MEXICO - Following the trade promotion tour through South America, headed by the Governor of Durango, Jorge Herrera Caldera, directors of Chile’s Masisa, confirmed an investment USD 132 million for a new MDF plant, which could generate more than 3,800 direct and indirect jobs. This investment, that will be established in the Logistics Industrial Center of Durango – next to the city’s international airport, had been announced through the Mexican Stock Exchange, and now the installation of the new plant was ratified.

Herrera Caldera said that the competitive advantages of the State derive from the opening of the Durango - Mazatlán highway and the formation of the Northern Mexico Economic Cluster, which will detonate container traffic and international trade. In that regard, he noted that Masisa will be one of the major companies to open the route of international trade in Durango, with positive effects in order to attract investment from other sectors and generate more employment opportunities.

Leo Schlessinger, CEO of Masisa Mexico, said that the company plans to continue to expand its operations in Mexico, especially in Durango, due to the new road, logistics and rail infrastructure and the forest potential. Meanwhile, Roberto Salas Guzmán, corporate CEO, emphasized the company’s interest to be an innovative partner in the forestry sector in Durango, with the purpose of stimulating growth of the timber industry, regional development and sustainable vision in forest use. With this USD 132 million expansion Masisa will be consolidated as one of the most important forestry and wood products companies in the region.