The international power tool company Milwaukee Tool will build a factory in Torreón, Coahuila, that will bring 2,600 jobs to the city when it starts operating in April 2020.

At a ceremony on Wednesday, Governor Miguel Riquelme welcomed the company to Torreón and said that construction will start on the US $86-million factory in September.

“Today, the city receives a message that will give us strength,” he said. “The company is going to do well, they will have qualified workers. I’m very happy that they chose Torreón. Here they will find stable labor relations, safety and qualified workers. We’re going to make sure they stay here.”

Riquelme added that the new factory will have a technological innovation center that will elevate the quality of the tools produced there.

Torreón Mayor Jorge Zermeño Infante thanked the the state government for its efforts to attract investment.

“Investments don’t happen by chance, they happen when there’s certainty, when there are elements that allow a business to have what it needs to open up shop,” he said. “I see the work the state government is doing to bring investment to Coahuila.”

Zermeño added that the company visited 15 cities around Mexico and the world before deciding on Torreón.

“I am thankful to the businesses who have been involved in this,” he said. “It is good for the Laguna region and good for Coahuila.”

Carlos Braña Muñoz, the president of a Torreón chamber of commerce, said the plans for the new plant are the result of an investment tour organized by the state government in China.

Founded in 1924, Milwaukee Tool became a subsidiary of the Hong Kong company Techtronic Industries in 2005.

Source: El Economista (sp), Milenio (sp)