Mexico City, Feb 15 (IANS/EFE): Eurocopter plans to invest up to $550 million in Mexico over the next few years, the European aviation company's president and CEO, Lutz Bertling, said.

"Our company is ready to continue investing. We see maximum potential investment of approximately $550 million," Bertling said during the inauguration of a plant in the central Mexican state of Queretaro.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto attended the ceremony Wednesday at the industrial facility in Colon, a city in Queretaro.

Eurocopter's total investment will depend on sales in Mexico over the next few years, Bertling said.

Initial investment at the plant in Queretaro totals $100 million, demonstrating "how serious we are about being here in Mexico", Bertling said.

Eurocopter, which has been in Mexico for 30 years, employs 250 people who provide support to a fleet of more than 450 helicopters operating in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America, the executive said.

The French-German-Spanish helicopter manufacturer was created in 1992 via a merger involving France's Aeropostiale-Matra and Germany's Daimler Chrysler Aerospace.