Global mining equipment manufacturer invests in first manufacturing capacity outside of Canada
The Canadian-based mobile mining equipment manufacturer MacLean Engineering is expanding and tooling up its Querétaro, Mexico facility for production, with component manufacturing for the MacLean Mining Division’s product line to be followed by complete mining machine builds.
Phase 1 of the expansion project in 2019 will include the addition of assembly bays, weld bays, a burn table and overhead cranes, bringing the company’s total manufacturing footprint in Mexico to 60,000 square feet (5,600 square metres). Currently, 30 MacLean employees work at the company’s Querétaro branch, including sales and marketing personnel, skilled trades, technical and training support specialists, along with virtual reality and vehicle monitoring system programmers. Queretaro is located some 220 kilometres northwest of Mexico City.
“This is a major statement to our global customer base, something that we hope is seen for what it is – a proof point for the extent to which we see the Latin American underground mining market as key to our company’s future and, a significant investment in de-bottlenecking our three manufacturing facilities in Ontario,” notes MacLean Engineering President, Kevin MacLean.
“We have fleets of MacLean equipment supporting safer, more productive underground operations at mine sites across Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Colombia and Ecuador, so I’m thrilled that this addition of capacity at our Querétaro facility will place us closer to our Latin American customers,” adds MacLean’s Vice President of Latin America & Quebec, Tony Caron. “For our customers in other parts of the underground mining world in South America, Canada, the United States, Australia and southern Africa, this investment by MacLean will also help address production output limitations out of our existing manufacturing footprint in Ontario at our Collingwood, Owen Sound and Barrie facilities.”
“The MacLean engagement in the Mexican mining industry started with the opening of a branch over seven years ago, and since that time we have grown to support a wide range of mining companies in Mexico looking for mobile fleet solutions along with world-class service, training and parts support,” states Rene Valle, General Manager of MacLean operations in Mexico and Central America. “This latest investment by MacLean represents a first for our company – establishing manufacturing outside of our main base in southern Ontario – and it is worth noting that with this move, MacLean also becomes the only global OEM in Mexico conducting manufacturing activities in-country. This speaks to MacLean’s belief in the business potential of supporting a safety and productivity focused underground mining industry in Mexico and beyond, across Latin America.”