Panasonic to expand Costa Rica-based operations

Panasonic will invest $10 million to expand its operations in Costa Rica, with the ultimate goal of replacing a production line the company currently runs in Asia, the electronics corporation announced Tuesday.

At its facilities in San Rafael de Alajuela, Panasonic will construct a new warehouse and improve existing infrastructure. The upgrades will allow Panasonic to manufacture Triple-A batteries in Costa Rica and increase throughput on the Double-A battery production line.

Groundbreaking is expected later this year, and the new facilities are slated to be ready in 2022 before the start of operations in 2023.

“Our experience of more than 50 years serving countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, local human resources, social and economic stability, and the facilities offered by Costa Rica in logistics were the key factors for the corporate to assign us the new production,” Ronald León, general manager of Panasonic Central America, said in a statement from the company.

The project will generate 25 new jobs in the plant and create some 40 indirect jobs in the construction phase, Panasonic says.

Currently, Panasonic’s Costa Rican plant conducts the complete manufacturing of Type D and Double-A batteries. It also packages and distributes Triple-A, Alkaline and Panasonic car batteries.

Only 20% of the Costa Rican output is sold domestically. The remaining 80% is exported, primarily to Mexico, the United States and Peru.