We run technical site studies in Mexico and then design and build the plant under the same contract. That matters for one specific reason: the party assessing the site is the party who will later be held to the schedule and the number it produced.
The three findings that arrive too late
Power that is contracted but not available. A park can have its own substation and still be unable to serve your load, because capacity is already committed. Expanding it is not the park's decision — it is CFE's, on CFE's calendar.
Water that money cannot buy. In formally over-exploited basins, additional volume is not a procurement question. It is a question of whether a right exists and whether it transfers with the property.
Ground and shape. Foundation cost between two adjacent parcels can differ by a multiple, and bringing an irregular site to a working platform routinely runs into tens of thousands of cubic metres of cut and fill. Neither appears in the land price.
Is this the right fit for your project?
New plant (greenfield)
Site comparison before you commit, through to a working platform and a buildable design package.
Expansion or relocation
Assessment of an existing site's remaining capacity — power, water, drainage, land — against the new requirement.
Fit-out in a leased building
Technical review of the candidate building before the lease is signed, when the findings still have negotiating value.
Park vs independent land
Comparison on the factors that actually decide: available capacity, effluent acceptance, internal rules and what each route does to your schedule.
We work with foreign manufacturers building in Mexico — automotive and components, electronics, medical devices, food and beverage, pharmaceutical. Contracts are signed by our Mexican entity; US projects are signed by CTECP INC.
What the study delivers, per candidate site
Electrical capacity
Capacity available at the point of connection, what is already committed, the route and realistic timeline to the load you need.
Water and effluent
Volume availability, whether the right transfers with the property, discharge acceptance and parameters, and whether on-site treatment will be required.
Geotechnical
Investigation on that parcel — not the neighbour's report — and the foundation implication expressed as a cost range.
Topography and earthworks
Survey with cut-and-fill volumes and a balance assessment. A site that balances cut against fill costs far less than one that imports or hauls away.
Zoning and giro
Written confirmation from the authority that your specific activity is permitted, with COS, CUS, height and setback checked against the building you need.
Access and logistics
Turning radius and pavement strength assessed with the vehicle you will actually run, and the number of dock positions the lot geometry allows.
Permitting matrix
Every authority, requirement and a realistic duration — loaded into the schedule as activities with precedence, not treated as paperwork.
Comparison summary
Cost and schedule to a working plant. Not cost per square metre of land.
The deliverable is designed to be acted on, not filed. If a site fails on a hard constraint we say so and say why, including when the answer is that none of the shortlisted sites suits the requirement.
Where we have built
Site conditions in Mexico vary enormously over short distances, so the useful question is not how many projects a contractor has done but whether it has built under conditions like yours. Our published project pages give location, scope and status:
- KBY manufacturing campus, San Luis Potosí — multi-phase, construction alongside an operating facility
- Large industrial base, San Luis Potosí
- BMW training centre, Mexico
- All published projects →
Each page states what we actually performed. Where our role was installation scope rather than general contracting, the page says so.
How an owner abroad stays in control
Weekly written reporting
Progress against the baseline programme, with what moved, what did not, and the reason — in English, Spanish or Chinese.
BIM / VDC coordination
Structure, MEP and envelope modelled together, so clashes are resolved as a desk observation rather than as site rework.
Project portal
Drawings, RFIs, changes and site records in one place, accessible from headquarters.
360° site capture
Dated walkthroughs of the same positions over time, so remote review is comparison rather than interpretation.
This matters more than it sounds. The risk a foreign owner cannot manage is interface risk — the seams between design, construction, equipment vendors and authorities. Remote visibility is how that risk stays visible.
Who is responsible for what
CTECP
Site study, engineering, permit preparation and coordination, civil works, steel structure, MEP and process utilities, testing protocols and closeout dossier.
Owner
Process definition and equipment data, land acquisition or lease, the owner-side permits tied to property, and the production equipment itself.
Utilities (CFE, water operator)
Interconnection approval and the works on their side, on their timeline. We prepare, submit and push; we do not control their calendar.
Equipment vendors
Supply, positioning and connection of production equipment from the interface point defined in the contract.
Validation consultant (regulated projects)
Qualification and process validation. We supply the construction evidence it depends on; we are not the responsible party for it.
We would rather state this before the contract than argue it during commissioning.
Verifying us before you engage
Ask us for these, and ask every contractor on your list for the same:
- The legal entity that will sign, its RFC and tax standing.
- IMSS registration and REPSE status for the labour we will deploy.
- Insurance and bonding arrangements, with the issuer.
- A completed project at a named address you can check on satellite imagery.
- The project manager who ran it — and whether they are still with the company.
- A visit to a site we are currently building.
A firm that is genuinely operating can produce these in a day. One that cannot is telling you something useful.
Frequently asked questions
What should be screened first when selecting an industrial site in Mexico?
Available electrical capacity and water — in that order for most manufacturing, reversed for water-intensive operations. Both can be unsolvable rather than merely expensive: in over-exploited basins additional volume may not be obtainable at any price, and capacity at a given connection point may already be committed to other users.
Why do geotechnical and earthworks studies matter so much at this stage?
Because they are determined entirely by the parcel, are never included in the land price, and are common reasons cheap land turns out not to be cheap. Mexican ground conditions vary enormously over short distances, so foundation costs between adjacent sites can differ by a multiple. Neither study is expensive relative to the land, and both are usually skipped at shortlist stage — which is exactly when they would change the decision.
Can a construction contractor run site selection, or should we use a separate consultant?
A contractor can, and there is an argument for it: the party assessing the site is then the party who will have to build on it and be held to the schedule and cost it produced. What to require either way is a technical deliverable per site — verified power capacity, water and effluent, geotechnical investigation with a foundation cost range, topographic survey with cut-and-fill volumes, written zoning confirmation and a permitting matrix with realistic durations.
How long does a site study take?
It depends on how many sites are on the shortlist and whether geotechnical fieldwork is included. Desk screening on power, water, zoning and access is fast and usually removes several candidates immediately. Geotechnical investigation and topographic survey require site access and a laboratory turnaround. Tell us the shortlist and the target production date and we will give a programme before we quote.
Do you only study sites where you would build?
No. The study is a standalone deliverable and you are free to build with whoever you choose. We do tell you if we think a site is unsuitable, including when that conclusion means there is no project for us.
Which entity signs the contract?
Our Mexican entity signs Mexican projects and issues CFDI invoices; CTECP INC signs US projects. For a programme that spans both countries we set out which scope sits with which entity before contract.