Mike Nieves is Eaton Aerospace's director of operational excellence.

   Criss' comments notwithstanding, Mexico's aerospace industry is more established in certain border regions. With 26 companies and 60 percent of the work force, Baja California boasts the largest aerospace cluster. One of the latest to move there is Irvine, Calif.- based Eaton Aerospace, which manufactures components for the full range of commercial and military aircraft. Eaton is sharing a facility with a sister division, Eaton Electrical, in the Pacifico Industrial Park in Tijuana.
   "Baja has by far the largest population of skilled aerospace workers in Mexico," says Mike Nieves, Eaton Aerospace's director of operational excellence. Nieves says space in an existing facility was appealing and was one of the deciding factors following a process in which several Mexican states courted Eaton.
   "We thought that Baja was the best place to be," Nieves says. "The government is favorable to the aerospace industries and they offered incentives, mostly educational, for our personnel to upgrade their skills."
   Eaton began operations on July 25 and by mid- September had hired 50 operators, with plans to grow to 650 by next year. Processes include manufacturing of electrical components such as switches and toggles and metal forming of tubes for air, fuel and hydraulic systems.

Eaton Aerospace moved electrical component assembly operations into a facility in Tijuana.

Eaton is looking for workers with general electronics assembly skills, a commodity in plentiful supply in Baja. Nieves says there is a large available pool of workers with these skills who formerly worked with consumer electronics firms that have closed and moved to Asia.
   "There are a lot of highly skilled workers in Baja who worked with the Mitsubishis, the Panasonics, the Hitachis and other companies," Nieves says. "We felt this was a great place for us to grab those types of electronic assembly skills."
   Eaton considered locating in other low- cost countries, but the proximity of Tijuana to the company's engineering facility in California was a big plus. Also, he says it would have been very hard for Eaton to serve military customers from China.

U.S., Canada Aerospace Sales Gain Altitude Five years past the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the resulting economic slowdown, the aerospace industry has rebounded, says the Aerospace Industries Association. Statistics compiled by AIA's Aerospace Research Center show the industry took a hit from delayed or cancelled jetliner orders from airlines as travel slowed. AIA research shows the manufacturing sector has now surpassed pre- 2001 levels.    U.S. aerospace sales were $152 billion in 2001 and increased less than 1 percent in 2002, much less than expected, AIA says. Sales dropped to $147 billion in 2003 before increasing in 2004 and 2005, reaching $170 billion. AIA estimates sales will reach $184 billion this year.    U.S. aerospace employment fell from 665,800 in September 2001 to 579,700 in February 2004. It reached 634,000 last June.    The industry is on the upswing in Canada as well. The Conference Board of Canada says that the nation's aerospace industry can expect to post growing profit levels over the next four years, thanks to rising shipment levels and demand from new markets in China and India. The Conference Board forecasts profits of CA$802 million in 2006, double the $398 million in 2005.    The Conference Board's aerospace industry outlook says strong corporate profits over the last couple of years have pushed demand for business jets. This type of aircraft generates higher profit margins than regional jets, and Bombardier delivered 45 per cent more business jets in 2005.