- 2010 i vi - proméxico and communications director ... trained and specialized work force, ... ing...
TRANSCRIPT
PIEDRAS NEGRAS
TIJUANAMEXICALI
CD JUAREZ
vII
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offices abroad
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ProMéxico Headquarters
+ 52 (55) 544 [email protected]
www.promexico.gob.mx
From the CEO 6
Briefs 7
Interview luis ferezin, managing director of
accenture mexico 12
Mexico’s Partner grupo viz 15
Mexico’s Partner mitsui 18
Business Tips 20
Figures 30
Mexico’s Partner bajarack 34
Mexico’s Partner grupo triple h 36
Mexico’s Partner cedmex 38
2 Negocios
Contentsmexico’s northern border going upstream
Despite shock waves generated by the international financial crisis and the official fight against drug trafficking, Foreign Direct Investment continues to flow to Mexico’s Northern Border region.
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innovative tijuana, a new look at a smart border
16
tijuana: among the world’s best cities for plantronics
[email protected]+ 52 (55) 5447 70 70
www.promexico.gob.mx
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4 Negocios
Interview
Hugo d’acosta
An Enologist in Context
44
The lifestyle Contents
56 Destination mexico’s nortHern region
61 Feedback lutisuc
42 The Lifestyle Briefs
52 InterviewKerstin scHeucH
proméxico is not responsible for inaccurate information or omissions that might exist in the information provided by the participant companies nor of their economic solvency. title certificate of lawfulness 14459. text certificate of lawfulness 12032. number of title reserve 04-2009-012714564800-102. postal registry pp09-0044. responsible editor: sebastián escalante. printing: moiño impresores s.a de c.v. distribution: proméxico camino a sta teresa 1679, méxico d.f., 01900. phone: +52 (55) 5447 7000. negocios is an open space where diverse opinions can be expressed. the institution might or might not agree with an author’s statements; therefore the responsibility of each text falls on the writers, not on the institution, except when it states otherwise. although this magazine verifies all the information printed on its pages, it will not accept responsibility derived from any omissions, inaccuracies or mistakes. july, 2010.
Proméxico
bruno ferrariceo ricardo rojo image and communications director sebastián escalantemanaging [email protected]
miguel Ángel samayoa advertising and [email protected]
fernanda luna copy editing
taller méxico
alejandro serratos publisher [email protected]
felipe zúñiga editor in chief [email protected]
orlando santamariamarketing [email protected]
pilar jiménez molgadodesign [email protected]
jorge silva design [email protected] dalia urzua orozcodesign [email protected]
paloma ló[email protected]
vanessa serratosproduction [email protected]
vanesa roblessenior writer [email protected]
karla juárez sandra roblaguilucila valtierramauricio zabalgoitiastaff writers
translationalejandra díaz alvaradojuan manuel romeroluis cabrera
Proof readinggraeme stewart
contributorsulises hernández, antonio vázquez, jennifer chan, maría cristina rosas, ulises hernández, francisco vernis, francisco vázquez, graeme stewart, cristina Ávila-zesatti, oldemar.
this is an editorial project for proméxico by taller méxico.
Download the PDF version of Negocios ProMéxico at: negocios.promexico.gob.mx
The Lifestyle Feature
living football Passion
48
From U.S: 1(877)542-9793 From Mex: 01(800)025-5580 e-mail: sales@�orido.com
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ProMexico 2010_FINAL.pdf 5/5/10 6:34:43 PM
• PlentyofhighlyqualifiedprofessionalsintheITIndustry.MexicoistheAmericas’Spanish-speakingcountrywiththehighestratinginhumanresources,accordingtotheA.T. Kearney Global Services Location Index 2009.
• 23ITclustersin20states.Over60%ofMexicanstateshaveproductivecapacityinIT
• Business MonitorestimatesthattheITservicesandBPOsmarketwillgrow10%annuallyduringtheperiod2009-2013,while
• thesoftwaremarketwillgrow9%inthesameperiod.
Mexico has everything to becoMe a key supplier for the world’s it Market:
Much has been written about Mexico’s Northern border and from different points of view. Many see it as one of the most dynamic borders of the world because of every day´s peo-ple movement and massive cultural exchange between both sides.
Such dynamism is apparent in the economic activity too. Northern Mexican states are not only the gateway into the world’s largest market –the US– but also a great springboard into Latin America and a growing market that is con-solidating itself as a key player in global trade.
Without any doubt, geographic location is one of the main reasons why so many companies seeking to improve their competitiveness choose to establish operations in one of the cities along Mexico’s Northern border.
But besides this undeniable strength, Mexico’s Northern states offer a range of other advantages for business development. These are also criti-cal factors when making investment decisions. A world class logistics infra-structure, trained and specialized work force, competitive production costs, investment incentives, well consolidated supply chains in various sectors, education and a good standard of living are some of the opportunities that companies from all over the world are taking advantage of, and many others are looking to capitalize.
Nowadays, with the world economy entering a stage of recovery, Mexico and its Northern border are bound to play a key role in the business strategy of corporations looking to overcome the effects of last year’s international fi-nancial crisis. We are expecting important investments in the next few months in the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo León and Baja California, as well as growth experienced by companies already established in the region.
Welcome to Mexico!
Bruno FerrariProMéxico CEO
From the CEO.
briefs.
General Motors (GM) doubled its produc-tion in Mexico in the first four months of 2010, reaching 183,528 units, 99.6% up over the same period in 2009. Export production amounted to 139,416 vehicles, an increase of 82.9% compared to 2009. Meanwhile, GM’s retail sales in the Mexi-can market totaled 47,922 units in the first quarter of 2010, representing an annual rate increase of 9.2%.
www.gm.com.mx
AUTOMOTIVE
The GianT awakes
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8 Negocios8 Negocios Photos CourTesy of volkswaGen / Gobierno del esTado de MéxiCo / havells sylvania
On the Highway to SuccessCONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Spain’s OHL Concesiones won a contract to build and operate a toll road in the Northeast-ern area of Mexico City, making it the sixth highway built by the firm in Mexico.
The contract, which was approved by Mexico City’s government, is worth about 582 million usd and it covers financing, construction, operation and maintenance of an elevated nine-kilometer (5.5 mile) ring road for a period of 30 years from the
time it enters operation.The new highway is part of an urban toll
road system that will link Mexico City to Querétaro, Toluca and Cuernavaca.
OHL has been operating in Mexico since 1980. With this new project the company will have six highways with a total of 356 kilometers (221 miles) under management in the country.
www.ohlconcesiones.com
The Indian manufacturer of electrical prod-ucts and lighting, Havells Sylvania, will invest 100 million usd in Mexico over the next two years mainly in the construction and opera-tion of a manufacturing plant, which could be located in Mexico City or Estado de México.
www.havells-sylvania.com
ELECTRONICS
Brilliant Investment
According to figures from the Mexican Asso-ciation of Automotive Industries, automotive production in Mexico grew 65.3% in May 2010 compared to the same month in 2009. In the period from January to May 2010, 871,456 units were produced in the country, 74.2% more than those manufactured in the same period in 2009 and 1.0% over the same period in 2008. The export of vehicles between January and May 2010 amounted to 710,297 units, 77.7% higher than in the same months in 2009 and 4.0% above the same period of 2008. More than 66% of Mexican automotive exports were to the US.
www.amia.com.mx
AUTOMOTIVE
Booming Industry
briefs.
AUTOMOTIVE
Outsourcing is the AnswerIn an effort to improve its long-term competi-tive positioning, increase operational efficien-cies and position the company for future growth, Polaris Industries –designer and man-ufacturer of off-road vehicles– is realigning its operations and refocusing on its core strategic manufacturing processes. Polaris has begun to phase out its Osceola, Wisconsin, manufactur-ing operations and is planning to outsource some of the work performed there to Mexico. The company is considering several locations in the Monterrey-Saltillo area –Northern Mex-ico– for its new facility, which is expected to begin operating in the first half of 2011.
