The Mexican subsidiary of Kluber Lubrication Munchen KG is building a 95,000-square-foot grease plant to replace an existing facility in Mexico City. Officials say it will allow the company to expand its production not only for that country, but for the rest of North America as well.
The company broke ground on the project Sept. 2 and expects to finish in a year. The new facility is located on a 12-acre site in the city of Queretaro, approximately 150 miles north of Mexico City. It will have capacity to produce 2,000 short tons of grease per year, plus a small amount of lubricating oils.
Kluber Lubricacion Mexicana S.A. General Manager Tebaldo Mureddu said the Munich-based parent company has adopted a global strategy in recent years and that it plans to use the new plant to increase sales in the large U.S. market.
We are already selling a small portion, perhaps 5 percent of our production, to the United States, he said. Being in Mexico gives us some advantages, primarily in labor costs, and we believe that after some years we will increase the volume that we are sending to the U.S., perhaps to as much as 15 or 20 percent.
Kluber Lubricacion makes primarily specialty greases used in industries such as textiles, cement mixing, mining and steel production.
The new facility, which will be twice as large as the existing plant, will include 60,000 square feet of production and warehousing, a 15,000-square-foot laboratory and maintenance shop, and 20,000 square feet of offices. Mureddu said Kluber decided to build the plant in Queretaro because it was not practical to expand its existing facility.
Our current location is in the middle of Mexico City in an area where we are not allowed to expand, he said. Also, the logistics are very awkward. Although larger than the old plant, the new facility will employ the same number of people – approximately 80. The company plans to maintain a sales office in Mexico City.