HNI Corp. announced it is opening a new office furniture manufacturing plant in Saltillo, Mexico. The facility will provide additional capacity to meet the Muscatine-based manufacturer’s increasing customer demand for office seating, HNI officials said in a news release. Contingent upon regulatory approvals, the new 160,000-square-foot facility is expected to employ 250 workers and will begin production in the first quarter of 2022. HNI said it plans to continue increasing staffing levels at the corporation’s other primary manufacturing locations in North America. To establish the Mexican operation, HNI is partnering with American Industries, a Mexican company that has assisted more than 200 international companies in starting manufacturing and distribution operations in Mexico. HNI is also working closely with the local government of Coahuila state. “This is an important investment for HNI,” said Kevin Hoban, vice president of manufacturing for HNI. “The additional equipment, labor force and supply chain capacity we are creating in Saltillo will help us respond to strengthening demand.” The publicly traded company did not disclose the dollar amount of investment in the project. In its second-quarter earnings report in July, the company reported that orders in its workplace furnishing segment were up more than 30% year-over-year, with consolidated net sales for the company up 22%.