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10 Negocios Photos arChive / CourTesy of GruPo Grand Coral
The real estate developer Grupo Grand Coral will invest 5 billion usd in Mexico over the next 10 years for the construction of more than 16,000 luxury properties in the states of Quintana Roo and Baja Cali-fornia Sur.
www.grupograndcoral.com.mx
for Those who enjoy luxury
SECOND HOMES
Of all the auto parts imported to the US market this year, 32.4% are made in Mexico, making the country the leading supplier of automotive components to the US above China, Japan and Canada, according to in-formation from the National Institute of Auto Parts.
www.ina.com.mx
AUTOMOTIVE
Number One Su-pplier
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INFRASTRUCTURE & LOGISTICS
favorinG inTernaTional Trade
Agri-food exports from Mexico increased 92% from 2000 to 2009, going from 8.27 billion usd to 15.87 billion usd, according to figures from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisher-ies and Food. In 2009 the most exported products were fruits and vegetables (6.45 billion usd) and agro-industrial products (6.42 billion usd).
www.sagarpa.gob.mx
FOOD
Helping to Feed the World
Guanajuato Puerto Interior, a company comprised of resources from the govern-ment of the Mexican state of Guanajuato and private businesses, has signed sev-eral agreements with similar businesses from Barcelona, Valencia and Zaragoza to facilitate trade with Spain, as a launch-ing point towards European markets.
The collaboration agreements signed by Guanajuato Puerto Interior (GPI) with the companies Valencia Platafor-ma Intermodal y Logística, Plataforma Logística de Zaragoza, Plaza S.A. and ILI
Logística Internacional were reached during Mexico’s participation in the In-ternational Logistics and Supply Expo (SIL) held in Barcelona, Spain.
These agreements formalize the ex-change of experience in planning, man-agement and development for intermo-dal and combined transportation, as well as the exchange of cumulative experi-ence in the development of multimodal transportation.
www.puertointerior.com.mx
INVESTMENT
Firm StepsGrupo Carso, a holding company for vari-ous Mexican businesses in the auto parts, construction materials, mining, restaurant and telecommunications sectors, will invest more than 3 billion usd in Mexico in 2010, a 35% increase over its investment in 2009. This year Grupo Carso will employ a total of 217,000 people and buy goods from more than 41,000 Mexican companies, of which 80% are small and medium enterprises.
www.gcarso.com.mx
12 Negocios Photo CourTesy of aCCenTure MéxiCo
interview luiz ferezin
“Mexico will be one of the 10 largest economies in the world”
In the last year, Accenture –a leading firm in business consulting, technology servic-es and outsourcing– has doubled its stakes in Mexico. Six hundred new jobs add up
to a total workforce of 1,200 employees. An ex-tension from two to four floors in its nearshore service center in Monterrey and the enlarge-ment of a software plant account for it.
The reasons? Mexico is one of the countries with the biggest economic growth potential in the whole world for the next 20 years and com-panies operating in the country –both local and foreign– require the support of companies like Accenture in order to become more efficient and competitive.
Luiz Ferezin, managing director of Accen-ture México, talks to Negocios about it.
—Tell us about Accenture’s presence in the Mexican market.Accenture is the largest consulting, technology services and outsourcing firm in the world. We have 200,000 employees, a little less than 23 billion usd in income and we are represented in over 50 countries. Accenture has picked six key emerging economies where we think we can generate a positive impact that will be most relevant in the future. These countries are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Korea and Mexico.
—What are Mexico’s strengths?There are five, based on our criteria. First, Mexico has a relevant domestic market. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is the best in Latin America, roughly between 8,300 and 8,500 usd. Our projections for 2025-2030 indicate that the Mexican economy will be in the world’s top 10 spots [today it is ranked 12th].
Second, talent. Mexico has a large young population and this is very important for a company like Accenture. Mexico has the ca-pacity to generate relevant talent.
Third, with its abundant natural resources such as oil, minerals and agriculture, among oth-ers, Mexico represents an important potential.
Fourth, capacity to attract foreign capital. Even though 2009 was an atypical year be-cause of the recession, Mexico has managed to maintain sustained foreign investment year after year. Among emerging countries, it is third in receiving most investment, only be-hind China and Brazil.
And fifth, the stability, geographic location and corporate strength. Mexico is a stable and renowned economy. It is very close to the US, the largest consumer market in the world, and also counts on the strength gener-ated by big local companies such as Pemex, Bimbo and Modelo, among others.
by ulises hernÁndez
14 Negocios i The Lifestyle
—What type of services does Accenture offer?
There are three main aspects. The first is technology services, such as systems implemen-tation in large companies. An important factor in a country’s growth is improving its efficiency through a better use of technology. In Mexico there are enormous opportunities to do busi-ness with companies in the area of technology.
The second aspect is business manage-ment consulting. Companies in Mexico –both the ones that want to invest in the country and the Mexican companies that plan on investing abroad– require great transformations. We believe we can help a lot in the transformation of these companies by improving the way they use their capital and the quality of investment, and also by guaranteeing that the ROI (Return On In-vestment) is as high as possible.
The third aspect is outsourcing. Mexico offers tremendous potential in this area, in two different ways. There is a big window of opportunity for improvement and for helping companies become more efficient. The second way has to do with nearshore: Mexico has a massive opportunity to position itself as a provider of technology services for the US.
—How have your growth and your sales been?We have grown relatively well in the last three to four years; we managed to grow
above the market average. If we tackle the issue of technology and look at the Interna-tional Data Corporation (IDC) or Gartner analysis, the forecast is that Mexico is one of those countries that are growing most in technology investment in Latin America.
—How much is that?It depends –because of the various small segments– but the market grows an average 7-10% and Accenture has grown very much above these figures, in technology services as well as in outsourcing and consulting.
—How do you manage to do that?Our growth has a lot to do with people, in other words with our recruitment. The most critical issue for Accenture is talent. We nor-mally hire people fresh out of college and we invest a lot in their training. Today, we invest nearly 8-10% of our world income in train-ing. In Mexico we are investing above these figures given the fact that we find ourselves in a growing process.
—And what is the profile of the talent you are looking for?That is an important issue. Most of our peo-ple are college graduates –engineers– but what we are really looking for are people with creativity, analysis and communication skills. Those are the main components we look for when hiring.
“mexico has a large young population and this is very important
for a company like accenture. mexico has the capacity to generate
relevant talent.”
Photo CourTesy of aCCenTure MéxiCo
—Could you mention some of your cli-ents, some of your specific projects?Due to internal policies I’m not at liberty to reveal neither client names, nor income figures. We are a public company and I can’t share the specific information by country. But we are working with major banks, with the most important Fast Moving Consumer Group (FMCG) companies and with the main tele-communications firms.
—And what about projects with the gov-ernment?We work with government institutions by helping them improve their abilities and ef-ficiency. An example that I am able to mention is the Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, SAT), where we are trying to assist in both areas: an improved efficiency and a higher service quality.
—In what proportion does each one of the three divisions contribute to the business?Outsourcing represents 40% of the business, management consulting around 20% and systems implementation the remaining 40%. Roughly, that is how we are structured and it shouldn’t change too much in the future.
—What are your plans for growth?We are still working with very aggressive ex-pansion plans. For 2011 the goal is to grow 30% in sales. We hope we will do well. n
mexico’s Partner grupo viz
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In 1969 the Vizcarras did not imagine that 40 years later their business would be one of the main exporters of Mexican beef to the US and Japan.
At the end of the 1960s, the family from Culiacán, Sinaloa (Northwest Mexico) start-ed selling 70 heads of livestock. In 1973 they began their industrial processes and in 1985 the family business expanded to the North-ern region of the country. In 1993, the first products of the company were introduced in the supermarkets.
SuKarne, as a trade mark, was launched in 1997 and almost a decade later, in 2004, its products got to Japan and Korea.
With 4 plants located in different parts of the country, SuKarne has 386 sale units and a route along 66 cities of Mexico, a sales force of 1,400, around 40,000 direct clients, repre-sentatives in the US and Japan, sales over one billion pesos a year and an average growth of 26% in the last 10 years.
At the end of the 1960s, a Mexican family decided to put all eggs in one basket. Grupo Viz is now one of the top Mexican beef companies and it exports to the United States and Asia.
Grupo Viz has built a chain of value cover-ing all the beef production –from cattle breed-ing to its marketing in packages of seasoned cuts. This has allowed the company to control all the stages of the production process, reach the consumer directly and search new markets inside and outside Mexico.
Currently, SuKarne operates with companies from 18 countries and its supply chain includes 80 thousand suppliers from the agribusiness.
“Business has been in my veins since I was very little, at the age of six, I started working for an old lady at school. I would trade marbles or other toys –or even eggs, grills, limes and guavas from the trees at my aunts’ yard or from a mini farm that belonged to my grandmother– with other school mates or kids in my neighborhood. I was involved in my parent’s company operations from a very young age, virtually since its found-ing in 1969. I started going with pigs and cattle buyers back then and shortly after that, when I was 12 years old, I started my business, buying
by antonio vÁzquez
SuKarne: Conquering the World’s Taste
and selling personally,” Jesús Vizcarra Calderón, chairman of the board of Grupo Viz –SuKarne’s parent company– said on an interview for the lo-cal newspaper Debate.
