United States toymaker Mattel Inc. is nearshoring its operations to its plant in Monterrey, Mexico, Reuters reports. The plant occupies 200,000-square meters and employs nearly 3,500 workers.
In mid-March, Mattel revealed it spent approximately $50 million to expand the facility, which is now the company’s largest plant. Other locations include China, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Mattel plans to double the plant’s investment over the next five years.
Mattel Latin America Managing Director Gabriel Galvan said it would be more profitable and competitive to have the product close to the consumer and not need to transport it from Asia.
According to Galvan, Mattel’s Mexican expansion is the latest example of how supply chain problems have created renewed interest in “nearshoring” from multiple industries.
Prior to the expansion’s first pitch in 2020, Mattel closed two Asian factories in 2019. More recently, it shuttered a Canadian plant and another Mexican site.
“This consolidation and plant expansion was in line with the company’s strategy and a manufacturing footprint consolidation we called ‘Capital Light,'” spokesperson Catherine Frymark told Reuters.
