Texas-based customs broker expands cross-border footprint
In 1991, Eduardo Lozano began his cross-border freight forwarding business with a $2,000 loan from his parents because he saw opportunities in trade between the U.S. and Mexico.
“I began principally from scratch, probably not knowing how it will find yourself,” Lozano said.
Today, Lozano is CEO and president of the firm he founded, Eduardo E. Lozano & Co. Inc. (EELCO), which has over 33 years of U.S.-Mexico border customs experience. The Laredo, Texas-based company has offices in Texas, Foreign Trade Zone warehouse in Miami Florida and offices in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. EELCO handled over 114,000 customs transactions for clients in 2023.
“Our core service is white glove U.S. Customs clearances and providing value-added counsel and advice on customs compliance,” Lozano said. ”We offer a wide selection of logistic support services including customs clearance, cross docking, freight forwarding, warehousing, distribution, and Foreign Trade Zone services.”
Lozano, who was born and raised in Laredo, said growing up near the border gave him a novel insight into the trade community between the 2 countries.
“I do know a number of things concerning the border that the majority people don’t know that want to return to Laredo to explore, it’s never the identical unless you’re born and raised and pass though many changes from NAFTA to today’s USMCA on the southern border,” Lozano said.
EELCO is expanding with a brand new 250,000-square-foot logistics warehouse in North Laredo. The power, which opened on Friday, features 47 dock doors, 4 ramp doors, 247 trailer spaces and over 40,000-square-feet designated for foreign trade zone warehousing.
Mexico was the highest overall U.S. trading partner in 2023, with trade between the 2 countries totaling $798 billion and Laredo is crossing greater than 18,000 trucks each day into and out of the US.
Last 12 months, the port of entry in Laredo was the No. 1-ranked international trade gateway within the U.S., totaling $320 billion. It was the primary time Laredo was the nation’s No. 1 overall trade port for the 12 months. In January, Laredo began the 12 months because the No. 1 port within the country in cargo volume, followed by the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles.
“The first reason behind our expansion was as a result of the high demand we have now from customers in cross docking and storage,” Lozano said. “Importers are finding it more economical to load a Mexican dry van in Monterrey, Mexico, dray it to the border to clear customs in Laredo, and take it to our facility where a U.S. truck is waiting to cross dock and pick up the load, taking it to its final destination.”
EELCO’s latest warehouse facility is a consolidation of the corporate’s two existing warehouses in Laredo. The brand new warehouse is situated in North Laredo, adjoining to Interstate-35 and is compliant with customs-trade partnership against terrorism (CTPAT) regulations.
“The Laredo real estate marketplace for warehousing is growing and finding a facility was not difficult with the addition of several latest industrial parks developing around town,” Lozano said. “Laredo has seen a big growth previously 3 years, where 250,000-square-foot warehouses have gotten quite common. It’s not difficult to seek out real estate in Laredo, but buyers are having to pay premium prices in comparison with past years.”
Lozano predicts big things for the U.S.-Mexico trade market this 12 months.
“We’re blessed to say EELCO, in addition to our colleagues in Port Laredo, are reporting record volumes for customs and logistics operations,” Lozano said. “Forecasts predict that this upward trend is anticipated to proceed in years to return and this is just the start.”
Pennsylvania-based mushroom grower expands production into Mexico
Mushroom grower South Mill Champs has entered right into a partnership with Mexican private investment company Grupo APAL.
The partnership, which shall be a 50-50 Mexican three way partnership called Royal Champs, will construct a mushroom growing farm and packing operation on a 257-acre site near Queretaro, Mexico.
Along with the power in Queretaro, the partnership goals to eventually expand growing operations in multiple sites across Mexico primarily for import into the U.S. and Canada, based on a news release.
“The partnership with Grupo APAL will allow us to give attention to our expansive expertise of mushroom production and provide chain management,” Mike Pia Jr., South Mill Champs’ vice chairman of business growth, said in an announcement. “The Mexican expansion demonstrates our commitment to modernizing and leading innovation within the mushroom industry across North America.”
South Mill Champs is a Kennett Square, Pennsylvania-based grower and supplier of North American fresh mushrooms and functional mushroom foods. The corporate has growing and processing operations in Canada and the U.S. The corporate’s network includes cold chain distribution centers in nine U.S. cities
Grupo APAL is the private investment company of Paredes Arroyo, a dairy producer, supplier and shareholder of Alpura, a dairy products company based in Mexico City.
Impilo expands distribution network with Phoenix warehouse
Technology firm Impilo recently opened a distribution center in Phoenix geared toward bolstering the corporate’s ability to cater to the growing demand for distant patient monitoring (RPM) services within the western parts of the U.S.
The temperature-controlled distribution center includes storage, kitting, refurbishment and receiving capabilities. The power is situated near the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport airport and several other major carriers’ facilities, based on a news release.
“This expansion marks a big milestone for Impilo as we try to boost logistics efficiency, reduce shipping costs and expedite shipping times for our customers,” Josh Stein, CEO and founder, said in an announcement.
Founded in 2020, Impilo relies in Philadelphia. The corporate provides logistic and data solutions for healthcare firms and providers to scale their distant patient monitoring programs.
TT Electronics opens factory along US-Mexico border
TT Electronics, a provider of worldwide manufacturing solutions and engineered technologies, recently opened a brand new manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Mexico.
The 75,000-square-foot facility allows the corporate to fulfill the increasing demand for electronics manufacturing solutions in North America, based on a news release.
“This strategic investment reinforces our commitment to deliver increased value, a world-class service and the capability to enable our customer’s growth,” Michael Leahan, COO of TT Electronics, said in an announcement.
Mexicali is the state capital of Baja California and is situated along the California-Mexico border.
The brand new factory is situated next to the corporate’s existing plant in Mexicali, which manufactures sensor technologies. The brand new facility will provide fully integrated electronics manufacturing solutions with capability for as much as six high-speed surface-mount technology lines, product integration and assembly.
TT Electronics relies near London, England, and employs greater than 1,200 employees in Mexicali and Juarez, Mexico.
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