Vizcarra Calderón also says that the success of the brand is due to “hard work, professionalism, meeting deadlines, commitment, keeping oth-ers’ needs in mind, exceedership, and a sense of achievement beyond the existing paradigms; set-ting up new standards, and a team of very com-mitted, hard-working people, as well as measur-able results. Consistent measure is a key to the success or failure of your tasks, so it is very impor-tant to constantly gauge through key indicators everything you do.”
In 1993, the Mexican government decided to invest in Grupo Viz; as well as international funds like ING Baring and Darby, under the manage-ment of Nicholas F. Brady, ex secretary of the U.S. Treasury.
The company has kept a series of business relations with international financial institutions such as Rabobank, GE Capital, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo.
In 2002, Grupo Viz announced an initial public offering in the Mexican Stock Exchange and since then it has been constantly audited by KPMG and rated by Standard & Poors.
The United States, Korea and Japan have be-come the most attractive markets to Grupo Viz. Its export volume (especially tenderloin, ribs and entrails) has consistently grown in the last three years. In 2006, its exports accounted for 92 mil-lion dollars; in 2007, Grupo Viz exported 118 mil-lions and in 2008 the figures grew to 129 millions.
In 2009, SuKarne products covered 76% of the beef exports to the United Status and Japan. This accounts for nearly 200 million dollars in ex-ports sales for the company.
In February of 2010, Grupo Viz invested close to 50 million dollars in Nicaragua in order to have an easier access to the cattle’s breeding and slaughtering in Central America. This year, Gru-po Viz was one of the 14 companies from Sinaloa achieving the Premio Nacional de Exportación awarded by the government of Mexico through the Mexican Council of International Trade, or Comce.
“We are very proud and happy for achieving this award, it is a recognition for the company’s ef-fort and for all of us involved in its operations,” said Luis Armando Vizcarra Calderón, vice chairman of the company, upon accepting the award.
From the countryside to your grill, the com-pany expects to continue its consolidation process as one of the most important Mexican companies in the industry of beef products globally. n
16 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photo oMar bÁrCena / alex Torres / naThan Gibbs / Claus G. wolf
Tijuana is renown as the leading city in technology development in the North of Mexico. In order to tell the rest of Mexico and the
whole world what this region is capable of, a group of non government organizations and both Mexican and transnatinal companies will be organizing the first edition of Tijuana Innovadora (Innovative Tijuana), between October 7th and 21st, 2010.
Technology is one of the main purposes of this event, but not the only one. Held at the Ti-juana Cultural Center, Tijuana Innovadora will also boast the contributions made by the so-called “smart border” to the world in the fields of education, science, culture and arts.
The various industries that are now being developed in Tijuana will be presented on specific dates and at particular locations: electronics and telecom-munications; aerospace; avant-guard cultural con-tributions; automotive and video games; the medical industry –which is equally competitive and less expensive than in other countries–; the sustainability of an environment-friendly construction industry, and the film industry.
An example of these contributions: the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness (IMCO) has ranked Tijuana as the third most competitive city in Mexico (after Monterrey and Mexico City).
Another example: nowadays, Baja Califor-nia, the state where Tijuana is located, is home to 50 companies in the aerospace industry –the largest number in Mexico and one of the largest in the world– 35 of which are based in Tijuana and are responsible for around 7,000
Innovative Tijuana, a New Look at a Smart Border
direct jobs, according to Roberto Sierra, chair-man of the sector cluster.
Such aeronautic companies work on the design of aircraft interiors and manufacture as-semble components for Boeing, AirBus, Bom-bardier, Embrair, and others. Those airplanes fly around the world for commercial, civilian and military purposes.
And more: Tijuana is considered a role model in the construction of sustainable homes, with the development of the satellite city called Valle de las Palmas.
These innovations and many more will feature at the various pavilions at the Ti-juana Cultural Center, a 100,000 square feet venue designed by Mexican engineers Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and Manuel Rosen, and
built in 1982. This Center, also known as CECUT is managed by the National Council for Culture and the Arts and is considered a landmark of the urban im-age of Tijuana. It has perfor-
mance arts, exhibitions and visual arts and outdoor presentation facilities, as well as Om-nimax movie projection.
Other activities of Tijuana Innovadora will be held at the Tijuana Interactive Mu-seum El Trompo.
With all the advantages of a cultural border, Tijuana Innovadora 2010 will present itself as an amplifier for some of the most authoritative voic-es of the globe in various subjects, ranging from arts to the space industry.
Speakers at the forum will include Robert Aumann, 2005 Economics Nobel Price Laure-ate; Al Gore, 2007 Peace Nobel Price; Biz Stone, cofounder of Twitter; Jimmy Wales, cofounder of Wikipedia; Alberto Darszon, a biochemis-
try and physiology scientist, and Burt Rutan, an aerospace entrepreneur and designer of Space-ShipOne, the first privately owned spaceship, and founder of The Spaceship Company, spaceships manufacturer and promoter.
Other speakers are Neri Oxman, the pres-tigious designer who has shown the world how technology and nature can live together in har-mony, and founder of the firm MaterialEcol-ogy; Paul Jacobs, director general of Qualcomm; Tetsuo Agata, director general of Toyota Motor Corporation; James A. Spencer, vice-president of Delphi; Enrique Norten Hon, director and found-er of TEN Architects, a multi-award firm creator of world-renown contemporary spaces.
Finally, the forum will also host Chris An-
sPecial rePort innovative tijuana
derson, chief editor of Wired Magazine; Fran-cis Fukuyama, professor of International Politi-cal Economics; Gregorio Luke, a speaker and history of art specialist; Henry Nordhoff, vice-president of Shipston Group and a specialist in health issues; Ken Kannappan, Plantronics CEO; Michael Gelb, a speaker specialized in personal and organizational development, and Sara Topelson, under minister of the Mexican Ministry of Social Development.
The concept, design and sponsorship of Ti-juana Innovadora 2010 is the work of some 50 companies and socially responsible bodies, that gathered to show Tijuana’s capabilities. The best way of doing it –as decided by the team– would be showing investors from various countries,
students and media representatives what they do. They will use interactive pavilions to display modern technology developed in the city and their applications in various industrial sectors.
Origins and fields of the organizing team are as diverse as activities in Tijuana. For example G-Tel and Plantronics belong to the electronics and communication sectors; Seica works in con-struction; FIC is a philanthropic organization; Deitac, is an investment company; Mediméxico works in medical services and Grupo Tress In-ternacional does systems, transformation and software.
They all have a shared mission: for Tijuana to be seen as what it really is, one of the most in-novative cities of the world. n
18 Negocios Photos CourTesy of MiTsui
A Centennial Business
Mitsui celebrates one hundred years of business relations with Mexico amid great investment plans.
by jennifer chan
From the 134 years since its foundation as a trading company between Japan and the rest of the world, Mitsui has spent 100 strength-ening its ties with Mexico.
This multinational has a history tied up to the global modernization, the evolution of the markets and the recovery of Japan’s economy and other countries after World War II.
Covered by the standard of the strength that comes from a synergy with real integra-tion, the company has projects in 14 different business divisions, always with the motto of promoting sustainability, job creation and en-vironmental responsibility.
Mitsui’s romance with Mexico began in the turbulence of 1910 –the year the Mexi-can Revolution began–, with the opening of a first representation office in the country.
“We originally came to Mexico as a trad-ing company but after World War II and due to the industrial development both in Mexico and Japan, we modified our business area,”
says Koji Ishimatsu, chairman of Mitsui de Mexico. “Today we are more focused on in-vestment,” he adds.
So what started as a business focused on trade and with projects such as export of Mexican cotton to Japan and imports of Jap-anese fertilizers to Mexico, has shifted into a fruitful and complex strategic alliance, with Mitsui as an active participant in infrastruc-ture generation in Mexico.
“Mexico has been changing since the end of the 1990s, mostly due to the North Ameri-can Free Trade Agreement, and new infra-structure contracting businesses have start-ed operations: from highway construction to power generation or water treatment,” says the head of the company in Mexico, “We par-ticipate in this area as investors.”
Mitsui’s global investments in Mexico are worth 4 billion usd, and the company recent-ly announced an investment of 480 million usd in 2010 to commemorate its centennial
mexico’s Partner mitsui
in the country, in order to reinforce its strate-gic areas covering diverse industries such as water treatment and automotive.
