OREANDA-NEWS. Alps Electric's Mexican affiliate ALPS DE MEXICO S. DE R.L. DE CV (Reynosa, Mexico; Representative: Hiroyuki Sato) will begin full operations in April 2014. The company was established in August last year.

Alps de Mexico (Alps Mexico) was established in August 2013 to carry out local stocking, sales, and exporting and importing of electronic components. The company has been advancing preparations for full operations, which commence in April.

Teaming up with sales company Alps Electric (North America), Inc., Alps Mexico looks to strengthen support for customers operating in Mexico and to take advantage of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and other free trade agreements to improve cost competitiveness and shorten lead time, thereby stimulating further expansion of Alps' automotive business.

Alps Mexico is located in a building on the premises of Alcom Electronicos de Mexico, S.A. de C.V., the automotive electronics production base of Alps Electric and Alpine Electronics, Inc. that has engaged in production activities in Reynosa since 1992. Besides sales affiliate Alps Mexico and production affiliate Alcom Electronicos, the Alps Group also has a logistics base in Mexico (likewise located in Reynosa)-Alps Logistics Mexico, S.A. de C.V., an overseas affiliate of Alps Logistics Co., Ltd. By harnessing additional group synergies, the Alps Group aims for further growth of its automotive electronics business.

Mexico is currently gaining prominence as one of the world's major automobile production centers as automakers from North America, Europe, Japan and elsewhere successively set up operations there. Domestic automobile production came to around three million vehicles in 2013, the eighth highest in the world. With the Mexican and South American markets also expected to grow, Mexico is the focus of much attention.