Baja California Opens Its Doors to Aerospace Industry Investments

Collins Aerospace and Raytheon Technologies showcased a new investment in Baja California, which will primarily benefit Mexicali. The company showed the project to state Governor Marina del Pilar Ávila and Kurt Ignacio Honold, Head, Baja California’s Ministry of Economy and Innovation. The project will be announced to the public at a later date.

Collins Aerospace’s facility in Mexicali manufactures communication and entertainment systems for commercial airliners, business jets and regional jets. Covering over 100,000ft2, it uses Lean principles for a cellular production design, optimizing workflow. Operations are organized by product families, speeding up production, improving quality and reducing inventory, as reported by the company. Meanwhile, Raytheon Technologies is the result of the combined efforts of Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon.

The aerospace industry is one of Baja California’s main sources of employment opportunities, says Ávila. “The global aerospace community recognizes Baja [California] as one of its own, and a well-reputed bridge that exudes confidence on every new project that lands and gradually transforms into a successful one,” writes Tomás Sibaja, President, Aerospace Cluster of Baja California AC, on MBN. 

The governor also highlighted the availability of facilities for the semiconductor industry in Baja California, an industry that is expected to grow considerably, providing more opportunities for workers in the region. Baja California leads in the semiconductor industry with three companies. The state has significant advantages in terms of location, production chains and human talent and aims to attract investments in key areas such as assembly, packaging, testing and design.

“Baja California, has a large spectrum of manufacturers and service providers, including entrepreneurs with an exceptional global vision. The region has also strived to develop its own technology to add value and encourage innovation,” explains Sibaja.

The announcement of these investments took place during a visit of the Mexican Ambassador to the US to Baja California, which was also attended by executives from the education sector and key companies such as Intel, Infineon, Skyworks and Qualcomm.