In the energy sector, that investment will allow the company to acquire five power gen-erating plants in the state of Nuevo León, a gas pipeline in Coahuila and a re-gasification terminal for liquefied gas in Manzanillo, Co-lima, all of which will consolidate Mitsui’s participation in two out of three already ex-isting re-gasification terminals for liquefied gas in Mexico (the others are in Altamira, Tamaulipas). Also, thanks to these projects Mitsui will become the second private pro-ducer of electric power in Mexico. Mitsui’s involvement in that sector also includes the Planta Hidroeléctrica Valladolid III in Yuca-tán –which supplies a third of the electricity demand in the state.
The iron and steel industry is another area Mitsui has been promoting since it start-ed operations in the country, with the regular import of steel and metal from Asia to Mex-ico. All in all, Mitsui has become stronger in recent years with the opening of nine service centers mostly to support the appliances and automotive industries, which are now one of the largest areas of opportunity for the com-pany, that therefore plans to expand these centers in 2010.
Atlatec, one of the company’s subsidiar-ies, sets the pace regarding the water busi-ness. The company specializes in residential and industrial waste water treatment and in the supply of drinking water and it develops important projects such as five water treat-ment plants for Pemex’s refineries and for the El Ahogado and Aguaprieta water trea-ment plants, which treat almost 100% of the
mitsui’s plans in mexico are still
strong a hundred years after its foundation. the
company recently announced an
investment of 480 million usd in 2010 to commemorate its centennial in
the country.
MiTsui’s fiGures134 years of history
100 years operating in Mexico
154 offices in 66 countries
533 subsidiaries and partners
globally
14 business units
4 billion usd invested in Mexico
Close to 40,000 jobs created
globally
2,000 direct jobs and 6,000
indirect jobs to be created with
this year’s investment in Mexico
waste water in the state of Jalisco. Among the projects supported by this year’s invest-ment is the water treatment plant at Ato-tonilco, which will process up to 60% of Mex-ico City’s waste water and will cost a total of close to 800 million usd.
Other business areas from the company in Mexico include plastic exports; fertilizers and chemicals such as dye; export of orange juice to Japan; production and marketing of Hino trucks and hybrids –through Hino Mo-tors México, a company based in the state of Guanajuato, in which Mitsui participates with 20% of the stock–, plastic injection and sale and maintenance of heavy mining equipment.
Mitsui’s plans in Mexico are still strong a hundred years after its foundation.
“Mexico is changing and with a population of over 100 million it is not solely a place to do business in infrastructure or manufacturing, Mexico is a market in itself and we want to look for other business opportunities in the area of trade,” says the chairman of Mitsui de México Koji Ishimatsu. “Mexico is one of the six strate-gic countries for Mitsui globally and we want to expand our activities here in the near future. We are expecting a huge development in the country and we want to contribute to that,” he concludes. n
beyond the oft repeated advantages –such as geographical proximity–, there are various benefits and reasons for mexico to maintain an increasingly close business relationship with the u.s., and which currently make the country a unique platform for those wishing to break into or increase their presence in the north american market.
top partners, only behind Canada (430.9 bil-lion usd) and China (365.87 billion usd).
From January to April 2010, Mexico strengthened its position in the US market, meaning that it regained second place as a trade partner, a position it used to occupy until the beginning of this decade.
During the first four months of 2010, trade between the US and Canada totaled 168.96 billion usd (an 11.78 billion trade deficit for the US); with China, 126.49 billion usd (a 71.01 bil-lion trade deficit for the US); and with Mexico, 121.41 billion usd (a 20.76 billion trade deficit for the US). In other words, by the first quar-ter of 2010, Mexico was already very close to replacing China in the US market and finally achieved that feat in May.
Part of the explanation resides in the in-ternational financial crisis that led to the US reducing its imports from certain countries. Data shows that among the US’ three top trade partners, its trade deficit with China is the most worrying, given that it is seven times higher than the US’ deficit with Canada and three and a half times larger than its deficit with Mexico. Therefore when making adjustments to its economy, the US will naturally seek to reduce its heaviest trade deficit.
Moreoever, it is more straightforward to apply “corrective” measures in trade with countries with which contractual commit-
ments are not in place, such as free trade agree-ments. Treaties such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for example, are relevant when considering difficult deci-sions such as whether to reduce the purchase of goods and services, as these instruments impose contractual commitments that do not exist with those countries with whom similar agreements have not been entered into.
In the case of Mexico’s relationship with the US, one must also consider the long standing political ties that reinforce preferential trade conditions.
A quick look at the history of commercial and political relations between Mexico and the US shows that that is nothing new. The analy-sis of the last 30 years of the 19th century, for example, is especially revealing. Then, as now, Mexicans faced a world undergoing political and economic transformation. During that pe-riod, foundations were laid for the financial sol-idarity and reciprocity between both countries.
With that purpose in mind, Mexico and the US set tariff agreements for the exchange of specific products and tried to sign a trade agreement. During Porfirio Díaz’ administra-tion, Mexico became one of the US’ main trad-ing partners in Latin America. In fact, between 1894 and 1910 the country was the region’s top consumer of US goods, and Mexican products were no less important for consumers in the
20 Negocios illustration oldeMar
Mexico: second Largest Trade Partner for the Us
by maría cristina rosas*
Mexico and the US are truly global partners. Geographical proximity is clearly an impor-tant factor in encouraging trade between both countries, with their respective markets containing a broad consumer base. But also, the facilities that exist for trade between the two countries –such as infrastructure and preferential access mechanisms– are a vital aspect and even play an important role in attracting third parties seeking to make the most of the platform that Mexico’s business relationship with the US represents.
In 2009 alone, the trade between both countries, taking into account both imports and exports, reached 305.54 billion usd, plac-ing Mexico in third position among the US’
US. That exchange fostered the creation of gov-ernment policies that successfully led the way forward for Mexico to trade within the global economy.
100 years on Mexico has clearly consolidat-ed its economic and political relations with the US, which are now based on the institutional framework of NAFTA. But besides NAFTA, Mexico has an enormous network of free trade agreements with countries across three conti-nents, creating a wide range of mutual benefits, which avoid said countries from being discrim-inated against, both within the Mexican and the US markets.
The case of China is particularly interesting, since free trade agreements do not form a cen-tral part of its economic policy. The few coun-tries with which it does have such agreements –such as Chile and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)– play a marginal role in China’s trade policy as none of its signatories are its main trading partners. Rather than seek-ing to access markets through free trade agree-ments, China has chosen instead to use the tools at its disposal as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). With its strategy of multilateral trade, China has progressed to the extent that it is among the top trading partners of most of the world’s nations. Nevertheless, it would appear that China’s lack of free trade agreements might eventually impose limits on the expansion of its global exports.
Mexican exports to the US have enjoyed steady growth since NAFTA entered into force on January 1, 1994. The aim for NAFTA was to give Mexico a commercial advantage over other countries, except Canada, in its trade relationship with the US, over and above its geographical proximity and the flow of foreign investment into the Mexican economy.
One should remember that both Mexico and China, a manufacturing powerhouse,
bussines tiPs
sell similar products to the US. In the specific case of Mexican exports, apart from hydro-carbons, sales of light manufactured goods are in direct competition with those of China. However, Mexico has particular advantages in the US market that are worth bearing in mind. NAFTA, for example, provides Mexico with sig-nificant tariff reductions. Estimates show that every year Americans spend 4 billion usd on customs duties for imports from Europe. That is similar to the amount it pays for imports from more remote regions such as Asia.Mexico’s other advantages include:
Its understanding of the US market. Many Mexican businessmen have in-depth knowl-edge of the US market, following a long tra-dition of trade and investment between the two countries.Generally speaking, Mexico has higher qual-ity of life and wellbeing than China. There-fore it has the potential to add value to its manufactured goods more rapidly.As a WTO founding member, together with its long list of free trade agreements, Mexico acts as a bridge between the US and the world by ensuring access to non-traditional markets while also applying clear rules for trade and investments with the US.Mexico is a market economy that contrasts with China: it offers investors clear rules as well as economic and legal certainty. n
*Professor and researcher in the Political and Social
Sciences Faculty, National Autonomous University of
Mexico (UNAM).
22 Negocios22 Negocios inFograPhics oldeMar
For three and a half years, Mexico’s Northern Border region has lived an unprecedented situation. Its in-habitants have become accustomed
to federal police patrols in some areas and to the presence of elements of the Mexican Army and Navy.
They have also got used to reading and hearing news about the federal forces’ opera-tions to grab criminal gangs engaged in the ille-gal drug trade and related crimes such as arms smuggling and human trafficking.
