ARIZONA DAILY STAR
BY: Gabriela Rico
August 2, 2012
ROCKY POINT PLANT WILL HIRE UP TO 400 WORKERS FOR $100M PROJECT, SERVE AS PILOT TRAINING SITE
A venture between U.S. and Mexican aircraft companies promises to create up to 400 jobs over the next three years in the beachfront town of Puerto Peñasco, Sonora.
Pasco, Wash.-based Viper Aircraft and Mexican aircraft manufacturer Aeromk II will invest in a manufacturing plant next to the airport just south of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point.
Mayor Alejandro Zepeda Munro said it will be the first time a Mexican plant has built planes since 1968. The growing aerospace industry in Sonora primarily manufactures parts for assembly elsewhere.
The $100 million project will see Aeromk building jet planes for aerial combat training. Viper builds recreational jets.
The site will also be used for training pilots, the mayor said, and the History Channel has expressed interest in documenting those training sessions once they start.
Construction is expected to begin by year’s end, Zepeda said, and 150 workers will be hired for the first phase. Applications and interviews are under way.
“This is very good news,” said Fernando Antillon, the director of the Peñasco airport, Aeropuerto Mar de Cortez. “This was part of the plan … to utilize this airport as an economic driver.”
When complete, Antillon said, the facility will encompass more than 600,000 square feet.
Did you know?
In 2007, a provisional airport was built outside of Puerto Peñasco to accommodate a U.S.-Mexico border governors’ conference. It was constructed in six months. The international airport was built two years later.
More information
To learn more about the manufacturing jobs or inquire about immigration documents necessary to work in Mexico, call the Puerto Peñasco airport. From Tucson, dial 011-52-638-383-6097.
Editor’s Note: PICOR is licensed to sell and lease real estate in the State of Sonora, Mexico. Read more here.
Contact Gabriela Rico at grico@azstarnet.com or 573-4232.
