Rockwell to Build Auto Parts Plant in Mexico : Expansion: Seal Beach firm cites a growing demand in that country. It says that no jobs will be lost at North American factories.

Rockwell International on Tuesday said it will build an automotive parts manufacturing plant in Mexico that will employ 150 people.

The plant will be located in Queretaro, about 120 miles northwest of Mexico City, and will make window regulators, or controls, sunroofs, and door latches for Chrysler and Volkswagen vehicles to be sold in Mexico, according to Rockwell, which has its headquarters in Seal Beach.

The 63,000-square-foot plant will be built on a 6.2-acre site in an industrial park near Queretaro. Construction is scheduled to begin this month, and the plant is to be operational by May, 1994.

Ronald Roudebush, president of Rockwell’s automotive business, said there would be no loss of jobs in the two North American plants that build the parts for the Mexican market. He said market demand in Mexico is growing so fast that the company decided to build the plant. By 1998, about 2 million passenger vehicles are expected to be produced in Mexico, he said.

Rockwell’s plants in Bracebridge, Canada, and Brighton, Mich., formerly made the parts for the Mexican market. Overall, automotive parts accounted for 22% of Rockwell’s $10.9 billion in fiscal 1992 sales.

Queretaro is home to a growing number of major automotive suppliers. It is within 200 miles of seven of Mexico’s nine automobile assembly plants.