Did you know that the television in your living room was likely assembled just south of the U.S. border? Or that the medical device your doctor used during your last checkup might have come from the same place? This is the first post for our Tijuana Success Stories series, where today we’re diving into how this vibrant border city transformed from a tourist destination into one of North America’s most impressive manufacturing hubs.
From Border Town to Industrial Powerhouse
If you visited Tijuana in the 1960s, you’d have seen a city primarily known for tourism and as a gateway between the U.S. and Mexico. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find a city humming with over 600 factories that employ more than a quarter million workers. That’s quite the evolution!
The story begins in 1965 when Mexico launched the Border Industrialization Program. This clever initiative allowed foreign companies to import materials duty-free and export finished products back to the U.S. with taxes only on the value added in Mexico. Companies looking to cut costs while staying close to American markets jumped at the opportunity.
By the 1980s, something fascinating was happening – Japanese electronics giants like Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung were setting up massive TV assembly plants in Tijuana. Would you believe that by 1990, about 70% of all televisions sold in the United States were assembled in Tijuana? The city had quietly become the TV assembly capital of the world!
NAFTA and Beyond: The Growth Accelerates
The real game-changer came in 1994 with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Suddenly, most tariffs between Mexico, the U.S., and Canada disappeared, making Tijuana even more attractive for manufacturing. Companies could now export to the U.S. and Canada completely tariff-free as long as they met regional content requirements.
This period saw Tijuana’s manufacturing base both grow and diversify. Electronics remained strong, but automotive, aerospace, and medical device industries began setting up operations too. The manufacturing workforce expanded into the hundreds of thousands despite global shifts that sent some low-end manufacturing to Asia in the early 2000s.
Today, under the updated United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Tijuana continues to thrive. The agreement actually strengthened regional manufacturing by raising content requirements and encouraging more North American-based supply chains. Talk about a win for the local economy!
Why Tijuana? The Perfect Manufacturing Storm
You might wonder what makes Tijuana so special compared to other manufacturing locations around the world. It’s actually a perfect storm of advantages:
Location, Location, Location: Tijuana sits just 20 miles from downtown San Diego. This means products can go from factory floor to U.S. soil in less than an hour. For companies needing just-in-time delivery to American customers, that’s incredibly valuable. Same-day or next-day delivery to Southern California? No problem!
Skills Without the Sticker Shock: The city offers something rare: a skilled workforce at competitive wages. With about 14,000 students enrolled in engineering or technical programs at any given time, there’s a steady pipeline of talent for high-tech manufacturing. Companies get the expertise they need without the high labor costs of the U.S.
Infrastructure That Works: After decades of development, Tijuana now boasts numerous industrial parks, reliable utilities, and modern factory buildings ready for use. The city is served by two major border crossings, an international airport, and has easy access to Pacific shipping routes via the Port of Ensenada. It’s essentially first-world logistics infrastructure at your doorstep.
Government Support: Both Mexican federal and Baja California state governments provide a supportive environment for manufacturers. Under the IMMEX program (which updated the original maquiladora system), companies enjoy tax advantages like duty-free importation of components and equipment. Local organizations even help foreign companies navigate permits and regulations.
A Mature Manufacturing Ecosystem: After more than 50 years of industrial growth, Tijuana has developed a dense network of suppliers, vendors, and supporting services. Need packaging, tooling, plastic molding, or metal fabrication? Local providers have you covered, reducing lead times and costs.
The Big Players in Tijuana Today
Let’s take a quick tour of the major sectors driving Tijuana’s manufacturing success:
Electronics: The Original Powerhouse
With over 122 electronics companies employing around 50,000 workers, electronics remains Tijuana’s largest manufacturing sector. The city produces an astounding 19 million television sets annually and billions worth of other electronic components. Companies like Foxconn, Samsung, Panasonic, and LG maintain large operations here.
Medical Devices: The New Star
Perhaps most impressive is Tijuana’s emergence as a medical device manufacturing hub. The city hosts 60-70 medical device companies employing up to 50,000 workers, making it the city with the highest number of medical device manufacturing jobs in North America!
Companies like Medtronic, Becton Dickinson, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson produce everything from surgical instruments and catheters to pacemakers and orthopedic implants. These aren’t simple products either – many facilities maintain ISO 13485 certifications and state-of-the-art clean rooms for producing even the most sophisticated medical devices.
Aerospace: Reaching New Heights
Baja California accounts for over 30% of all aerospace jobs in Mexico, with about half of those in Tijuana. Companies like Honeywell, Safran, Eaton Industries, and more produce aircraft components, aerospace wiring harnesses, and avionics in the city. The local workforce has developed specialized skills in high-precision manufacturing that meet strict aerospace quality standards.
Automotive: Parts and Pickups
While Tijuana doesn’t assemble passenger cars, it excels in automotive components and even assembles pickup trucks. Toyota’s truck assembly plant, which opened in 2002, produces the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck for the North American market. After several expansions, the plant now has a capacity of about 160,000 vehicles annually!
Other automotive companies focus on parts, including wire harnesses and electronic sensors, seat belts, and injection-molded plastics for vehicle interiors.
The Future Looks Bright
With the trend toward “nearshoring” – bringing manufacturing operations closer to end markets – Tijuana is positioned to continue growing. Companies that once moved production to Asia are increasingly looking at Mexico, with Tijuana being an obvious choice given its established infrastructure and talent pool.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities of far-flung supply chains, and many businesses have realized the advantages of having production facilities closer to their customers. For the North American market, Tijuana’s combination of proximity, skill, and cost-effectiveness is hard to beat.
As we look ahead, Tijuana’s manufacturing story seems far from over. The city that transformed from a tourist destination into a manufacturing powerhouse continues to adapt and evolve, embracing new industries and technologies. It’s a remarkable success story of a border city that found its economic calling and pursued it with determination.
Stay tuned for the next installment in our Tijuana Success Stories series, where we’ll explore companies from the sectors that drive Tijuana’s manufacturing success!
Have you ever used a product made in Tijuana? Did you know about the city’s manufacturing prowess? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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