Turnkey industrial buildings · Sonora, Mexico
Manufacture in Mexico. We Build the Facility.
SQ Tech designs, fabricates and erects the steel building for your plant in Sonora: structural design, foundations, fabrication in our own plant in Hermosillo and erection by our own crews, under one contract. We designed, fabricated and erected the steel buildings of the Stanley Black & Decker and Carlisle plants in Nogales, and delivered the Mainland Headwear plant in Agua Prieta as a built-to-suit design-build.
27 years · 600+ projects · Plant in Hermosillo, Sonora
Why Sonora
Building a plant in northwest Mexico, with the builder in the same state
The border is next door
Nogales, Sonora sits on the Nogales–Mariposa crossing and Agua Prieta faces Douglas, Arizona. Our plant in Hermosillo is about 175 miles (280 km) south of the border, and the state keeps Arizona time all year.
The steel is fabricated here
Frames, joists, purlins and cladding come from our own plant in Hermosillo and travel to your lot by road. A building in Sonora has no import step and no cross-border steel freight.
One contract, design to erection
Structural design, foundations, fabrication, permit coordination and erection by one company, with one point of contact and one schedule.
Documents your US team can review
Members designed to AISC 360 and welded to AWS D1.1, mill test reports for the steel, and the structural calculations and drawings in a form your engineers can check.
Projects
Plants we designed, fabricated and erected in Sonora
Each is a steel building we designed, fabricated and erected. The project pages are in Spanish.
Stanley Black & Decker tool plant
Nogales, Sonora
Foundation and steel design, fabrication and erection of the manufacturing building, with a long-span joist roof, plus metal roof and wall cladding.
Project page (in Spanish)
Carlisle manufacturing plant
Nogales, Sonora
Foundation and steel design, fabrication and erection of the main building and an internal mezzanine on steel deck with arc-welded shear studs.
Project page (in Spanish)Mainland Headwear manufacturing plant
Agua Prieta, Sonora (across from Douglas, Arizona)
Built-to-suit design-build: executive design, foundations, fabrication and erection of the steel frame and the metal roof of the manufacturing building.
Project page (in Spanish)
Copper concentrate warehouse, Grupo México (Buenavista del Cobre)
Cananea, Sonora
Structural design, fabrication and erection of long-span tubular steel arches carrying a metal roof on purlins.
Project page (in Spanish)
What we build
Industrial buildings for the way your plant runs
From a light assembly building in a Nogales park to a crane-served production hall, we design, fabricate and erect the whole structure. We are the builder, not a broker.
Budget ranges for turnkey buildings installed in Sonora, foundation included, are on the prefabricated steel warehouses page. Moving storage, not production? The guide to industrial warehouses in Mexico compares leasing, build-to-suit and owning.
Inside your plant
Steel mezzanines inside a running plant
A steel mezzanine is a free-standing intermediate floor of structural steel columns and beams built inside an existing building. It turns height you already pay for into floor area for storage, offices or production, without extending the building.
Three types
Storage platforms for racking or palletized goods, with a bar-grating or steel-plate deck; office mezzanines with a stair and handrails; and production platforms sized for the machinery they carry.
Installed while the plant runs
The members are fabricated in Hermosillo and bolted together on site, usually without stopping your operation. Bolted connections also let the platform be extended or moved later.
Engineering included
Each mezzanine is designed for its own load, with the structural calculation and fabrication drawings you need for the permit and for audits.
At the Carlisle plant in Nogales we built an internal mezzanine on steel deck with arc-welded shear studs, as part of the main building. Quote a mezzanine.
Next to your plant
Plant offices, guardhouses and modular buildings
Offices, guard booths, tool rooms and other support buildings for the plant are fabricated as steel modules in Hermosillo and arrive ready to fit out. For offices inside the building, see the office mezzanine above.
Complete modules
Steel frame, walls, roof, windows and door included, from a guard booth to a finished office. Finishes run from a bare tool room to insulated offices ready for HVAC and wiring.
Installed in days
Most office modules are set in 1 to 5 days once they reach the site, on light foundations instead of deep civil works.
