by MONTERREY, Mexico — Motion furniture resource Man Wah Holdings, Ltd. announced on Tuesday that it has closed on the purchase of about 80 acres of land in Mexico for its newest production facilities.
It is starting construction next week on a 2.5 million-square-foot plant that will be built in two phases.
The first phase will be about one million square feet and is expected to be completed by early this summer, with shipping planned to begin in mid-summer. The first phase is expected to represent an investment of more than $100 million.
With the first phase of production the company will employ up to 4,000 workers and produce up to 1,500 containers a month of motion upholstery. The second phase, expected to be completed in early 2023, will bring this up to 3,500 containers per month.
The company is purchasing the land in the North American Hofusan Industrial Park in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico from Hofusan Real Estate. This is the same industrial complex where Kuka opened a custom upholstery plant in 2020.
The company said in a Jan. 18 filing with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong that the main purpose of the project is to “mitigate the risk of fluctuations in global ocean freight rates, reduce associated logistics cost, expand into and satisfy the needs of the North American market and increase the group’s share in the North American market.”
Man Wah said it will continue to operate its plants in China and Vietnam. In China it operates about 1 million square feet of production and in Vietnam, it has about 6 million square feet of production.
Like those facilities, the Mexico plant will be a fully vertical operation that produces materials from foam to components such as frames and mechanisms.
Bill Chan, a long-time Manwah executive, has been tasked to head up Manwah Mexico manufacturing and will oversee plant construction as well as manage all production out of this new facility.
Responsibility for sales and marketing of Manwah Mexico production will be under Gabriele Natale, President of Manwah USA. The company said that Chan and Natale will “work together to ensure the success of the new facility.”
“Having built and run other Manwah factories producing motion upholstery gives me the confidence to get this facility up and running quickly,” Chan said “I understand the commitment to the Manwah Quality Assurance and will ensure that Manwah Mexico meets these standards.”
Natale said the investment the company is making in the new plant will provide additional capacity “needed today and in the future.”
“This major investment in more production is a clear indication of the Manwah commitment to the North American market while also reinforcing that we are the world’s largest motion sofa manufacturer,” Natale said. “With the continuing growth of product demands from our customers, this major production expansion will ensure our ability to deliver on promises while expanding our product availability helping our retail customers refresh their floors.”
Natale was not immediately available for further comment.
Zoe Wong, Executive Director of Man Wah Holdings added, “ Manwah Mexico is part of the overall plan to expand Manwah Holdings Global Manufacturing footprint. While today we are excited to expand our manufacturing base into Mexico, Manwah will continue to explore additional opportunities in other areas as well.”
