Today, there are over 30 factories in the El Paso/Juárez borderplex producing Class I, II and III medical devices. Over 40,000 people work in the medical device industry in the region, whose manufacturing base is built primarily on the maquila model. Maquilas are factories in Mexico—typically located in special duty-free economic zones close to the border—that manufacture products for export. Companies in the industry include international corporate manufacturers, contract manufacturers and drug-device combination manufacturers.
Here are some examples of devices manufactured in the El Paso/Juárez region:
Contract manufacturers and standalone firms provide a number of support services for startups and other companies seeking to introduce a new product to the market. The sector’s product development capabilities include:
Additionally, the El Paso/Juárez borderplex is home to a broad array of manufacturing capabilities—in both infrastructure and human resources—to support medical device manufacturers. The region’s manufacturing capabilities include:
The region’s manufacturers are supported by a large number of local suppliers of materials and services. Biomedical device manufacturing suppliers in the El Paso/Juárez area include:
El Paso—and nearby Santa Teresa in Southern New Mexico—are part of a tremendously active port of entry into the U.S. for the manufacturing industry. In El Paso, five international vehicular bridges and two railroad bridges support over $70 billion in border trade annually.1 El Paso is home to Foreign Trade Zone No. 68, offering participating companies the benefits of deferred duties, improved inventory management and reduced importing costs. Logistical benefits of manufacturing in the El Paso/Juárez borderplex include:
