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Shelter from the Regulatory Storm

Maria Elena Rigoli - Collectron International Management and Sonitronies
President and CEO

STORY INLINE POST

Thu, 12/01/2016 - 12:41

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Q: How is Collectron working to strengthen the aerospace sector in the state?

A: We want to strengthen the aerospace supply chain in Sonora. In 2016, we will incorporate four more companies into Mexico, two of which are aerospace industry. We plan to continue putting our clients first. It is important for us to help them weather uncertainties in the Mexican market that arose from changes in regulations since 2014.

Q: What impact has Collectron had on the overall manufacturing landscape?

A: The original shelter plan program, now used by many companies across Mexico, was created by Collectron in Nogales, Sonora. Foreign companies were wary of entering the country, unsure how to integrate, and this model simplifies their entrance because a foreign company represents them here. Their legal presence in the country is under the shelter’s name. The state was home to some of the first IMMEX manufacturing companies in Mexico.

Collectron operates in Nogales, Hermosillo, Ciudad Obregon, Agua Prieta and Santa Ana in Sonora, and in San Luis Potosi and Queretaro. We have helped over 260 companies to enter the country and today we represent 30 businesses in these seven cities. Our client portfolio includes mostly Fortune 500 and Fortune 200 companies in addition to privately owned firms. We often attend events to increase our presence and to contact large companies. Our marketing department is in charge of identifying potential businesses that complement industry gaps and have the necessary infrastructure to expand their operations into Mexico. Our goal is to find companies that will support existing industry by generating an integrated supply chain, one of the larger areas of opportunity in Mexico.

Our greatest strength is our highly informed professionals who are experts in global markets. Collectron has kept up to date with changes in all economic sectors to support our client companies. We also offer competitive costs and stable structures. All our skills have been developed through many years of work and our more than 48 years of experience in the industry.

Q: How essential have shelters such as Collectron been to the development of Sonora’s economy?

A: Shelters have been of the utmost importance for the
development of the local manufacturing industry, leading 161 to the state’s economic growth. In comparison to other border states, Sonora has fewer companies but the efforts of many players have helped us become one of the most competitive states across many industries.

We are sheltering aerospace companies such as B/E Aerospace, which grew from 50 employees to 1,100 under our program. This is much greater growth than other companies that entered Nogales at the same time, such as Figeac Aero and Radiall. We help our clients to find technicians by visiting schools to recruit and train them before they start working.

Our main competitive advantage is attention to detail in all services, from training to logistics. Companies can trust our reliability and efficiency and they know they can contact us directly whenever they run into a problem.

Q: How are shelters shifting the negative perception of Mexico in terms of security and skills?

A: Mexico’s expertise has changed considerably in many areas in the past few years. One of the most important improvements is human capital, with 90,000 engineers graduating every year. Nonetheless, the country severely lacks qualified technicians. Thus, we have invested in training. Competition for qualified technicians between the main manufacturing centers in the state has led some businesses to choose smaller, less industrialized cities, to avoid competition for labor. The greatest strength of the state has been its human capital, so our government must increase its efforts to train technicians to retain this reputation.

The state also is becoming much safer. We analyze security conditions for companies in states close to the US border and have seen the crime rate fall significantly in the past few years.

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