to cultivate more aerospace investment, the second annual Baja Aero Space Show brought together dozens of companies, investors, and industry representatives from both sides of the border.

"With this event, we're hoping to attract bigger companies that won't only need parts, but will also be interested in assembling entire planes here," said Sergio Correa, an industry liaison with the Aerospace Cluster Association of Baja California. "We're looking for value-added investments. As it is, we have Mexican and international companies already here, but most of them, are American."

Since 2000, the amount of aerospace parts that Mexico exports has grown more than 15 times. That output is expected to double by 2015.