BERU to Sell Cable Production in Mexico and Establish a New Subsidiary For NAFTA Sales
BERU Aktiengesellschaft (FWB: BZL), Ludwigsburg, has sold its Mexican BERU subsidiary BERU S.A. de C.V. to the Mexican corporations General Cable Holdings Mexico, S.A. de C.V., Mexico and General Cable de Latinoamerica, S.A. de C.V., both having their principal place of business in Tetla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. The transfer of ownership will take place at the end of the year. At the same time, BERU has announced that it will establish a new subsidiary to operate under the name of BERU Mexico S.A. de C.V. This new company will take over the separated production of spark plugs as well as OEM, OES and aftermarket sales of BERU and OMZ products in the NAFTA region.
“We are focusing on our core competencies in the field of ignition technology. At the same time, we are securing the sales of our products in the important NAFTA region by cooperating with cable specialist General Cable,” commented Marco von Maltzan, Chairman of the Executive Board of BERU AG.
General Cable Holdings Mexico, S.A. de C.V is a subsidiary of US company General Cable Corporation, which is headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky and has its core competence in the efficient production of cable sets. General Cable specializes in the development, design, production and distribution of copper, aluminum and glass-fiber cable products for the energy sector, industry, special applications and communication as well as for the automotive industry.
The subsidiary to be sold, BERU S.A. de C.V., Civac-Jiutepec, Morelos, was founded in 1987 and has been 100% owned by BERU since May 1999. It specializes in ignition technology for the NAFTA region and mainly produces ignition cables for gasoline engines. In its latest financial year (April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005), it generated sales revenues of EUR 6.2 million with 150 employees, with most of its revenues resulting from product distribution. The two parties to the transaction have agreed not to reveal the purchase price.
More: home.businesswire.com
General Cable Acquires Mexico-Based Business
General Cable Corp., a leading global supplier of wire and cable products for the energy, specialty, industrial, and communications markets, announced Friday that it has acquired Beru S.A. de C.V. (Beru) based in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Beru operates an automotive aftermarket assembly and distribution operation with annual revenues of approximately $7 million per year.
"The acquisition of Beru is part of our ongoing strategy to support our customers' planned growth initiatives in the expanding Mexican automotive aftermarket. Beru brings to General Cable a profitable, low-cost assembly operation and available capacity to support this growth," said Roger Roundhouse, vice
United States, Mexico, Canada Reiterate Commitment to NAFTA
Officials from the three North American nations reaffirmed their commitment to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as the cornerstone for strengthening regional competitiveness at a March 24 meeting of the NAFTA Free Trade Commission.
Since its implementation in 1994, NAFTA has facilitated strong economic growth and prosperity in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, Mexican Secretary of Economy Sergio Garc�e Alba and Canada Minister of International Trade David Emerson discussed the changing global commercial environment and the implications for North America at the meeting in Acapulco, Mexico.
Following
Canada, Mexico agree to uphold NAFTA
Canada and Mexico agreed on Friday to strengthen the procedures of the North American Free Trade Agreement(NAFTA) to ensure its rulings are respected.
"Mexico fully supports Canada's position to make sure that the decisions of the NAFTA panels in the settlement of disputes are upheld," Mexican President Vicente Fox said at a luncheon hosted by Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin in Vancouver.
Canada is demanding Washington scrap duties on Canadian softwood after a NAFTA panel ruled the United States had failed to justify the need for the tariffs imposed three years ago, but has been
Mexicos August auto production up 19.5% to 179,527 units
Mexico auto production and exports continued to grow at a solid pace in August, while domestic sales were little changed from the year-ago month, the Mexican Auto Industry Association, or AMIA, said Monday.
AMIA said production last month rose 19.5% from August 2005 to 179,527 units. Exports jumped 38.2% to 136,114 units, and domestic sales edged up 0.3% to 90,936 units.
The recovery in the Mexican auto industry, the countrys biggest single manufacturing sector, contributed significantly to the 5.4% year-on-year increase in manufacturing in the first half of the year.
Source : marketwatch.com
Short on trucks, GM gears up in Mexico
With its employee-pricing sale over, General Motors Corp. is turning to its Mexican factories to replenish the stocks of American auto dealers.
"We're short on trucks. Dealers don't have them in all the colors and with all the options that people want," said Gilbert Duhn, a customs manager for the company. "We've started building more trucks in Mexico."
Such a move wouldn't be possible without the North American Free Trade Agreement, Duhn said during a speech at the NAFTA vs. Global Competition conference here, which ended Friday. The two-day event was hosted by
Brazil, Mexico markets fall, energy boosts Toronto
Brazilian stocks declined Friday, pulled down by a steeper-than-expected decline in U.S. industrial production, a fall in Brazilian retail sales and a growing aversion to risk among investors.
The benchmark Ibovespa index fell 0.4% to 29,772.
The announcement of a 1.3% drop in U.S. September industrial production, compared with a consensus estimate for a 0.4% decrease, dragged Brazilian share prices lower.
The stock market also had to digest a decline in Brazilian retail sales in August, down a seasonally adjusted 0.4% from July, according to data Friday from the Brazilian Census Bureau, or IBGE. It was
UPDATE: Mexico 2005 Auto Production Up 6.6% To 1.6 Million Units
MEXICO CITY -(Dow Jones)- Mexico's auto production rose 6.6% last year to 1.6 million units, reversing four years of declines in a key manufacturing sector, the Auto Industry Association said Tuesday.
AMIA, as the trade group is known, said exports last year rose 8.4% to 1.2 million units, and domestic sales - which include imported cars - rose 3.3% to 1.1 million units.
The auto industry represents the largest single manufacturing sector in Mexico, and weakness in the industry has proved a drag on growth in industrial production in recent
Mexico Walmex same-store sales up 4.6 pct in Aug
Leading Mexican retailer Wal-Mart de Mexico, or Walmex, said on Thursday its same-store sales rose 4.6 percent in August, compared with the same month last year.
Walmex (WALMEXV.MX: Quote, Profile, Research) said total sales in August were 13.046 billion pesos ($1.2 billion), up 12.8 percent.
Same-store sales measure revenues only at stores open at least a year and are seen as a better indication of sales performance than overall sales.
Source: today.reuters.com
Bank Of Nova Scotia Goes Wholesale Into Mexico >BNS
When Mexican retailer Grupo Chedraui decided to bid for a group of supermarkets owned by France's Carrefour S.A. (12017.FR), it turned to a Canadian bank.
Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) sent a team of merger & acquisition specialists to guide the retailer through the process. Along the way, the Toronto-based bank helped Chedraui finance the $550 million purchase, provided foreign-exchange services and helped it hedge its interest-rate risk.
That, says David Wilson, chairman of the bank's investment-banking wing Scotia Capital, is the kind of cross-selling potential Bank of Nova Scotia sees in Mexico.
The Washington Posts trouble with numbers Mexico after NAFTA
On April 17, the Washington Post ran an article about Mexicos economy and the North American Free Trade Agreement, which took effect on January 1, 1994. Part of the focus was on market forces and the flight of some Mexicans to the U.S.
Still, the past 13 years havent been all bad economic news for Mexico, wrote Manuel Roig-Franzia of the Posts Foreign Service. Spurred by NAFTA, Mexicos gross domestic product has ballooned, multiplying nearly seven-fold, from $108 billion in 1993, the year before NAFTA implementation, to $748 billion in 2005.
If