Relocatable, with the calculation included
Each unit is a demountable steel structure that can be taken down and set up again elsewhere, and it ships with the structural calculation and the documents for its permit.
Where we have built
Steel buildings we have put up across Sonora
We fabricate in Hermosillo and erect across the state. These are jobs on file, with their area and the steel that went into them; we build inside industrial parks and on private lots.
| City | Job | Area and steel |
|---|---|---|
| Nogales | Stanley Black & Decker tool plant | 344,000 sq ft (32,000 m²) · 1,100 metric tons |
| Carlisle manufacturing plant | 438,000 sq ft (40,725 m²) · 1,447 metric tons | |
| Agua Prieta | Mainland Headwear manufacturing plant | 181,000 sq ft (16,805 m²) · 437 metric tons |
| Cananea | Copper concentrate warehouse, Grupo México (Buenavista del Cobre) | 776,000 sq ft (72,128 m²) · 1,350 metric tons |
| Heavy-equipment maintenance workshops, Buenavista del Cobre | 181,000 sq ft (16,817 m²) · 1,200 metric tons | |
| Hermosillo | Centro de Distribución VH (distribution center) | 245,000 sq ft (22,800 m²) |
How it works
From site visit to handover
Site and scope
We review your lot, the use, cranes, loads and schedule with you, in English, on site or remotely.
Structural design and quote
Our engineers produce the preliminary design and a quote that states the scope, the schedule and a validity date.
Permit coordination
We prepare the structural calculation report and drawings the municipal construction license asks for and coordinate the permit with the local authority.
Fabrication in Hermosillo
Structural steel from Mexican mills (Ternium, Fortacero) with mill test reports, cut and welded in our own plant while the foundations are poured.
Erection and handover
Our crews erect the frame and the roof and wall cladding. You receive the building with its drawings and documentation.
Questions
Manufacturing in Mexico: common questions
Why build a manufacturing plant in Sonora?
Sonora borders Arizona. Nogales, Sonora sits on the Nogales–Mariposa crossing, Agua Prieta faces Douglas, Arizona, and our plant in Hermosillo is about 175 miles (280 km) south of the border on Mexico 15. The state keeps Arizona time all year, its plants already supply US manufacturers, and the steel building is fabricated here: it travels from our plant to your lot by road, with no import step.
How long does it take to build an industrial facility in Sonora?
A pre-engineered steel building is typically operational 8 to 16 weeks after permit approval, depending on its size. The foundations are poured while the steel is fabricated in our Hermosillo plant, and our own crews erect it, so the schedule is not split across subcontractors. Your quote states the schedule for your building.
Can SQ Tech work with our US architect or engineer?
Yes. We design to the codes that govern a building in Sonora and document it so a US team can review it: structural calculations, fabrication and erection drawings, and mill test reports for the steel. Members are designed to AISC 360 and welded to AWS D1.1, the references your engineers already use, and project communication is in English.
Where in Sonora have you built?
In Nogales, the Stanley Black & Decker plant (344,000 sq ft (32,000 m²)) and the Carlisle plant (438,000 sq ft (40,725 m²)); in Agua Prieta, the Mainland Headwear plant (181,000 sq ft (16,805 m²)); in Cananea, Grupo México's copper concentrate warehouse and heavy-equipment workshops; and in Hermosillo, where our plant is, the Centro de Distribución VH (245,000 sq ft (22,800 m²)). We build inside industrial parks and on private lots.
Do you offer one turnkey contract, including design and permits?
Yes. The standard engagement is one contract for structural design, foundations, fabrication, permit coordination and erection, with one point of contact. You deal with one company, not a chain of subcontractors on both sides of the border.
Can you add a mezzanine or offices inside a running plant?
Yes. We engineer and install steel mezzanines and plant offices and guardhouses inside or next to existing buildings, usually without stopping production: the members are fabricated in Hermosillo and bolted together on site.
Turnkey quote
Tell us about your plant
A site, a footprint or only a concept is enough to start: we reply with next steps and what we need to price it. Hermosillo keeps Arizona time (MST, UTC−7, no daylight saving).