Northern Mexico

Metal Finishing for Saltillo Manufacturers

Plating, anodizing and passivation for Saltillo and the Coahuila automotive cluster, run at our McAllen, Texas plant. AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 registered, ITAR registered and DFARS compliant.

Automotive country

Finishing for the Coahuila Automotive Cluster

Saltillo anchors one of the largest automotive manufacturing clusters in Mexico, with vehicle assembly, powertrain, stamping and a deep tier-two supply base around it. Automotive finishing lives or dies on two things: corrosion performance that survives the specified test, and documentation that survives a customer audit. Both are what a registered finisher is for.

Corrosion performance you can specify

Zinc-nickel with the right post-treatment carries substantially more salt spray hours than standard zinc. We run ASTM B117 neutral salt fog in our own chambers for process control, and route certified results through an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited laboratory when your specification requires one.

Documentation that survives an audit

Every order ships with a Certificate of Conformance referencing the exact specification and revision your purchase order invokes. AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 registered at both plants.

The full process list at one plant

Zinc, zinc-nickel, cadmium, electroless nickel, sulfamate nickel, bright nickel, chem film, Type II and Type III anodize, nitric passivation, tin, gold and silver all run at McAllen.

Engineering review before you commit

Send the print. If the callout is obsolete, wrong for the substrate, or cannot be achieved as drawn, you will hear it before you have quoted the job to your customer.

Bilingual, on both sides of the desk

Our team works in English and Spanish — engineering, quoting and the people on the dock. Send the drawing and the purchase order in whichever language your team works in, and expect an answer in the same one.

Crossing the border

How the Parts Move

Most customers move parts under their existing IMMEX or temporary-import arrangements and use their own customs broker. We are a Texas finishing plant, not a broker: what we handle is the process, the inspection and the certification package. Tell us how your parts cross and how they come back, and we will fit our documentation to your program rather than the other way around.

Gleco is ITAR registered and runs formal ITAR control measures, so controlled technical data and hardware are handled under those controls rather than treated as ordinary work. Moving controlled items across the border still needs the appropriate U.S. export authorization in place, so tell us the classification when you send the print and we will confirm what is required before anything moves.

Common questions

Questions from Saltillo Buyers

How far is the plant from Saltillo?

The McAllen plant is at 3800 W. Ursula Ave in McAllen, Texas, north of the Reynosa-Hidalgo and Pharr crossings. Saltillo sits past Monterrey, so most customers on this corridor consolidate releases rather than crossing lot by lot.

Do you handle the customs paperwork?

No. Your broker handles the crossing and the temporary-import documentation. We handle the finishing, the inspection and the certification package that travels with the parts.

Do you run salt spray testing?

We run ASTM B117 neutral salt fog in our own chambers at both plants for process control. Gleco is not an accredited testing laboratory, so when your specification requires a certified result we run it through an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab and supply the certificate with the parts.

What about export-controlled parts?

Gleco is ITAR registered and runs formal ITAR control measures, so controlled technical data and hardware are handled under those controls rather than treated as ordinary work. Moving controlled items across the border still needs the appropriate U.S. export authorization in place, so tell us the classification when you send the print and we will confirm what is required before anything moves.

Can you support PPAP and first-article submissions?

Tell us what the submission requires when you send the print. We will confirm what we can supply from our own records and what has to come from an outside laboratory before you commit to a date.

Also serving across the border and up the corridor

Two Texas plants under one AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 quality system. Same processes, same certifications, same purchase order.

Laredo, TXThe busiest land port on the border, plus its trailer, chassis and machine shop base.San Antonio, TXAerospace maintenance, automotive supply and medical device work, reachable from either plant.Corpus Christi, TXPort, marine and refining support where salt air drives the finish selection.El Paso, TXThe Borderplex electronics, automotive and defense base, planned around consolidated freight.Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MexicoThe industrial center of northern Mexico, about two hours from the crossing.Reynosa, Tamaulipas, MexicoMaquiladora electronics, automotive and medical work, minutes across the bridge.Matamoros, Tamaulipas, MexicoAutomotive, electrical and medical manufacturing on the Gulf coast.Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, MexicoThe Laredo gateway supply base, transportation and material handling hardware.The McAllen plantAddress, hours, processes and the Rio Grande Valley overview.The Rowlett plantAddress, hours, processes and the North Texas overview.

Send the print

Tell us the substrate, the specification your customer invokes, and the quantity. We will confirm the process and a real lead time.

Gleco Plating — Finish Well

Precision metal finishing since 1979. Plating, anodizing, coatings and passivation from three Texas facilities.

Our paint, powder & Cerakote division: Gleco Paint & Powder Coating

  • AS9100D
  • ISO 9001:2015
  • ITAR Registered
  • DFARS Compliant
  • RoHS

Locations

Gleco Rowlett
2220 Grisham Drive
Rowlett, TX 75088
972-475-4300

Gleco McAllen
3800 W. Ursula Ave
McAllen, TX 78503
956-800-4069

info@glecoplating.com

© 2026 Gleco Plating Incorporated. All rights reserved. Privacy PolicyTerms & ConditionsSupplier TermsContact