CLAUGTO's Automotive Congress and Supplier Forum is Ready!

Guanajuato’s automotive cluster is ready to strengthen the industry through CLAUGTO Automotive Congress (CAC) and its Automotive Supplier Forum (FPA), which will be held in August and September, respectively. Guanajuato is the crown jewel of the Mexican automotive industry and home to GM, Volkswagen, Mazda, Honda and Toyota plants, plus many Tier 1 and Tier 2 manufacturing sites.

"Changing environments have placed Mexico as the fourth main supplier of auto parts to the US and the fourth largest vehicle exporter worldwide," said Alfredo Arzola, Director General of CLAUGTO, on a statement. From 2010 to 1Q2021, the state has attracted over US$5.88 billion in accumulated FDI in vehicle and vehicle part manufacturing, according to the Mexican Ministry of Economy.

Arzola explains that the automotive industry is undergoing a "titanic change" that is driving the reconfiguration of both industries and public policies. Considering the importance of the automotive sector, it will spearhead change and innovation for many other industries. "If the last 10 years where unprecedented, in the next five years (industries) will face topics such as USMCA, labor and fiscal reforms, the pandemic, industry 4.0, as well as other megatrends that will lead to a future full of opportunities," writes Arzola on LinkedIN.

CAC will be held virtually on August 17-19 and August 25-26 and host over 20 conferences and 11 workshops focused on asset security, human capital, operations excellence, purchasing and suppliers. Moreover, it will showcase the organization’s shift toward a new era. "We designed different strategies linked to the triple helix: industry, government and academia. We added a fourth: the media, students, workers, professionals and entrepreneurs," said Rolando Alaniz, President of CLAUGTO.

oth events are supported by the state government officials in light of the importance of the automotive industry to the state. "Auto part exports represent 28 percent of (Guanajuato’s) total exports while the automotive sector represents 47 percent of total exports and more than 70,000 jobs," said Luis Rojas, Director General of COFOCE, the state's foreign trade branch.

"Both Hannover Messe and Foro de Proveeduría Automotriz (Automotive Suppliers Forum) represent the automotive industry in the Bajio area. The latter served to capitalize on business opportunities that arose with the USMCA, while boosting the expansion of automotive Tier 1s and OEMs following Toyota’s arrival at the end of 2019. This also supported activities related to supplier development, jobs, exports and economic growth. In addition to the traditional forum, as a cluster we brought high-level speakers to help companies to understand the reality we are living in," Arazola told MBN on an interview.