Companies in the metalworking sector in Mexico are rethinking strategies in order to join the most productive and innovative supply chains, for this, it is necessary to take advantage of strategies such as the one provided by nearshoring and add opportunities.

This was announced by Eduardo Medrano, president of ISTMA America and outgoing president of the Mexican Association of Mold and Die Manufacturing (AMMMT), who in his conference offered within the framework of EXPOMAQ 2022, said that nearshoring in Mexico has attracted the attention of foreign investment companies in the automotive industry, which is a great opportunity for the molds and dies sector, above all, to reduce costs such as tariffs.

Of interest: Electromobility in North America is underpinned by Mexican production

He commented that, as of 2020, Mexico has become an important player, but countries like China have become even more competitive, especially in the manufacture of molds and dies, therefore, it is necessary for companies in Mexico to compete for factors that drive them to look for other alternatives on where to invest and produce: one of them is intellectual protection and improvement in value chains.

“Mexico has benefited in this sense, because in 2019 it was declared the largest partner for the US in manufacturing, with a flow of more than 366,000 million dollars in exported manufactures, for something, we have been doing it for 20 years. 

Today the challenge is to meet the requirements of NAFTA with 75% local content and create that capacity in terms of quality and time”, he reiterated.

It exemplifies the case of the BMW assembly plant in San Luis Potosí, where, after its installation five years ago, they currently manufacture 2 and 3 series cars and are about to include Chinese suppliers, accounting for 70 integrated suppliers in San Luis Potosí, Querétaro, Guanajuato y Nuevo León.

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“If we replicate this diagram of the automotive industry in Mexico and each anchor assembler brings its group of suppliers around it. Many companies are seeing Mexico as a favorable alternative and set up shop to supply the large assemblers, but we have also seen the growth of local companies because they have positioned themselves as suppliers as well," he added.

He said that in 2019 the competitiveness between Mexico and China has been reduced, placing Mexico in 37th place and China in 31st, a notable improvement in the last 10 years.

Finally, he emphasized that intelligent manufacturing, industry 4.0, integration of robots in production processes, among other aspects that are already being considered, must be pursued in order to adapt and act for a future that promises a favorable development for Mexico. 

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Original note