2010-12-07
Enrique Mercado Lamm, Fábrica de Cordeles de México´s CEO, talked with Mexico Fits regarding 2009 National Export Award that the company received last October 30th, directly from Mexico’s President, Felipe Calderón.
Mercado Lamm also traced out the route to be followed by Mexican textile companies to be recognized as competitive suppliers worldwide.
International quality ropes
Fábrica de Cordeles de México (Facomex) is a 100% Mexican company, founded in 1949. Facomex produces all kind of ropes and strings, from 1/8 to 8 inches wide. Our products, braided and twisted, are fabricated with both natural and synthetic fibers.
Many years before, Facomex was focused in offshore markets, mainly the oil industry. Today we’ve entered into transportation, hardware, building, fishing and recreative sailing markets.
As time went by, we realized there was an important retail sales market in USA, so we decided to explore our chances to be Home Depot suppliers. It wasn’t easy to win the trust of the company, many interviews, inspections and auditing process were executed, but we reached our goal, and today we can say this is one of our strongest alliances. Manufacturing with quality rewards with clear and strong benefits, like being supplier of one of the biggest USA retail sales stores.
Our big diameter products reach Mississippi, New Orleans, offshore markets and the fishing industry of Chile, since the last two years; in fact, we’ve been trying to increase our exportations to that country. In Mexico, we supply the Federal Government: we sell to Secretaría de Marina, Comisión Federal de Electricidad and Pemex.
String and rope production is one of the most unattended fields in textile industry, because most people think that this sector is only related to fabric and, in consequence, fashion. However, Mexican ropes and strings fill important needs in the market. Good quality helps us to compete successfully in the global market, not only in heavy industry, but also in consumption products.
We are really glad because Facomex represents the Mexican textile diversity, people’s highly training and the extremely new technology applied by the national producers.
National Exportation Award: result of good working
We won the award for the medium sized industry being chosen from 67 contenders. This was the second year we’ve tried to reach the prize. It’s our first award and, of course, makes us very proud to have got it from the President Calderón. The award examines administrative, sales and quality structures, but also the exportation numbers. Even more than pride, the award represents the big compromise to continue working and being better each day. Part of the company’s mission is the permanent seek for excellence in our products and process. This award shows we can; the key of success is given by positive teamworking and philosophy following. Today we generate 350 tons per month and we sell 50% of our products to other countries.
In this business, we have to pay attention to buy the proper raw material and then at the transformation in the factory. Every year we’ve bought European machines, from protractors to twisters, reelers and packing machines.
To reach our goals, we import raw material attending to price and supply reasons, because we work in a widely open market; therefore, we have to look for our best chances. However, 80% of our importations come from Mexico.
ISO 9001:200 certification is the most important credential every company has. Today it’s impossible to reach important markets without it. We are recognized by abs and Tüv certifications.
For making business with American investors, trust is very important, so the price, quality and delivery times. Many of our customers come and visit our factories, so they can realize our true potential. To make business with USA, it’s very important to keep permanent contact with clients and to know their true needs. You must never forget about this relationship, because no matter how long you’ve sold to any company, failures in quality and delivery times may cause loosing the customer. At exporting, we must be ready to give quick solutions to unexpected troubles.
Businessmen responsibilities are not only focussed on developing the company, but also in solving the needs of the product users and to have their duties done with the people who work for them.
There’s major competence in our market. In Mexico, it comes from Yucatán, were natural fibers -like henequén- are manufactured in big and small factories. In Morelia and Jalisco we also have some rivals, but not as specialized as Facomex, because those ropes are sold in local markets, so they really don’t need any regulations. We achieve many certifications from world known institutions, like the Cordage Institute and Euro Cord.
Outside the borders, our most important competitors are China, Corea and India, but we can step ahead of them with our process efficiency: we have a 30 day advantage in our deliveries, compared with them.
National Exportation Award: result of good working
We won the award for the medium sized industry being chosen from 67 contenders. This was the second year we’ve tried to reach the prize. It’s our first award and, of course, makes us very proud to have got it from the President Calderón. The award examines administrative, sales and quality structures, but also the exportation numbers. Even more than pride, the award represents the big compromise to continue working and being better each day. Part of the company’s mission is the permanent seek for excellence in our products and process. This award shows we can; the key of success is given by positive teamworking and philosophy following. Today we generate 350 tons per month and we sell 50% of our products to other countries.
In this business, we have to pay attention to buy the proper raw material and then at the transformation in the factory. Every year we’ve bought European machines, from protractors to twisters, reelers and packing machines.
To reach our goals, we import raw material attending to price and supply reasons, because we work in a widely open market; therefore, we have to look for our best chances. However, 80% of our importations come from Mexico.
ISO 9001:200 certification is the most important credential every company has. Today it’s impossible to reach important markets without it. We are recognized by abs and Tüv certifications.
For making business with American investors, trust is very important, so the price, quality and delivery times. Many of our customers come and visit our factories, so they can realize our true potential. To make business with USA, it’s very important to keep permanent contact with clients and to know their true needs. You must never forget about this relationship, because no matter how long you’ve sold to any company, failures in quality and delivery times may cause loosing the customer. At exporting, we must be ready to give quick solutions to unexpected troubles.
Businessmen responsibilities are not only focussed on developing the company, but also in solving the needs of the product users and to have their duties done with the people who work for them.
There’s major competence in our market. In Mexico, it comes from Yucatán, were natural fibers -like henequén- are manufactured in big and small factories. In Morelia and Jalisco we also have some rivals, but not as specialized as Facomex, because those ropes are sold in local markets, so they really don’t need any regulations. We achieve many certifications from world known institutions, like the Cordage Institute and Euro Cord.
Outside the borders, our most important competitors are China, Corea and India, but we can step ahead of them with our process efficiency: we have a 30 day advantage in our deliveries, compared with them.
Mexican opportunities
Exportation could be much easier without the excess of regulations. The system runs quite good, but could be better if we decide to work on regulations, because we would save time and lower costs; many times, Mexican companies are forced to make unnecessary spendings in security, that shouldn’t be this way. Piracy and smuggling complicate our business because some ropes, similar to the ones we sell, are also found in informal economy. All these things decrease our competitivity, and we have to keep fighting to bring that stuff down. We must demand certainty from our authorities. Businessmen have to focuss in generating and producing, not precisely in solving problems beyond the company activities; that only take time off and decrease the progress of Mexican industries, specially in small and medium sized companies, where the structure is very thin and these obstacles steal each and every expanding hope.
Facomex in the days to come
The future brings more challenges ahead; we know that today’s economic breakdown has kept the USA market very contracted. However, this crisis represents an opportunity, and instead of worrying about it, we must keep our eyes wide open: markets still exist and the world has to continue developing itself because the people’s needs keep growing. We must continue on knocking doors and attending wisely to our new customer’s expectations.
In Facomex, we want to rise our domestic sales and increase the number of wholesalers. Nowadays, we have eight distributors in Mexico, and outside the country we make our own exportations; in fact, we are working hardly to own a warehouse in United States for direct supplying.
The world is very big; today we’ve entered in the chinese market to secure some exportations in the next year.
We want to consolidate the company even more, but that’s only possible with the customer’s trust. I urge all the businessmen from Mexico to maintain working for the future and leave the past behind; it’s true it has given us experience, so we may use that experience to look forward and see what we are capable to do for industry and for Mexico.