The Northern Border is the region that has experienced most the federal government’s frontal attack against organized crime.
The media carries images of official com-bat against drug trafficking and fights between criminal gangs. These images might be power-ful but, contrary to what one may think, they have not dampened the interest of foreign investors into the region nor its economic strength and dynamism.
True, in the last two years there has been a decline in foreign investment in the Northern Border, as has happened in the whole coun-try. But both investment promoters and state
mexico’s nortHern border going upstreamDespite shock waves generated by the international financial crisis and the official fight against drug trafficking, Foreign Direct Investment continues to flow to Mexico’s Northern Border region.
authorities are convinced that the decline in capital flow had more to do with the interna-tional financial crisis that originated in the US –Mexico’s largest trading partner– than with the country’s war against organized crime.
The six states that make up the Northern Border –Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas– are home to thousands of manufacturing compa-nies whose production is oriented mainly to exporting to the US and Canada.
Along the border’s 3,141 kilometers (1,800 miles) from Tijuana, Baja California, to Mat-amoros, Tamaulipas, a large number of testi-monies and cases account for Mexico’s ability to attract and retain foreign investment, even in turbulent times.
In addition to promoting the competitive ad-vantages of Mexico and the border area –such as geographic location, logistics infrastructure, skilled labor force and export expertise– the government and investment promoters have joined forces to retain existing investments and continue to attract foreign capital. Timely infor-mation and guidance on the security situation on the border have been the key.
To face up to the international financial crisis, local governments have supported non-traditional sectors, prompted new de-velopment areas and diversified markets, among other measures. In late 2009, the US economy began to recover and Mexico’s Northern Border took advantage of the mo-mentum. All these factors revived industrial activity and allowed the recovery of employ-ment in the manufacturing sector.
“In late 2009, the balance of the recession was 103,000 jobs lost, but since January this year the situation has improved and exports have recovered. Of the lost jobs, we have recovered 70,000,” says Mónica González Macías, president of the National Council of Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing In-dustry (CNIMME), which groups 80% of the maquiladora industry in the country, com-prising about 1,200 maquiladoras employing 1.7 million people.
According to the CNIMME, the sector’s exports in the first quarter of 2010 were ap-proximately 33.9 billion usd, an increase of 21.5% compared to the 27.9 billion usd level recorded during the same period of 2009.
González Macías explains that most of the new jobs in the sector have been gener-ated by previously established firms, which have expanded their operations over the last year. But, she added, new investments are expected this year, including several automo-tive and electronic companies in Coahuila and one from a Korean firm in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
This article offers a review of the strate-gies that the three major border states –Chi-huahua, Nuevo León and Baja California– have followed to retain their position as de-velopment poles in México.
by ulises hernÁndez
cover feature mexico’s
northern border
Photo CourTesy of ayunTaMienTo de Ciudad juÁrez24 Negocios i The Lifestyle
Bob Cook and Manuel Ochoa, respon-sible for El Paso Regional Economic Development Corporation (RED-CO), a US non-profit organization,
know very well the strengths and attractions of Ciudad Juárez, El Paso’s Mexican neighbor across the border.
Their job is to provide business consult-ing to potential investors who are interested in relocating or expanding their operations in the metropolitan area of El Paso, Texas,
Ciudad Juárez: increasing investment
which includes Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Why promote the Mexican city? The
answer is simple: Juárez has become the economic, industrial and commercial heart of this border zone. Seventy of the 500 com-panies listed in Fortune magazine have pres-ence or business ties in Ciudad Juárez, where 360 maquiladoras are established and em-ploy 190,000 people, according to REDCO. Therefore, Juárez has a significant impact on El Paso’s economy.
About 40,000 jobs in El Paso –14,000 of them directly– depend on the industry in Ciudad Juárez. Between 1.4 and 1.6 billion usd in retail sales in the Texan city depend on Mexican shoppers from Ciudad Juárez and over 15% of bilateral trade between the US
cover feature mexico’s
northern border
and Mexico (around 47 billion usd), crosses the border ports of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.
“From early 2008 to date, we have con-vinced 11 different sized foreign companies to invest in Juárez, which means 4,800 new jobs,” says Bob Cook, president and CEO of REDCO.
Today, REDCO provides advice to 46 companies from the US and other countries, assessing the convenience of locating their operations in Ciudad Juárez. The firms work in various sectors such as automotive, con-sumer electronics and telecommunications. “Seventeen of them have already pointed that Juárez is among the top three locations in their analysis,” says Cook.
ciudad juÁrez has become the
economic, industrial and commercial
heart of the texas-mexico border zone.
about 40,000 jobs in el paso –14,000 of them directly–
depend on the industry in ciudad
juÁrez.
Cook and Ochoa provide potential inves-tors with in-depth analysis on the situation of the war against drug trafficking to help them identify where the threats to security really are. “We help them understand that violence is not targeting the maquiladora industry or its executives and management personnel living in Mexico,” adds Cook.
To do this, REDCO runs workshops where directors and plant managers of com-panies already established in Ciudad Juárez discuss their work experience and life in the city. According to REDCO, daily around 3,400 executives living in El Paso cross the Mexican border to work in companies based in Ciudad Juárez. Furthermore, only 7% of crimes reported in industrial areas between January and May 2010 were violent, accord-ing to figures from the state police.
“We know of only one company that has left the area of Juárez for reasons directly related to insecurity. Other companies left the city in 2002 and 2003 to move to China,” explains Manuel Ochoa, vice president of REDCO.
Indeed, Ciudad Juárez has remained a strong competitor to the Asian dragon. While in China labor cost is between 1 and 1.20 usd per hour, in Ciudad Juárez, the cost is only slightly higher, between 1.60 and 1.80 usd an hour, but with the additional advantages of proximity to the US and wide, modern and functional logistics infrastructure.
These benefits are in addition to talent availability –managers and senior managers who live both in Juárez and El Paso– and the cultural and language affinity between both cities.
Ochoa prefers not to disclose the total investment amount that the 46 companies they are working with could make in Juárez, as their final decision depends on the direc-tion the world economy will take in the next few months.
However, they estimate that these invest-ments will create between 5,000 and 6,000 new jobs. The 46 listed companies include firms of all sizes, from medium sized enter-prises to multinationals.
26 Negocios Photo arChive
Nuevo León, a state that tradition-ally has captured most of the For-eign Direct Investment (FDI) that reaches the border, has begun
to regain the pace after capital flows were re-duced significantly in 2009.
In the first five months of 2010, Nuevo León recorded the arrival of 1.54 billion usd in FDI, exceeding the total FDI registered in 2009. According to the Foreign Investment Coordi-nation in the state, FDI during early 2010 in Nuevo León was pledged by 24 companies that will create nearly 3,000 new jobs.
Among these investments is the one made by the steel giant Ternium (1 billion usd), oth-ers in the automotive sector (Sisamex and
Navistar) and in the home appliances industry (LG and Totomak).
According to state officials, more projects are expected this year. “We have a 75 project portfolio comprising companies in different sectors that could invest over 3 billion usd, creating between 4,000 and 5,000 new jobs,” says Andrés Franco, deputy director of foreign investment from the Ministry of Economic De-velopment of Nuevo León.
How has Nuevo León managed to achieve that? By joining forces. The local government, the private sector and state universities have formed what is known as the Triple Helix, a tripartite effort to promote Nuevo León’s busi-ness opportunities and attract new investment.
Nuevo León: Driven by the “Triple Helix”
cover feature mexico’s
northern border
Triple Helix’ key has been teamwork to emphasize the competitive advantages of Nuevo León, such as its human capital, local talent and business environment. The state has over 90 universities from which around 5,000 engineers graduate per year. In June 2010, the state marked 12 years without re-cording a single strike. Nuevo León has a staff of bilingual Mexican leaders who man-age the operations of most of the 2,400 for-eign companies established there.
Amidst the international recession, the lo-cal government devoted itself to promoting the growth of non-traditional sectors such as aero-space, biotechnology, software development and alternative energy. It has also fostered the
consolidation of new development poles such as the “citrus area” in the south of the state.
A good example of the results of the Triple Helix was the collective effort of persuasion to bring Infosys –one of the Indian information technology flagship firms– to Nuevo León.
“We worked closely with local universities and companies from the software cluster to at-tract Infosys Technologies. We competed with Santiago, Chile, and Sao Paulo, Brazil, and we finally won,” recollects Andrés Franco.
Since early 2008, Infosys began installing a service and software development center in Monterrey, the capital of Nuevo León, support-ed by the state government and the Monterrey Institute of Technology.
in the first five months of 2010, nuevo león recorded the arrival of 1.54 billion usd in fdi, exceeding the total fdi registered in 2009. according to state officials, more projects are expected this year.
Before the recession, the govern-ment of Baja California launched the Baja Care program, aiming to retain existing investment and at-
tract new projects. Through that program, the local Ministry of
Economic Development has promoted the avail-able spare capacity of companies that had been cleared due to the brake in economic activity. The goal? To promote subcontracting agreements be-tween installed companies and enterprises will-ing to start operations in Baja California.
“For example, if a local company has ad-ditional capacity for welding line, we see what processes it can perform and promote it abroad,” says Ulises Gutiérrez, undersecretary for investment promotion in Mexicali and the Valley area.
The model has worked because not all companies seeking to invest in Mexico are in-terested in starting from scratch. “Companies that come to Baja California have an already installed base where they can start operations, while the local companies are able to use their spare capacity,” explains Gutiérrez.
To date, about 57 companies based in Baja California have benefited from Baja Care.
Due to the recession, the state has not re-cently received large foreign investment but that does not mean Baja California has expe-rienced an investment drought. In the past two
baja California: Taking Advantage of its installed Capacity
years, several companies have made upgrades and expansions.
Honeywell, which already had a testing laboratory for its aerospace division in Mexi-cali –the capital of the state– decided to install another laboratory for its automotive division, where it will perform tests and modeling of diesel and gasoline turbochargers. Also in Mexicali, Skyworks, a firm that produces semi-conductors for cellular telephony, invested 25 million usd and generated 70 jobs.
Other companies that made expansions in Mexicali were Masimo Corporation, a US corporation manufacturing medical devices; Emermex, a division of Rockwell Collins, that in-vested 14 million usd and created 100 new jobs, and Paper Mate, a subsidiary of Newell Rubber-
maid, which invested 2.5 million usd to produce pens and pencils, creating 500 new jobs.
In Tecate, Scantibodies –a US company in the biotechnology sector whose core business is the production of antibodies– invested 25 million usd and generated 600 jobs.
Even Tijuana, which suffered badly at the beginning of the decade when several compa-nies moved intensive labor manufacturing pro-cesses to China, is experiencing a new wind.
Several Japanese and Korean companies have reconverted processes and are now man-ufacturing flat panel and liquid crystal displays in Tijuana. “Even manufacturing of the first three-dimensional (3D) television sets is taking place in Baja California,” says undersecretary Gutiérrez.
Among the active electronics firms work-ing in Tijuana are Panasonic, Foxconn (Sony contractor), Sharp and Samsung.
In the first quarter of 2010, FDI in Baja Cali-fornia totaled 227 million usd. The state almost regained its pre-crisis level –in the first quarter of 2007, FDI reached 228 million usd. Baja Cali-fornia’s FDI goal for 2010 is 1.5 billion usd.
Violence is a concern, yes, but as in Juárez, people in Baja California are aware of it as a fo-calized phenomenon. “Fortunately, in business and industry we have not had direct attacks. Violence remains a problem for those involved in drug trafficking,” Gutiérrez concludes. n
in the first quarter of 2010, fdi in baja
california totaled 227 million usd.
the state almost regained its pre-
crisis level –in the first quarter of
2007, fdi reached 228 million usd.
Photo arChive28 Negocios i The Lifestyle
cover feature mexico’s
northern border
30 Negocios inFograPhics oldeMar
Agro Industry
By StateJanuary 2000 – March 2010, millions USD
Source: Ministry of Economy - General Directorate of Foreign Investment
‘00 ‘10
By SectorJanuary 2000 – March 2010, millions USD
Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico’s Northern Border
ManufacturingIndustry
Total
39,011.5
4,231.1
494.9
6,955.1
‘00 ‘10
ConstructionIndustry
Total
393
Communications& Transportation
Total
17.6
13
‘00
‘00 ‘10
Commerce
‘10
Total
2,336.1
269.7
0
727.8
‘00 ‘10
Tourism andServices
Total
3,962.9
163
1,241.6
‘00 ‘10
FinancialServices
Total
4,888.8
672.9
0
771.9
7.7
‘00 ‘10
Mining
Total
3,599.8
129.2
2,476.2
3.5
‘00
.1
‘00 ‘10
Water& Electricity
Total
300.1Total
135.7
20.6 77.4
19.9
175.5
-100.1
0
0
0
142.6
-44.1
‘10
192.3
-113.5
71.3
BAJA CALIFORNIA BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR COAHUILA CHIHUAHUA NUEVO LEON SONORA TAMAULIPAS
Total
2,034.10Total
2,880.50Total
11,172.40Total
21,258.60Total
3,937.50Total
3668.40
227.3‘10
.20‘10
5‘10
204.4 ‘10
55.2‘10
2410
984.20‘00
81.1‘00
306.9‘00
1,408.4‘08
1,484.8‘08
1,116.3‘08
1,385.1‘08
1,255.2‘08
1,294.1‘08
361‘08
1,086.2‘00
2,392‘00
502.6‘00416.2
‘00
Total
9,704.00
010
Agro Industry
By StateJanuary 2000 – March 2010, millions USD
Source: Ministry of Economy - General Directorate of Foreign Investment
‘00 ‘10
By SectorJanuary 2000 – March 2010, millions USD
Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico’s Northern Border
ManufacturingIndustry
Total
39,011.5
4,231.1
494.9
6,955.1
‘00 ‘10
ConstructionIndustry
Total
393
Communications& Transportation
Total
17.6
13
‘00
‘00 ‘10
Commerce
‘10
Total
2,336.1
269.7
0
727.8
‘00 ‘10
Tourism andServices
Total
3,962.9
163
1,241.6
‘00 ‘10
FinancialServices
Total
4,888.8
672.9
0
771.9
7.7
‘00 ‘10
Mining
Total
3,599.8
129.2
2,476.2
3.5
‘00
.1
‘00 ‘10
Water& Electricity
Total
300.1Total
135.7
20.6 77.4
19.9
175.5
-100.1
0
0
0
142.6
-44.1
‘10
192.3
-113.5
71.3
BAJA CALIFORNIA BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR COAHUILA CHIHUAHUA NUEVO LEON SONORA TAMAULIPAS
Total
2,034.10Total
2,880.50Total
11,172.40Total
21,258.60Total
3,937.50Total
3668.40
227.3‘10
.20‘10
5‘10
204.4 ‘10
55.2‘10
2410
984.20‘00
81.1‘00
306.9‘00
1,408.4‘08
1,484.8‘08
1,116.3‘08
1,385.1‘08
1,255.2‘08
1,294.1‘08
361‘08
1,086.2‘00
2,392‘00
502.6‘00416.2
‘00
Total
9,704.00
010
Negocios figures
32 Negocios32 Negocios Photo arChive
Ever since 1972, Plantronics México (Plamex) –one of the world’s leading producers of com-munication headsets– has found Mexico’s Western border with the US and the city of Tijuana in particular to be a strategic location.
Alejandro Bustamante Gutiérrez, presi-dent of Plamex for the past 16 years, details the city’s advantages: “Some areas have natu-ral competitive advantages simply thanks to their location. The inhabitants of this Mexican border area have more cultural exposure due to their proximity to the US. That helps them in the work-sphere. In the border area, people are ready to compete.”
Tijuana: Among the World’s Best Cities for PlantronicsThrough the last 38 years, Plantronics’ facility in Tijuana has evolved from an assembly manufacturer into one of the company’s main production sites. Made-in-Mexico communication devices are now in the ears and heads of millions of users all over the world.
The competitiveness of its more than 2,200 Mexican employees (with 100 more about to join their ranks) has brought several benefits to the company –headquartered in Santa Cruz, California– making it able to invest around 400 million usd every year. Annually, Plamex produces around 20 mil-lion units of 16 thousand different types of devices, in premises that have grown from 400 square meters on one floor 38 years ago to 44,670 square meters spread across four buildings today.
Plantronics has production plants and five design centers in various countries. It could
be said that Tijuana is the favorite. This is the production site for 70% of items that the mul-tinational ships around the world and where a call center provides service for customers in Canada, the US and Latin America. It is also the facility from where merchandise is ex-ported to 150 countries across the world.
Their products, made-in-Mexico Bluetooth technology and DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), are used by telephone operators around the world, air traffic controllers in the world’s busiest air-ports, mobile phone users who have no idea where their headsets come from, children’s video game players and workers on space pro-grams such as NASA.
