Querétaro, Mexico — Austrian injection molding machine and auxiliary equipment maker Wittmann Battenfeld GmbH is increasing floor space by a third at its subsidiary in central Mexico where business, it says, continues to thrive.
Annual sales growth in Mexico over the past few years has averaged 20 percent a year, it said in a news release.
Last year, it said, was no exception, although "some skepticism" was in evidence at the beginning of the year, due to Mexico's "strained political relationship" with the United States — a reference to President Donald Trump's decision to renegotiate NAFTA.
Ultimately, the uncertainty vanished and processors in Mexico continued to invest throughout the year, the company said.
Wittmann Battenfeld is adding 10,250 square feet in Querétaro, mainly in the office area. The building will cover 32,300 square feet when work is finished on schedule in July, Rodrigo Muñoz CEO of the Mexico operations for Wittmann Battenfeld, said.
The extension is the fourth since the subsidiary's creation in 1998. The company employs 75 in Querétaro.
In addition to more office space, the headquarters has a new training area, equipped with a servo-hydraulic SmartPower and an all-electric EcoPower machine. The company's W8 series robots are available for demonstration purposes.
The company has other sales and service facilities in México City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Reynosa, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana.