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Long-Term Perspective is Key

Brenda Vega - NISSHA PMX TECH
Business Development Director

STORY INLINE POST

Alejandro Enríquez By Alejandro Enríquez | Journalist and Industry Analyst - Sat, 05/02/2020 - 05:00

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Q: What milestones has Nissha PMX Tech achieved since the expansion of its plant in 2018?

A: We expanded our plant capacity by around 150 percent, from 3,700m2 to 9,700m2, including production floor, tooling facilities, offices, storage and our metrology lab. The expansion went hand in hand with growth in our sales, which we doubled over three years. From 2018 to 2019, we grew around 40 percent. Since 2018, we have launched many solutions related to the automotive industry.

We also increased our tonnage capacity for injection machines. We now have multiple 900-ton and 1,000-ton presses, which required a considerable change in our infrastructure for plastic injection. In the 2018-2019 period, we grew our capacity to integrate new technologies, adding value to our products by integrating different processes. For example, in-mold decoration (IMD) is a process in which Nissha excels. IMD is Nissha’s trademark. We also integrated secondary processes such as hot stamping and laser marking.

Q: What features of Nissha PMX Tech’s value proposition help the company stand out in a heavily competitive market?

A: Our differentiators are our cutting-edge turnkey solutions. We are involved from the design stages through all the processes until mass production. Another differentiator is our engineering support. We have the flexibility to provide engineering support across different locations worldwide. This kind of support for plants in Europe or Asia is a feature our clients are looking for. In addition, we are specialized in different kinds of products that are critical for control processes, which has helped us become a trustworthy supplier.

Q: What role does Mexico play in the production of advanced electronic devices with automotive applications?

A: Mexico’s role is very relevant and its importance is growing. The country has many Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies that have manufactured advanced electronic devices for years and we are proud to supply components to some of the most recognized ones. In the future, we see more companies trusting in Mexico to establish their manufacturing operations on advanced electronics devices for multimedia applications.

Q: What are the most important advantages provided by the acquisition of Polymer Tech?

A: The most important advantage is strengthening our presence in the Mexican market by offering a fully integrated product: IMD. We have been supporting world-class Tier 1 companies for 14 years now and growing strategic relationships with our customers.

Q: How important is Mexico’s relationship with the US for Asian companies and how does it shape your development strategies?

A: The US-Mexico relationship is important regardless of a single-company perspective. It is important to highlight the importance of the automotive industry for the US and Mexico. Nissha takes into account changes in tariffs, trade relationships and the strategies of European and Asian companies when designing its strategy. We are working closely with our suppliers and customers to strengthen our partnerships.

Q: What challenges and opportunities will the new rules of origin in USMCA bring for Nissha PMX Technologies’ Mexico operations?

A: We are working on that with our current and potential customers. For us, there is a big opportunity to increase the support we offer by being a local solution. These new rules are an incentive for companies to increase their local supply chain. Nevertheless, the main challenge is to continue being price-competitive and to have the technical and technological capacity to provide a solution to clients that used to rely on foreign companies.

Q: What is the main challenge that Nissha faces to add Mexican companies to its supplier base?

A: For the resin segment, the challenge remains in our clients’ specifications for the type of resin and supplier certification they expect. If we offer a different kind of resin, we will face a validation period that is not aligned with the project’s schedule. We are open to working with our clients, local suppliers and resin manufacturers to create new business models that can be beneficial for all.

Another raw material we use are colorants. In this segment, we are working with local suppliers to develop colorants that previously were only available in Europe or Asia. We work hand in hand with our suppliers to comply with our clients’ requirements.

We also use several metal components for our molding processes. A challenge here relates to special coatings for these metals. Mexican suppliers are in the development stage for these coatings and many of our clients prefer to wait for them to mature, although this may seem contradictory because we need to support local suppliers for them to mature.

 

Nissha PMX Technologies is a subsidiary of Nissha USA. It was established in 2005 in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, for the manufacturing of injection molded parts used for automotive under-the-hood components, as well as interior and exterior components

Photo by:   MBN

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