DES PLAINES, IL, Oct. 1 — Kester will open a solder manufacturing facility in Mexico, the company said today. The Nogales plant will manufacture solder pastes, wire products and fluxes.

"Expansion into Mexico supports our strategy to deliver globally," Kester vice president of marketing and business development David Torp said in a press statement. Torp noted the years-long migration of assembly operations into China, Mexico and Eastern Europe.

Kester plans additional plants in Suzhou, China, in 2005, and Plauen-Neuensatz, Germany, which has been operational since June.