The U.S. consumer products company Edgewell Personal Care formally sealed its US $110 million investment in Mexico with a cornerstone laying ceremony in Aguascalientes on Wednesday.
Shelton, Connecticut-based Edgewell wasted no time in confirming its investment plans after revealing on Tuesday that it had selected the tiny north-central Mexican state as the site for its new factory, which will eventually employ 1,300 people.
Company executives, including CEO Rod Little met with Aguascalientes Governor Tere Jiménez on Tuesday before taking part in the cornerstone ceremony the following day.
“We are not here by accident,” Little said in a Tuesday press conference. “We visited 30 sites across Mexico to make sure we found the perfect location, and Aguascalientes won out.”
Little said the company was swayed by the region’s highly trained labor force, the state’s public security record, the high quality educational system and the support provided by state officials.
Jiménez lauded the decision as a boon to the state’s economy and a boost for the quality of life for everyone in the state.
REUNIÓN CON DIRECTIVOS DE LA EMPRESA EDGEWELL
Un gusto recibir en Aguascalientes a Rod Little, CEO de la empresa EDGEWELL, quienes deciden confiar en Aguascalientes para invertir y hacer crecer su industria.
Bienvenidos a #ElGiganteDeMéxico pic.twitter.com/EQEaoWBR17
— Tere Jiménez (@TereJimenezE) August 20, 2024
“Aguascalientes plays a key part in the successful bilateral relations between Mexico and the United States, especially in economic terms,” she said. “The friendly relationship and solid collaboration between our state and [the United States] guarantees growth and prosperity for Edgewell’s project here.”
Esaú Garza de Vega, state economy minister, also welcomed Edgewell to Aguascalientes. “It is a great pleasure to accommodate Edgewell and be part of its global growth,” he said. “We’ll proudly manufacture and distribute their products; we’ll work alongside them every step of the way.”
The new 55,000 square-meter factory will be built in the FINSA Aguascalientes industrial park in the southern part of the state capital, also called Aguascalientes. The site is currently home to 20 companies, providing 5,000 jobs.
Edgewell’s vice president of global operations Carlos Texidor says the factory should be operational next year.
Edgewell owns more than 25 brands of personal hygiene products, including Schick, Wilkinson Sword, Playtex, Carefree, Stayfree, Hawaiian Tropic, Banana Boat and Edge.
Edgewell’s investment is the latest in a very profitable year for Mexico. The federal Economy Ministry announced this week that Mexico had received a record US $31.2 billion in FDI during the six-month period ending June 30.
With reports from El Economista and Forbes México
