The central Mexican state of Queretaro is becoming an attractive place for foreign investment. But can the state develop as one of the hottest tech hubs in Latin America?
For the Echeverria brothers of the Vuhl Car Company, car racing has been a passion ever since their father took them to the track when they were little. A race car driver, he helped spark their passion which has led them to create Latin America’s first ultra-lightweight, high-performance car for export which can also be used for normal driving.
CCTV America’s Martin Markovits reports.
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“Genetically speaking they are racing cars , but they are certified for the road, so you are driving a racing car on the road and you can drive it to the track or you can have fun for the day and go back in the same car to your house,” said Guillermo Echeverria Jr.
Their company has received generous subsidies.The Vuhl Car Company is just one of a many businesses that have sprung up here in the Mexican state of Queretaro. In the last decade, the Mexican government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to turn this state into a new technological hub for the country.
(Image: cctv-america.com)
It’s all part of the of Queretaro Aerospace Cluster, whose clients include Safran, Airbus, Delta and Bombardier. Queretaro was also recently named in The Financial Times as one of the best places to do business in the Americas. Nearly half of all foreign investment in Mexico comes from the aerospace sector which is based in the state.
The group also includes a state-of-the-art university which has helped provide an educated workforce that can compete with Europe and the United States.
Many foreign companies see Queretaro as a good place to invest because it has one of the lowest crime rates in Mexico and its strategic location.
“We are in the center of the country, and we have a wide range of highways , railways and a magnificent airport. We have a very capable labor force, a very confident labor force. We haven’t had a strike in more than 20 years, and that generates a lot of trust for the foreign investors,” Marco Del Prete, the state’s secretary for sustainable development said.
(Image: cctv-america.com)
For the Echeverrias, who moved their company here from Mexico City a year ago, there have been other benefits to the growing aerospace industry.
“So many of the products we need to manufacture, you can find it here in Queretaro. So we are working right now with aerospace companies that are building parts for the wings of airplanes, and they also built some suspension parts for us; it’s all connected,” Guillermo Echeverria Jr. said.
Source: http://www.cctv-america.com/
