Our Story
Learn our story, leadership, and mission shaping manufacturing in Mexico.
Predictable Manufacturing in Saltillo Starts Here
Our Manufacturing Campus in the automotive heartland: a city that builds cars for a living, suppliers a short drive away, and everything a plant needs to succeed in Mexico.
Overview
A City That Does It Right the First Time
People trained to an automotive standard, suppliers you can drive to, a border a day away. Saltillo, Coahuila, has built cars for a generation, and our own cross-dock waits in McAllen.
Zapa Campus
Space & Land
Total Land: 112 acres
Industrial Space: ~2.1M sq ft of Class A space under management
Availability: Class A buildings on a standard footprint of about 35,000 sq ft; ask us what is open today
Utilities & Infrastructure
Electrical Power: 15 MVA (15,000 kVA), run to the buildings
Natural Gas: 4-inch line at 300 PSI
Water: Contracted supply to the Campus with an on-site treatment plant; tell us what your process needs and we will confirm it
Security: Closed property with controlled vehicle access, perimeter surveillance and on-site security personnel
Location & Logistics
U.S. Border Access: Tetakawi’s own cross-dock in McAllen, TX, about four hours from the Campus
Airport Access: Saltillo (~17 mi, domestic) and Monterrey (~78 mi) international airports
Regional Access: Monterrey about 70 minutes away, with its OEM and tier-one supplier base
Workforce & Amenities
Employee Transportation: Bus routes across Saltillo, used by close to 1,500 employees
On-Site Amenities: Medical center and open recreation space for employee sports and family events
Certifications
IMMEX shelter program; OEA (Authorized Economic Operator); ISO 9001 quality management systems; Great Place to Work
Why Zapa
Why Companies Choose Zapa
Building in the Monterrey corridor means competing with every other plant there for space and people. Saltillo gives you the corridor without the crowd.
Your Trades Graduate Here Every Year
Operators, welders and machinists graduate from Saltillo’s technical schools every year, trained to the automotive standard the region runs on.
Your Suppliers, a Morning’s Drive Away
Source from Monterrey’s OEMs and tier-one suppliers while your plant runs in Saltillo, out of the corridor’s competition for space and people.
Power, Water and Gas Already Contracted
Getting your own electricity contract in Mexico is a long story. Here the Campus already holds it, with water and gas at your building.
Statistics
Zapa, by the Numbers
25+
Years helping manufacturers in Saltillo.
20+
International manufacturers on Campus.
~4,500
Employees supported on the Campus.
On Campus
Around Your Factory, Already Running
Five things a standalone plant spends its first year building. Here, they are already running:
- Recruiting, payroll and HR, with Tetakawi as employer of record
- Import and export under our programs, through our McAllen cross-dock
- EHS, environmental and fiscal filings handled on the Campus
- Bus routes across Saltillo, a medical center and controlled access
- Build-out and equipment yours to specify; utilities at cost
Case Studies
Manufacturers Growing at Zapa
These leaders asked the questions you are asking now. Their answers about Zapa matter more than ours.
“Why Mexico first? Saltillo is in the north of the country, the border is close and we are part of North America, so import and export is easier. Saltillo has very good knowledge of industries and manufacturing processes, and we receive products from our sister plants in the US, consolidate here and ship them across Mexico.”
Mauricio García, Plant Manager, Gemini Group
“Saltillo is well located for the United States and Monterrey, and the workforce here is skilled, stable and motivated. Aside from the physical space where we operate, Tetakawi provides the manpower we need, supports us in getting things in and out of the country, and helps make sure we comply with all regulations.”
Agustín Mendoza, Plant Manager, Commercial Sewing
“From an overhead perspective, I found things were between 15 and 20 percent, and on top of that my plant could be more focused on feeding the customer versus dealing with labor and environmental laws. In many cases Tetakawi was more cost effective than the plants where we were doing it on our own.”
Jon Jensen, Manufacturing CEO, repeat Tetakawi client since 2001
Campus Pillars
Everything You Need to Reach Your Potential in Saltillo
Predictable manufacturing in Saltillo takes reliable space, people, logistics and compliance. At Zapa, one partner runs all four. No patchwork of vendors.
