RAMOS ARIZPE, MEXICO (Jan. 12, 2 p.m. ET) — Local government officials say Fortis Plastics LLC abandoned this northern Mexico municipality just before Christmas “without any warning to their employees, suppliers or government institutions.”
“We don't know the situation of the company,” said a spokesman for the municipal government's economic development office. “They [Fortis] hadn't expressed any wish to leave the city or declare bankruptcy.”
Asked whether the local authorities knew that Fortis's management planned to close the 132,000-square-foot factory, the spokesman told Plastics News by email: “No. We weren't aware of the situation of the plant and their plans to leave the city.”
Asked whether the manner of Fortis's departure from Ramos Arizpe had surprised the local authorities, the spokesman said: “Yes, because we don't see their reasons (sic) to leave the city.”
The spokesman said Fortis employed about 300 at the plant but was unable to say whether they were fully paid before the factory was closed.
Three other plastics processors operate plants in Ramos Arizpe, according to the spokesman: Plastic Omnium, Plastinor and Bic.
Other companies with manufacturing facilities in Ramos Arizpe include General Motors de México, DaimlerChrysler de México, steel products maker Deacero SA de CV, cement maker Holcim Apasco, Kimberly-Clark de México, Whirlpool de México, Magna Formex and Estampados Magna, subsidiaries of Canadian automotive industry supplier Magna International Inc.
