Forefront Medical Technology to Open Mexico Manufacturing Facility
The announcement underscores the increased trend of nearshoring in Mexico for shortened manufacturing processes to avoid supply chain issues.
Forefront Medical Technology, a Singapore-based contact manufacturer, recently announced it is opening a new manufacturing facility in Juarez, Mexico, enabling shipments to the United States within 24-48 hours of leaving factory grounds. The facility is projected to be 68,000 ft2 and will offer injection molding, extrusion, clean room assembly and packaging, and automated high-volume production.
The Juarez location, according to the company, will benefit customers selling products into the US because of nearshore pricing and simplified logistics of a border location. This will be Forefront Medical’s fifth medical manufacturing facility spanning Singapore, China, the United Kingdom, and Mexico.
“Our Mexico manufacturing plant will provide our global customer base with greater flexibility and choice in deciding where they want their products manufactured,” said Walter Tarca, president of Forefront Medical, in a news release.
The company has reportedly scheduled the facility’s production qualification for mid-2024.
Nearshoring in Mexico
Nearshoring in Mexico has become more attractive over the last few years as companies selling to the US market aim to shorten manufacturing processes to avoid supply chain and timeline issues. While US companies have practiced nearshoring in the country for decades, Douglas L. Donahue, co-managing partner at Entrada Group — which works with international suppliers establishing manufacturing footprints in Mexico, told MD+DI in a previous article that the uptick in interest globally has been noticeable over recent years, resulting in two trends.
Donahue said that one trend he is seeing is that companies are looking to get out of China, with the objective of nearshoring. The other is that many startup companies who used to go to China for subcontracting are instead establishing operations directly or indirectly through a subcontractor in Mexico. The reasons, he said, tend to be economic.