Plethora of Services, Amenities Key to Attracting Park Tenants

Q: What is WTC-SLP’s occupancy percentage and which industries dominate the company’s facilities in San Luis Potosi?

A: WTC-SLP comprises two industrial parks: WTC1 and WTC2. In the former we are at 93 percent occupancy and are closing negotiations to reach full occupancy in 2017. We have already started signing contracts with companies that want to operate in WTC2. WTC1 covers an area of 700ha and WTC2 covers 1,400ha. A commercial zone, an office building and a hotel are among the in-park amenities that attracted clients to our first park and we want to replicate those amenities in the second. We are also exploring outside of San Luis Potosi and we built an industrial unit for an important client in San Jose Iturbide, Guanajuato.

About 70 percent of our clients belong to the automotive industry. WTC-SLP works closely with San Luis Potosi’s automotive cluster and ProMéxico’s offices. Our company supports the automotive industry and vice versa, so the more automotive companies there are in an area, the more attractive the area becomes because suppliers are so close. Still, although the automotive industry is very important for the company, we cannot depend on it. Therefore, we are also trying to attract businesses from a variety of sectors, mainly chemical, electrical appliances and fuel-related companies. The size of WTC2 enables us to divide the park by sector.

Q: What are the advantages of operating in WTC-SLP?

A: We are interested in FDI coming to Mexico, specifically to WTC-SLP, so we promote our parks’ provision of services such as natural gas, water and electricity. The state has a young population, which means the area offers a well-prepared, competitive workforce that never goes on strike. We also benefit from having a strategic fiscal precinct that aims to reduce operational costs. The park has the largest intermodal logistics terminal in Mexico, in-house customs services and amenities that include our commercial zone. Queretaro is a competing region but one of its weaknesses is air connectivity. San Luis Potosi’s airport is more practical, with several daily flights to Houston, Dallas, Cancun and Mexico City. The metropolitan area in which we operate is peaceful. A study published by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) in 2016 ranked San Luis Potosi as one of the safest cities in Mexico.

Q: What are the challenges of operating in WTC-SLP and how is the state government supporting the automotive industry?

A: The current road infrastructure struggles to cope with the consequences of exponential regional growth but local authorities are addressing that. We may participate in a tender to build an alternative road to Highway 57 that would lead to the industrial zone and alleviate traffic. A deficient public transportation system can harm employee mobility so companies need to invest in transportation for workers from residential areas who often depend on public transportation to commute to WTC-SLP. We are lucky enough to have a business-driven government, which is sensitive to the needs of companies and supports a variety of clients, offering incentives for OEMs to offer credit to their suppliers. The government and private sector have been working to attract OEMs, such as Ford and BMW. There is a need for more hotels for visiting employees and business partners. We are currently completing one in our industrial park, which is expected to rapidly achieve full occupancy. If this happens, that hotel franchise may ask us to open more hotels in the area.