Boehringer Ingelheim is investing 3.5 billion Mexican pesos (approximately US$187 million) to expand and modernize its pharmaceutical manufacturing site in Xochimilco, Mexico City. The company aims to produce 5 billion tablets a year there and make the facility the highest-output tablet plant in its global network.
The site will become the tablet plant with the highest production volume within the Boehringer Ingelheim group.
The German drugmaker announced the multiyear investment on August 7, 2025. Boehringer said the investment had already begun at the time of the announcement.
An expansion of an established factory
The project involves an existing manufacturing complex rather than the construction of an entirely new factory.
According to Boehringer’s information about the Xochimilco site, manufacturing operations there began in 1973.
The new investment is intended to expand and modernize the long-running operation.
A target of 5 billion tablets a year
Boehringer’s goal is to manufacture 5 billion tablets annually in Xochimilco. That would be equivalent to an average of approximately 13.7 million tablets per day if production were spread evenly throughout the year.
Boehringer says the facility will supply the Mexican market with medicines for high blood pressure and diabetes. Products made there will also be exported to more than 40 countries across all continents.
It is expected to surpass Boehringer’s tablet manufacturing sites in Spain, China, Japan, Greece and Germany.
The project is associated with thousands of jobs
Boehringer has associated the expansion with 1,800 direct jobs and more than 15,000 indirect jobs.
The company’s public announcement does not explain how many of the 1,800 direct positions are newly created roles and how many are existing jobs supported by the wider operation.
Part of a wider pharmaceutical investment package
Boehringer announced the project as part of a broader group of pharmaceutical investments presented by the Mexican government under its Plan México initiative.
Mexico’s federal government said Boehringer Ingelheim, Laboratorios Carnot, Bayer and AstraZeneca had announced investments totaling MXN 12.25 billion.
The projects include manufacturing expansions, a new pharmaceutical and biotechnology plant, clinical research and the development of technology and digital service operations.
For Boehringer, the Xochimilco expansion strengthens Mexico’s role as both a domestic production center and an export base. The plant is intended to supply patients in Mexico while also serving markets around the world.
Water efficiency will be important as production increases
Increasing pharmaceutical production also raises questions about the use of water, energy and other resources. The Xochimilco facility is located in the Valley of Mexico Basin and a 2026 Alliance for Water Stewardship certification report describes the basin as facing significant water stress linked to the overexploitation of its aquifers.
According to the report, approximately 97% of the site’s drinking-water supply comes from a borehole within the facility. The remaining 3% comes from a municipal connection.
The report also says that 100% of the water used for production and services is treated at the site. It states that 95% of water from the treatment plant is used to irrigate green areas, while 5% is used for washing vehicles on the property.
The facility tracks the amount of water used relative to production and has introduced water-efficiency projects. However, the report says the site did not have a specific target for reducing its total water consumption.
The certification report does not estimate how much additional water will be required to reach the 5-billion-tablet target but it does show why water use will be an important operational measure to monitor as production increases.