“Plantronics has the infrastructure, stock and necessary market knowledge in Tijuana. The success of our customer relations is due to this cross cultural experience. And we should also consider the high quality professionals graduating out of state and private universities in Mexico’s Northwest; universities with which the company has developed close working rela-tionships,” says Alejandro Bustamante.
mexico’s Partner plantronics
“over these years, workers at plantronics méxico have contributed their talent and skills to transform the company from an assembly manufacturer into an organization that brings together skilled labor and world renowned processes, in a design center employing 100% mexican engineers,” states the company’s official profile.
Thirty eight years ago, when it arrived in Tijuana, the company made subassem-blies. Over time, it began creating special-ized production processes, one of the main added values of its production, according to Alejandro Bustamante Gutiérrez. The docu-ment outlining the company’s official profile draws attention to the equipment’s quality: “Over these years, workers at Plantronics México have contributed their talent and skills to transform the company from an as-sembly manufacturer into an organization that brings together skilled labor and world renowned processes, in a design center em-ploying 100% Mexican engineers,” it states.
Plamex’ president says that, in contrast to other multinationals that set up operations in developing countries to take advantage of lower labor costs, his company has not resorted to outsourcing. On the contrary, it has been run-ning programs for a number of years such as the Career Plan, which consists of continuous voluntary training so that his operators can climb the rungs of the career ladder. “For ex-ample, an operator can start off as a production
supervisor and a supervisor can later become an international purchaser,” says Bustamante.
The Career Plan is just one of the company’s 113 programs, with 260 Plantronics employees in Tijuana working on it exclusively.
How does the company profit from the job security and benefits that it offers its employ-ees? People are involved and committed to the company’s strategies and the advantages can be measured on the bottom line. Plamex’ employee benefit programs generate savings of 13.5 million usd a year, according to the com-pany’s president.
And every year, the company finances its employees’ weddings –which are celebrated collectively. “Workers arrive in Tijuana at a very young age and from all over the coun-try. Before, when they wanted to get married, they would have to go back to their homes to gather together all the documents, meaning that skilled employees used their holidays to travel home to do all the paperwork. Now, we help them do the paperwork, we organize their weddings and we pay,” says Bustamante. And, as many of the married couples have children, Plantronics decided to create a school for par-ents and courses to prevent addictions.
Thanks to this working culture, employees of the multinational in Tijuana have been final-ists in the Concurso Nacional de Círculos de Calidad –a teamwork competition.
Plantronics México’s reputation is not just based on its directors’ version of accounts. Pla-mex is certified by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare as an Inclusive Company, as a Safe Company and as a Family Committed Company. Just a few months ago it was rated as one of Mexico’s best places to work by the Great Place to Work Institute México and, to top it all, Mexico’s Environmental Protection Agency (PROFEPA) awarded it a certification as a clean company.
The federal government has given official recognition to the company for its productiv-ity and employment policies by awarding it the National Prizes for Quality, Technology, Export and Work. That is not all. The company has taken the name “Tijuana” to other countries, as it is the only one in the sector to have received the Ibero-American Quality Award, granted by the Ibero-American Foundation of Quality Management, as well as the International Asia Pacific Quality Award, granted by the Asia Pa-cific Quality Organization.
Move out of Tijuana? Out of the question. For Plantronics, this border city is one of the best in the world. n
34 Negocios Photos CourTesy of baja raCk
Fascinating as well as harsh, the weather in Baja California –in the North of Mexico– has forever lured lovers of adventure sports. Nevertheless, severe weather conditions can turn the challenge into a proper torture if you don’t have the right gear to keep up with the hardiest of adventures.
Based on its own experiences and a com-bination of knowledge and design, BajaRack offers transport solutions for equipment and accessories for ATVs (all-terrain vehicles).
BajaRack Adventure Equipment was formed three years ago with the help of well established CCM Ensamble y Manufactura, a company with more than 10 years experi-ence, dedicated to manufacturing electronic assembly parts.
Born in the Wild North
To create high quality and state-of-the-art technology products thought up for adventure enthusiasts is the risk BajaRack has successfully taken.
by jennifer chan
“Back then, there was only expert ma-chine operator Carlos ‘Charlie’ Martínez and me, dedicated to designing and producing the first racks, in a 33 by 17 feet space,” remi-nisces Sergio Murillo Manjarrez, designer and company’s CEO.
Three years ago, a 27-year-old Murillo founded BajaRack, when he realized that his dream of having his own company could well be combined with his intention of creat-ing equipment that would endure even the world’s most amazing 4x4 adventures.
From the beginning, Murillo dedicated himself to the design, the technical manage-ment and also the commercial part of the business.
When he found out he needed some help, he didn’t hesitate to call in his father –also named Sergio– who now runs the adminis-trative and financial parts of the company.
The products created by the young entre-preneur instantly found enthusiasts in the overland and safari adventure markets.
bajarack adventure equipment was
formed three years ago with the help
of well established ccm ensamble y manufactura, a company with more than 10
years experience, dedicated to
manufacturing electronic assembly
parts.
aerodynamic technology. all products have a wind deflector made
out of aluminum that eliminates noise on highways and prevents loss of
speed.
Patented design. The racks’ all-around aerodynamic shape is unique
and a registered patent.
light weight. The structural design allows the racks, even when larger
than the ones some other manufacturers offer, to be lighter.
finishings. all products get an initial coating rich in zinc and afterwards
they are powder coated with a black light covering, so that they have
better resistance to outdoor weather conditions.
mexico’s Partner bajarack
After the initial warm welcome, more specialized requests came in. Each time more and more people were requesting racks for specific vehicles, from Landrovers to Jeep Wranglers and Toyota FJ Cruisers, often used in various expeditions.
The adventure had begun and it didn’t take long for business to bustle and expand. The small business that started out with an initial investment of 3,000 usd and tiny headquarters, now has a global reach and is known all over the world.
Targeting the overland, off-road and out-door markets, BajaRack offers products such as racks and other accessories ranging from off-road lights and light racks, to tire mounts or special ladders for an easy reach to roof racks, for any number of ATVs.
Innovation being the ultimate goal, Baja-Rack aims at launching a new design or ac-cessory every four weeks. “Our aerodynamic designs are registered patents and they make our products not only look good but also more fuel-efficient,” explained Murillo.
From 2009 to 2010 the company has grown 325% in global sales. Last year its sales reached 2.2 million usd. Today, it offers 72 di-rect jobs and has a factory located in Ensena-da, Baja California, as well as two representa-tive offices: one in Vista, California and the other in Isselburg, Germany, where it also has a storage facility.
ParTiCiPaTinG in evenTsbajarack regularly sponsors 4x4
events as well as expeditions in
mexico and other parts of the
world, putting its products to test
in places ranging from morocco to
alaska. some of the most recent
ones are:
expedition from Colorado
to utah
alcan expedition 5000
winter rally
baja 1000 in Mexico
abenteuer & allrad in
Germany
The opening of the latter took place after BajaRack’s partaking in the Outdoor Show in Friedrichshafen, with the help and support of ProMéxico.
“Most of our clients are in the US, where the response has been extremely positive,” adds Murillo, “in South America we have a distributor in Colombia and in the near fu-ture we plan on expanding to Australia, the Middle East and South Africa.”
“Up till now, our focus has been on the North American, European and South American markets,” specifies Murillo, point-ing out that, of course, this was only the be-ginning. With the expansion to Europe and a solid marketing plan, BajaRack is well under-way to making Murillo’s dream of being the leader in cross country events come true. n
ProduCT feaTures
36 Negocios Photo arChive
HigH quality365 days a year
After 29 years in the fresh produce market, Grupo Triple H attributes its success to its commitment in ensuring top-quality products and services every day of the year.
“We are the visa stamp for any product want-ing to reach anywhere in Mexico, the US, Canada and Japan,” states the Grupo Triple H Website (www.tripleh.com.mx).
In 2010 alone, the food distributor aims to deliver up to 3,200 trailers of fresh produce to the US: saladette and round tomatoes; Pobla-no, Jalapeño and Anaheim peppers; green and red bell peppers; Fresno, Serrano and Carib-bean peppers; avocado; garlic and cucumber.
Vlaminck began with a “small allot-ment” of five hectares (12 acres) in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Almost three decades ago, when he was working for the state government, he had an employee who was in charge of daily harvests of Jalapeño chiles, saladette tomatoes, lettuce, carrots and other fresh produce. Every day, at around 7 P.M., after he finished his work as a civil servant, his employee would take the harvest and they would both sell it at the Garmendia munici-pal market.
