services / site selection & incentives
Site Selection & Incentives in Mexico
where you land in mexico sets your cost base for a decade. most companies decide it in a week.
where your plant or distribution hub lands in mexico is the most expensive decision you make on the way in, and the hardest to reverse. it sets your labor cost, your logistics cost, your power reliability, your incentive package, and your distance to the border, all at once, for as long as you operate. most north american companies decide it in a week, off a shortlist that a shelter operator or a single industrial park handed them. that is how you leave a decade of margin on the table.
01
what a mexico site search actually decides
a site search is not real-estate shopping. it is a cost-and-risk decision with five moving parts, and they are coupled:
- site and industrial-park selection, screened against your sector, your inputs, and your customers
- state incentives and permitting, negotiated before you sign anything
- cfe interconnection and power availability, confirmed before you commit
- labor-market depth for your roles, mapped to the technical universities nearby
- customs and logistics geometry, border distance and inbound supplier flows
get one of these wrong and the others cannot save it. a cheap lease in a state with no power, or a generous incentive in a state with no talent for your line, is not a saving. it is a slower, more expensive version of the same mistake.
02
incentives are won, not accepted
here is what most entrants never learn: mexican state incentives are not a published rate card. they are negotiated, and the leverage is competition. every state economic-development office, the sedeco, wants the jobs and the capex. when they know they are bidding against two other states for your plant, the package moves. land price, payroll-tax abatements, training grants, permitting speed, sometimes infrastructure.
we hold direct relationships with the sedeco offices in mexico city, the state of mexico, and nuevo leon, the people who actually grant incentives, fast-track permits, and unlock land and power. we run your site selection as a competition between states, so the incentives are won, not accepted. a company that takes the first park it is shown never sees the offer it could have had.
03
power is the constraint no one prices in early
cfe interconnection is where nearshoring plans quietly stall. a park can look perfect on paper and still sit twelve to twenty-four months from the power your line actually needs. we confirm interconnection and power availability before you commit to a site, not after, because a signed lease on a plant you cannot energize is the most expensive kind of wrong.
04
own your landing, do not rent it
the shelter and immex-park model is built to make the first year easy. the operator holds the permits, you run under their roof, and you pay a premium for the convenience. it is a legitimate option for a pilot. but you are renting your landing, and when you scale, the seams and the markup are yours to unwind. our default is the opposite: stand up your own entity, win your own incentives, hold your own power contract, and own the thing you built. we set the customs and immex registrations up under your name from the start, so nothing has to be untangled later.
frequently asked questions
How are state incentives in Mexico actually awarded?
They are negotiated, not published. Each state economic-development office (the SEDECO) can offer land pricing, payroll-tax abatements, training grants, and faster permitting to attract capex and jobs. The size of the package depends on your investment, the jobs you create, and whether the state knows it is competing for you. Running two or three states against each other is what moves the offer.
Should I take a shelter or industrial park's site, or run my own search?
A shelter or park site is the fast, low-commitment option and can suit a pilot, but you are renting your landing and paying a premium for it. Running your own search lets you win your own incentives, control your power contract, and own the entity you build. We default to the second and use the first only when speed to a small pilot genuinely outranks cost.
Which Mexican states are best for manufacturing?
There is no single answer; it depends on your inputs, your labor profile, your customers, and border distance. The northern states lead on automotive and proximity to the U.S.; the Bajío on precision manufacturing and talent; the State of Mexico and Mexico City on domestic reach. We screen states against your specific sector rather than a generic ranking.
How long does site selection and incentive negotiation take?
A focused search and incentive negotiation typically runs six to twelve weeks, depending on how many states are in contention and how quickly power interconnection can be confirmed. It should always finish before you sign a lease or commit capital through your entity.
Not sure where to start?
most clients begin with a thirty-minute call. we'll map your situation and recommend the right path, no commitment required.
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