By Stephen Downer
CORRESPONDENT
Published: May 6, 2014 2:42 pm ET
Updated: May 6, 2014 2:47 pm ET
Image By: BRP Inc.
BRP Inc. said the off-road market for vehicles like its Can-Am all-terrain line is strong, leading it to invest in a third production plant in Mexico.
Canadian power sports vehicle manufacturer BRP Inc. said May 6 it will invest $50.2 million in building a third facility in Mexico to expand production of its Can-Am all-terrain vehicle.
Valcourt, Quebec-based BRP said building will start on a 500,000-square-foot site in Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso, Texas, “in the coming months.”
Manufacturing operations are expected to begin at the facility in late 2015 and the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2017, BRP said in a news release.
The plant will employ 900 when complete, Johanne Denault, BRP’s manager of corporate communications, told Plastics News by telephone. However, she was unable to give an immediate response when asked what plastics operations will be involved.
“The off-road industry is strong and growing fast and our Can-Am all-terrain and side-by-side vehicles continue to make inroads in the market place,” José Boisjoli, BRP’s president and CEO, said in the release, adding: “We are investing in a new facility to meet future demand and in expectation of entering new ORV [outdoor recreational vehicle] segments.”
BRP opened its first manufacturing facility in Mexico, in Ciudad Juárez, in 2001. The plant, which employs 1,250, makes Can-Am and side-by-side vehicles. A second plant started operations in Querétaro, central Mexico, in 2012, and employs 640.
In November, BRP said it was developing new composite technology for fiberglass hulls and decks for the Sea-Doo personal watercraft produced at the Querétaro facility. | 
