ZKW Group, a specialist in lighting systems, is expanding its international presence with investments in its Silao, Mexico, production plant. The company celebrated the official opening of the third expansion phase of the Mexican facility on Nov. 29, adding an extra 15,700 square meters (168,000 square feet). Concurrently, ZKW held a groundbreaking ceremony for a further expansion, which is expected to add approximately 7,000 square meters (75,00 square feet) of production space and create 1,100 new jobs by 2025.
Dr. Wilhelm Steger, CEO of ZKW Group GmbH, highlighted the importance of this expansion for the NAFTA economic region. “With the expansion, we are increasing production capacities and creating around 2,000 new jobs to manufacture innovative lighting systems for customers in the strategically important NAFTA economic region,” he said. The company is investing over 100 million euros ($108 million) in this third phase of expansion in Silao.
Since 2016, ZKW has been producing headlights for car manufacturers like BMW, Ford Lincoln, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, Nissan Infiniti, Volkswagen and Volvo in Silao. With the ongoing and planned expansions through 2025, the company’s total investment in the Silao site exceeds 100 million euros. Currently, ZKW employs 1,658 people in Mexico, producing lighting systems for the American and Mexican automotive markets.
Starting in 2025, the Silao plant will begin manufacturing headlights and center lamps for VW and GM. North America is a key market for ZKW, projected to account for about 30 percent of its sales and potentially becoming the world’s second-largest market by 2028, the company said. “The long-term goal is to further strengthen ZKW’s growth strategy, especially for the USMCA market. By 2026, ZKW México plans to produce around 4.5 million headlights per year with up to 4,000 employees,” said Dominique Boulegue, general plant manager of ZKW México.
ZKW México utilizes advanced technologies and machines, including plastic injection molding systems, hard coating and painting systems, anti-fog and metal vapor deposition machines, to produce complete headlamps and components. The third expansion will increase the plant’s capacity by 1.2 million headlamps. The company continues to recruit specialists for the new positions created by this expansion.
The opening ceremony and foundation stone laying for the new phase were attended by notable figures from politics and business, including Governor Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo, trade consultant Nella Hengstler, business delegate Ramón Alfaro, Mayor of Silao Carlos García Villaseñor, Steger, Boulegue and other distinguished guests.
