Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González / Texas Border Business
MISSION, Texas – Century Recycling announced plans to construct a $50 million metal-recycling plant in Mission, a project expected to generate approximately 240 permanent and temporary jobs and deliver millions in annual payroll and tax revenue. The company formally shared the news on Thursday after meeting with the Mission Economic Development Corporation and Mayor Norie Garza.
The Mexico City–based company, formally known as Comercializadora Centro y Recycling, LLC, will build a 98,000-square-foot automated facility that will employ about 70 people once operational. Positions will include engineers, technicians, and various skilled workers. CEO Mauricio Osorio said the company intends to engage local colleges and universities to help develop the workforce. “I look forward to working with the local higher ed community to find the skilled talent needed to fill jobs,” he said.
Century, which already maintains offices in Mission, expects to break ground on its South Mission facility in January, with operations targeted to begin by the end of the year. City officials say the project ranks among the largest single investments ever announced for Mission and adds to a growing list of industrial expansions, including Bettcher Manufacturing and RODCO Steel.
Osorio described the company’s primary line of work as aluminum trading. “We have two different business models,” he said. “The first is the one we are focusing on now: trading in aluminum—primary aluminum and billets, which are long bars. These billets are typically eight meters long and made from specialized aluminum.”
Although the company specializes in recycling, Osorio said the Rio Grande Valley alone cannot supply the volume of scrap metal the facility will require. “I don’t think that it’s enough in the area,” he said. “So, we have to go countrywide, using the Port of Brownsville to get the metal from the East Coast. We are looking to get scrap from the U.S.”
Osorio confirmed that Century has conducted feasibility and supply assessments. “Yes, we do have a study of customers and, of course, the source,” he said. “We started as a recycler, so we know the business.”
The company also operates three related businesses in Mexico. “We have three companies in Mexico,” Osorio explained. “We have Fundiciones Gardos, located in Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. And we have offices in Mexico City, Monterrey, Querétaro, and we have an office here.” He added that Texas alone consumes roughly 300,000 metric tons of the product the company produces. “Our capacity is just 50,000 metric tons,” he said, noting that Century currently imports what it cannot supply domestically.
The new Mission facility is expected to employ between 35 and 50 people directly at launch. Osorio said employment could expand as operations scale. “We are thinking of getting three shifts, working 24/7—that’s the way to do it,” he said. “But at the beginning, one shift. It’s so expensive to start up the furnace and shut down, so we are working 24/7.”
Osorio said local officials played an important role in facilitating the project. “Not at all,” he said when asked if engaging with city authorities was difficult. “They helped us all the way. They’re pretty fast, too.”
The CEO expressed gratitude to the community for its support. “We would love to be part of the community and reciprocate the warm welcome that you give us,” he said. Osorio also acknowledged his wife, Gabriela Garcia, who accompanied him during the announcement.
