maquila
assembly plant
máquina
machine
+
-ila
diminutive suffix
A maquila is an assembly plant, which can be thought of as a specialized facility (-ila1) focused on machine0-based (máquina0) production.
noun
- assembly plantA factory in Mexico that assembles products for export, typically owned by foreign companies.Muchos trabajadores están empleados en las maquilas cerca de la frontera. // Many workers are employed in the assembly plants near the border.