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Mexico: Fair to sunny

Evonik Country Americas

Reading Time 3 min

April 28, 2025

What’s the secret behind Mexico’s appeal? The combination of a lively culture and a favorable climate—factors that also have an economic impact. The country between the USA and Central America is experiencing rapid technological and industrial development. Evonik is supporting this upswing with innovative products and solutions

By Pauline Brenke

An aerial view shows Mexico City shrouded in morning fog. — Wisps of fog at sunrise give Mexico City an almost subdued atmosphere. It’s hard to imagine that around 22 million people live here. This puts the capital of the United Mexican States—the country’s official name—in sixth place among the world’s most populous cities. An Aztec city called Tenochtitlán once stood here. Mexico City emerged from its ruins in the 16th century. Today, the metropolis is the political and economic center of Mexico. Evonik is represented here with an administrative headquarters, research laboratories, and a production and logistics site

A mariachi trio with a trumpeter, guitarist, and violinist. — Mariachi is an important part of the country’s culture and was added to UNESCO’s Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011. Contrary to popular belief, mariachi is not a musical genre, but a band with a broad repertoire of styles. These include polkas, waltzes, and typical Mexican corridos—ballads that tell of battles, heroic deeds, and love. The typical mariachi sound is created by an interplay of trumpet, guitar, violin, vihuela—a small, five-stringed instrument—and guitarrón—a bass guitar. Evonik supplies the high-performance polymer Vestamid® for the strings, which ensures a good feel when playing and a clear, powerful sound.

On the Day of the Dead, a woman has artfully painted herself to look like a skeleton. She wears silk flowers in her hair and a dark cape. — A visit from the beyond: On the Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos in Spanish, people in Mexico celebrate the temporary return of the souls of their deceased loved ones. The festivities take place every year from October 31 to November 2 and show the special way Mexicans deal with the subject of death: Instead of mourning, there are processions, dancing, singing, and elaborate altars with lavish offerings for the dead. For many, dressing up as a skeleton is also part of the tradition. The artistic painting of one’s face as a skull is particularly important. Silica from Evonik stabilizes color pigments in decorative cosmetics, improving their structure, and promoting the even distribution of color.

Wearing rubber gloves, hands sort cocktail tomatoes into green, yellow, and red as they are transported along a conveyor belt. — Moderate to tropical temperatures and plenty of sunshine—good conditions for a vacation and even better conditions for growing tomatoes. Tomatoes are in season 365 days a year in Mexico; no other country in the world exports more of the nightshade plant. Workers like these in San Juan del Rio carefully select the best tomatoes for domestic and foreign markets. Around 20 percent of Mexico’s entire fruit and vegetable production is exported. In addition to tomatoes, oranges and avocados are also very popular. Evonik’s Active Oxygens business unit helps ensure that the harvest stays fresh longer: Fruit and vegetables are cleaned in an environmentally friendly way in washing water containing peracetic acid and hydrogen peroxide.

A workshop employee is standing under the wing of an AEROMEXICO aircraft. His head is inside the wing. — An employee reaches up to his shoulders into the wing of a Boeing jet to conduct maintenance work. In addition to the US manufacturer, other major players such as Airbus and Safran are also established in Mexico. They are among a total of 370 companies in the aviation industry in the country—and this number is rising. A key location for the industry is the city of Querétaro in central Mexico. Evonik is also represented here with a logistics center and the company’s largest rail terminal. Evonik provides important know-how for the aerospace industry. For example, it produces heat- and corrosion-resistant high performance polymers for aircraft.

Connected by rail

Evonik is represented twice in the metropolitan area of Mexico City: by an administrative headquarters and two laboratories for the Coating Additives and Care Solution business units in the south of the city, and by a warehouse and logistics center for the Active Oxygens business unit in Santa Clara. Another location with a large rail terminal is in Querétaro. A warehouse and distribution center for all business units is located in Monterrey, close to the US border.

A map shows the four Evonik sites in Mexico.

Evonik has around 125 employees at 4 locations