USCO Plans Big Mexican Expansion

USCO Logistics' Mexican branch, USCO Logistics de Mexico, said Monday that it would expand its warehousing footprint by nearly a third this year, to 926,000 square feet, to meet rising demand for distribution services.

USCO, headquartered in Naugatuck, CT, has a long, strong presence in Mexico. The company said it would add 226,000 square feet in three new distribution centers: a recently opened facility in Cedros Industrial Park in Mexico City - North; STIVA Industrial Park in Monterrey (opening in July); and USCO Industrial Park, Guadalajara - South (expected to open in November).

The three facilities will join four USCO locations in Mexico City and Guadalajara with more than 700,000 square feet of warehousing space.

USCO said that it has added new customers in Mexico, including Nortel Networks, Mead, L'Oreal, Novartis, Pioneer, Lego, Sanyo, Fujitso, Eveready, Union Carbide and Hoffman Engineering.

"The strong Mexican economy, coupled with our commitment to this marketplace, has increased customer demand for our service excellence, security capability and high-quality facilities," Robert R. Auray Jr., USCO's president and chief executive officer, said. "The 16 percent growth in Mexican imports during the last three years has significantly increased the need for warehousing and integrated logistics services. Mexican companies are adapting a full-service, customer-focused supply-chain mentality and a new logistics culture similar to that in the United States."

Auray said that this new logistics-oriented culture is driving customer-focused, high-quality companies like USCO to realize continued growth in the increasingly strong Mexican marketplace, particularly in the areas of high-value products such as electronics and pharmaceuticals.

USCO also integrates global distribution solutions through an international network of licensed logistics-service providers in South America and Europe.