Q: What role does Mexico play in Dätwyler Cabling Solutions’ global operations?

KF: In the cable manufacturing industry, we have focused on becoming a niche player. Our main markets are Germany, Austria and Switzerland but our solutions can be used worldwide. A very small portion of our production is exported to Mexico and Latin America. Mexico’s stable economy, infrastructure development and payment performance makes it an attractive market in which to strengthen our presence. Every segment requires our products: office buildings, shopping malls, hospitals and airports. Any infrastructure needs structured cabling.

Q: What is Marathon Group’s distribution strategy for products such as Dätwyler’s offering for the Mexican market?

JB: Dätwyler’s products are imported and commercialized through Marathon Group, a specialized company that has been in the Mexican market for 27 years. When we acquire a new brand, we try to specialize in the niche that brand is targeting. For instance, Dätwyler is specialized in ICT networks, so when we started working with the company five years ago we had to broaden our scope to include that niche. Some German companies in Mexico already have agreements with Dätwyler through its headquarters, so we use this relationship and provide them with the material needed for their operations.

Q: How does Dätwyler Cabling Solutions approach product development?

KF: We have a long history of manufacturing high-quality cabling solutions. Our priority is structured cabling in general. This consists of the cable, the connector, the patch cord, the patch panel and every item you need for structure cabling. For product development, we have to consider market needs and what our competitors are doing.

Q: How have the market’s needs evolved in the cabling industry throughout the years?

KF: The current market requires increasingly faster datatransmission speeds. If you look back five or 10 years, 1 Mbit per second or 6 Mbit per second was adequate but today you cannot work with such a slow internet connection. Data volume is constantly increasing and demands Structure Cabling Systems (SCS) that are sufficient and reliable. In SCS, we have seen the development from 1 Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet.

Q: How do you ensure that your product offering addresses the needs of Mexican industries?

JB: Nationalism sometimes plays a role when determining what kind of cabling needs to be used or what specifications must be followed. European companies use European products and follow European standards. However, most companies in Mexico follow American standards. This difference allows Dätwyler to attract business opportunities in both markets.

Q: What advantages can Dätwyler Cabling Solutions offer its clients over its competitors?

KF: We are a quality brand that constantly strives to be best in class, which is vitally important for big customers like car manufacturers. On big projects with car manufacturers, one advantage is the good contact we have with customer headquarters in Germany and Europe. Another advantage of big projects is that they usually ask for the same quality as international sites, which is where we excel.

JB: Logistics plays a crucial role in our operations. We have a logistics and a foreign-trade team. It is their responsibility to obtain the best costs and the best shipping options to ensure that our products get to their destination on time. Since Dätwyler’s products are manufactured in Europe, shipping and delivery times are a constant consideration. To ensure delivery within the country, we maintain significant amounts of product in stock and we have a transportation fleet. We also work with other companies in cases where additional transportation services are required.