POWER May 2010 - 88

POWER IN MEXICO
ca, and Venezuela of Yokogawa-concurs
with Lozanos' view and sees Mexico as
a potential Latin American leader. He
highlights how Mexico has benefited
Yokogawa: " Mexico is the core of the region
due to NAFTA's advantages, such as
the maquila model, which will allow us to
manufacture cabinet automation equipment
in partnership with our global suppliers,
which have their factories near us.
Hopefully, by next year we will export to
South America from here, creating more
jobs and following the Mexican model
of consistent high-quality standards and
added value. "
Value
Mauricio García, general manager of CMS
International, a Mexican company that
manufactures and markets valves and regulators
for gas-related solutions, notes that
some Mexican companies are focused on
price, concentrating on being the low-cost
supplier to U.S. companies. Garcia says
that before he became general manager,
CMS International used to offer its key
product, the LOBO, on discount to boost
sales. " What we needed to do, and what
we are doing now, is to invest and build up
a product so that we are able to compete
on quality, not just on price, " he says. He
also reiterated his intention to reopen his
company's research department to further
these aims.
This attention to looking at long-term
value is a challenge that the Mexican service
sector needs to rise to. Manuel Gomez,
general manager at SYSCE argues: " Mexican
companies focus on buying and selling,
not on investing in the product. Mexican
companies need to think more how they
can make money in the long term, rather
than making a quick profit. "
Times have changed since the sector was
nationally dominated and relatively static.
Now successful companies need to be fastmoving.
The CFE has a world of potential
suppliers, and it is those who offer best
value that are most likely to succeed.
Ricardo Arratia, director of Brio Mexico,
one of the key advisers to the CFE top
management, says, " The CFE went through
some considerable changes in order to try
to become a world-class company. Since
these changes you need to offer them quality
as well as value. "
Felipe Martin, director general at Kobrex,
a specialist cable manufacturer and
part of LM holding company, concurs: " All
products which are supplied to the CFE
need to be evaluated by their internal testing
lab to be approved. There is no point
trying to cut corners or the like. " Flanked
by his son and daughter in the family-operated
company, he goes on to argue that in
his business a large percentage of the product
is determined by the price of the underlying
commodity (most of their products
are copper-derived), thus it is difficult, but
very necessary in Mexico, to differentiate
yourself from your rivals.
The Mexican service and manufacturing
sector has gone through significant challenges,
including regular financial crises. At the
time of writing, the sector has safely hurdled
the current economic crisis and is home to
some excellent domestic companies and host
to the regional headquarters of various multinationals.
The Mexican service sector is in a
position to look toward the future with more
confidence than before. ■
-Written and researched by Clotilde
Bonetto (clotilde@gbreports.com) and
Mark Storry (mark@gbreports.com) of
Global Business Reports.
88
www.powermag.com
POWER | May 2010
Ygor Guilarte, director of Yokogawa
Mexico, and Arturo Carrillo, managing
director of Cimaltec
Gerardo Maltos and Manuel
Gomez, cofounders and CEOs of SYSCE
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POWER May 2010

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