US clothing firm to open factory in Jalisco

U.S.-based clothing manufacturer Benefit Apparel is to open a factory in Los Altos de Jalisco, creating 750 direct jobs in the state, it announced at last month’s International Business Summit in Guadalajara.

Benefit Apparel will invest five million dollars in the plant located in the municipality of Teocaltiche in northeast Jalisco, which is due to open as soon as March 2014. Clothing produced at the factory will be exported to Asia, Europe and the United States.

The firm, which manufactures clothing for the likes of Adidas and Forever 21, chose to open the site in Jalisco because of its proximity to the United States, the skilled personnel available, and the tax breaks offered by the local government, CEO Kang Wook Lee said.

Jalisco’s Economic Development Secretary, Jose Palacios Jimenez, said at the Business Summit that the project would not only increase employment, but also help decentralize the state economy and encourage further investment and development in the region.