Industrial Space
Move into a Class A building at Zapa, ready to run or adapted to your process. Tetakawi maintains the building and the Campus around it, so the building is never your project.
Workforce
Set the roles and the standards, then run the plant. Tetakawi recruits and employs the people in Saltillo, runs payroll and benefits, and holds the union agreement, so your managers run production, not HR.
Logistics
Bring materials in and ship product out with carriers you select, through our own cross-dock in McAllen. Tetakawi holds the Mexican import and export permits, so your team moves product, not paperwork.
Compliance
Operate under Tetakawi’s IMMEX shelter program, without forming your own Mexican company. Tetakawi’s entity holds the registrations and the administration, while you run the plant in Saltillo.
Featured Resources
Make Confident Decisions About
Manufacturing in Saltillo
FAQs
What Manufacturers Ask Us About Zapa
The questions we get most often from manufacturers looking at Saltillo. If yours is not here, ask us.
Do we need to form our own entity to manufacture at Zapa?
No.
Your operation runs inside Tetakawi’s Mexican entity under our IMMEX shelter framework. That entity employs your workforce, holds the import and export registrations, and is the one Mexico registers, audits and inspects. You run your plant in a building on the Campus and direct your own production.
Tetakawi also runs the property. The teams that handle recruiting, payroll, customs paperwork and EHS are based here on the Campus, and they are the ones who will set your operation up.
Can we staff a plant in Saltillo and keep the people we train?
Yes.
Saltillo’s technical schools turn out operators, welders and machinists every year, and candidates who have worked to an automotive standard are common here.
Close to 1,500 people ride Campus buses to work on routes that cover Saltillo and reach Ramos Arizpe and Arteaga, so we recruit across the region.
You give us the job descriptions and the hiring plan. We recruit and screen, present the candidates who fit, and you choose. On your instruction we make the offer, and Tetakawi employs them and runs the payroll. We recommend pay from what the same jobs already earn around the Campus. HR, transport and labor compliance are Tetakawi’s from there.
Is there space available at Zapa now, and how quickly could we move in?
Yes.
The standard building here is about 35,000 square feet, around 30,000 of it production floor, and we adapt it to your process.
Because the buildings already exist, your schedule from signing is set by your build-out and equipment lead times. Availability moves, so check with us before you build a timeline around it.
Tell us the footprint you need and when you need to be producing, and we will tell you what is open. If nothing open at Zapa fits, Tetakawi can provide the same shelter services in a vetted third-party industrial park in Saltillo, and we will model that beside the Campus option.
How do costs in Saltillo compare with the U.S. or a border city?
Lower than either, on direct labor.
Direct labor at this Campus starts at about $5.57 per hour fully fringed for unskilled positions, with welders from about $7.74 and CNC machinists from about $8.85 (at 17.5 pesos per dollar). Fully fringed means the wage plus the employer’s payroll taxes and benefits.
For scale, the same roles in U.S. manufacturing start at about $28 an hour for unskilled positions, about $34 for welders and about $35 for machinists, wages plus benefits (our calculation from BLS 2025 wage and 2026 benefit data).
Tell us what you are planning, and we are happy to run the numbers with you.
How does our freight reach the U.S., and who is responsible at the border?
Through McAllen, about four hours from the Campus.
Your freight moves north under Tetakawi’s Mexican export programs and is received, staged and consolidated at our own cross-dock there, where Mexican and U.S. carriers hand off and partial loads are combined for the U.S. leg. Laredo is about three and a half hours out if your carrier routes there instead.
In Mexico, Tetakawi is the importer and exporter of record; entering the United States, your company is. A licensed Mexican broker files the entries under our programs, and your U.S. broker files from the export documentation and part-level data our team helps prepare.
What does it take to find out whether Zapa is right for us?
Four steps, same as every Campus.
1. Get in touch. A conversation about your goals for Saltillo: volumes, processes, headcount and timing.
2. Measure ROI. We build the business case with you: the full cost of running your operation on this Campus, the risks and the trade-offs. If another Campus fits better, we build that one too.
3. Site visit. Walk the Campus, meet the people who would run your account, and talk with manufacturers already producing here.
4. Launch and grow. When you give the green light, the same team that helped you build the case guides the launch, and the people who run the Campus are a phone call or a short walk away.
