Smith Corona to Set Up Shop in Tijuana

Smith Corona Corp., the nation’s last typewriter manufacturer, will begin operating a huge plant on Tijuana’s Otay Mesa early this year.

The company said it is moving manufacturing capacity from Cortland in Upstate New York to Tijuana to take advantage of lower labor costs. A spokeswoman said that “fully burdened� labor costs, including insurance and taxes, are $18 to $20 an hour per employee in New York, contrasted with $4 an hour in Mexico.

The Mexican plant will employ 700 and measure more than 200,000 square feet of space. The Tijuana employees will replace some 775 full-time employees and 100 part-time New York employees who are being laid off.