The Uruguayan businessman had learned to grow his vegetables after his work with the area’s collective farming associa-tions (ejidales). “That was my university, the place where I learned about the idiosyncra-sies of Mexican agriculture,” says Vlaminck.
by antonio vÁzquez
Triple H was awarded the 2010 National Export Prize by the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, last June. And in 2008 it received the National Agricultural Produce Prize.
The company was founded by Heriberto Vlaminck –a Uruguayan based in Mexico for the past 42 years–, who has kept the business going for 29 years by taking a specific approach.
“Our success is based on the fact that we work with farmers transparently. We sell them FOB (Free on Board) of packaging and they know the products’ price before we export the produce. Producers also have constant updates on mar-kets and the price of their product. Our policy is to help our producers develop. We call them ‘as-sociate farmers’ because as they grow they help us to grow too,” explains Heriberto Vlaminck.
mexico’s Partner grupo triple h
Once, a friend asked him to sell some to-matoes. That led him to marketing tomatoes from other farmers. After he resigned from his government job, he decided to work full time growing and selling his own crops and those of others.
There are now over 35 farmers across the states of Sinaloa, Coahuila, Baja Califor-nia, Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosí and Puebla, who are associated with the company that has offices in Culi-acán, Sinaloa, as well as in McAllen, Texas, Nogales, Arizona, and San Diego, California.
“We sell throughout the US. Our advan-tage is that the entire batch is sold before even leaving Mexico, as opposed to other distributors who take the produce to the US and only negotiate a price once they get there. Our products leave here for other parts of Mexico or the US,” says Vlaminck.
He adds: “We sell to whoever suits us best and the one making the best offer […] internal and export markets are very similar. You need to offer the highest quality in both.”
Triple H’s clients include supermarkets such as Wal-Mart, Comercial Mexicana, Che-draui, the Sanborn’s restaurant chain and the US wholesale distributor Unified Grocers.
Bigger than a TomatoTriple H does not just pack tomatoes into boxes, it sells them and ships them to who-ever pays best.
“We’re also producers, we have experience in agricultural and packaging technology,” says Vlaminck. “We pass on all this know how to farmers and we also give them financial sup-port to grow and be able to market their prod-uct at the highest level.”
According to the company’s Website, Tri-ple H offers loans for installations, machinery and infrastructure, as well as materials and supplies such as crates, seeds and plastics –all in order to provide a better quality service and product.
Vlaminck says “All we ask is for farmers to try us out. It’s that simple.”
Triple H also offers Mexican and inter-national quality certifications including: ISO 9000, CT PAT (a security system for ship-ments in the US), BPM (for its packaging processes), BPA (for government approved cultivation methods) HACCP (Hazard Anal-ysis Critical Control Points, a set of controls to eliminate physical, chemical and micro-
biological risks), MCS (the Mexican govern-ment’s quality control seal, to ensure the good condition, safety and quality of Mexi-can agricultural food products).
The company is looking toward market-ing products from other Latin American countries for its future growth.
“We import garlic from Argentina be-tween January and February. In Chile we represent an avocado farmer who exports to the US. We are also exporting olive oil to the US, to the tune of 200,000 tons of bulk ship-ments. And we’re beginning to work with grapes in Peru,” says Vlaminck.
“I believe that our success is also due to my team that includes my sons and my employ-ees. We’re strategically focused and believe in discipline, order, clear goals and honesty. But above all, we’ve been succes ful thanks to farmers recommending us through word of mouth,” he concludes. n
triple h’s clients include supermarkets such as wal-
mart, comercial mexicana, chedraui,
the sanborn’s restaurant
chain and the us wholesale
distributor unified grocers.
38 Negocios Photos CourTesy of PesCadores naCionales de abulón
Since its creation in 1936 by a group of fisher-men from Baja California, the Sociedad Co-operativa de Producción Pesquera (SCPP) Pescadores Nacionales de Abulón has sought
to maintain a balance with its environment.Founded on the principle of sustainability, the co-
operative has 150 partners. For over seventy years, it has been licensed to catch and process various sea foods: abalone, fish, clam and sea cucumber. It mar-kets them abroad under the CEDMEX brand. Every year, it exports 90% of its produce to Asia, Europe and North America.
The cooperative has offices in Ensenada and a processing plant with various packaging lines on Isla de Cedros, in premises measuring 16,400 square meters, 2,600 of which are built. The plant features on the list of exporters of Mexican products to the European Union and it complies with the strict regu-lations on hygiene and end product supervision and
business in balance
Total commitment to sustainability is the maxim of Pescadores Nacionales de Abulón, a fishing
cooperative that catches the taste of the Mexican seas and takes it abroad.
by jennifer chan
control, as specified in the HACCP (Hazard Analy-sis and Critical Control Points).
The cooperative’s fishing grounds are the crys-tal clear waters off the Isla de Cedros and the Islas Benitos, yielding catches that are endemic to the region, of a high quality and superior taste. Forty small vessels perform a number of tasks, while four larger ones collect the product, transport it and provide supplies to the fishing zones.
The cooperative employs around 280 people, including partners and workers. Most of the fish-ermen live on the Isla de Cedros, where the coop-erative plays a vital role in the economy and as a supplier of services such as drinking water, gro-ceries, transport and –until recently– even elec-tricity. “Our aim is to give the islanders a better quality of life,” says the group’s marketing director Celina Domínguez. She refers to other contribu-tions to the community such as house building, a
abalone
lobster
sea snail
2009exports in
5 thousand cases (around 70 tons of product)
200 tons
3 thousandcases (around
40 tons)
supply boat that provides a con-nection with Ensenada and even a supermarket.
On the MenuThe cooperative’s varied of-ferings include live, frozen and canned products –of which aba-lone is the most important.
“Abalone is the coopera-tive’s main product, given its high commercial value,” says Domínguez. This gourmet food is exported mainly to Asia and in particular to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and, more recently, China. That market has a long tradition of consuming abalone, preferring it whole and with the minimum of additives. This is a requirement that Pescadores Nacionales de Abulón is more than happy to comply with: it adds only water and salt to its canned product.
“We are fortunate because the abalone that is endemic to Baja California has a unique and extraordinary taste,” explains Domínguez. “So, unlike other countries, we don’t need to add anything to improve its flavor, and that makes it one of the world’s most sought after and prized varieties,” she continues.
Abalone is a regulated prod-uct. Therefore, at the start of each season the Mexican gov-
ernment issues a license to ex-tract a specific quota based on an evaluation carried out by government representatives and partners of the cooperative in the fishing grounds. The quota varies each season, but last year it was of around 70 tons.
Another example of the coop-erative’s respect for the environ-ment is seen in its approach to the sea urchin, another gourmet product in the Asian market.
“We have a license to fish them but we are not yet exploit-ing this permission on a com-mercial basis,” explains Domín-guez. “We are carrying out tests to determine the biomass that we can capture and whether a sufficient quantity exists. If not, we’d prefer not to remove them in order to prevent environmen-tal damage,” she adds.
Just three years ago the co-operative began to market the sea cucumber –another of its specialties– with excellent re-sults, again in Asian markets.
International PresenceIn November 2008 the coop-erative took part in the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Qingdao, China –Asia’s most important specialist fish and seafood event. That year over 900 Chinese and international exhibitors participated, along
with around 15,000 purchasers interested in marketing seafood products from over fifty coun-tries. The business trip included visits to Shanghai and Taiwan.
A year later, in March 2009, it headed to the Boston Seafood Show. Over 80,000 attended the event –the most important of its kind in the US– where they could discover the cooperative’s prod-ucts and taste them in dishes pre-pared by a Mexican chef.
And so on. This year, the cooperative took part in the twentieth edition of Food Taipei, attended by 40,000 local and international visitors. That was the perfect location to promote their products, ranging from live lobsters and abalone to tinned and frozen products.
They followed up that event with a trip to Hong Kong to put the finishing touches on the business plan they had begun last year, to set up an office as a strategically-located distribu-tion point for other parts of Asia. That will enable the cooperative to handle orders of different sizes at a lower cost and have direct relationships with specific clients such as restaurants and supermarkets.
In the near future they plan to position their brand on an interna-tional level and open up new market niches. Mexico is also in their sights.
“For the past couple of years we’ve tried to refocus on the Mexican market because we’ve been guilty of overlooking it a little,” explains Domínguez.
The plan includes an in-crease in the promotion and establishment of distributors in Jalisco, Mexico City and Baja California.
They have also adapted their products for the Mexican mar-ket, such as with their abalone in brine with Jalapeño or their filleted abalone in chunks, as in Mexico –unlike in Asia– abalone is not normally eaten whole and therefore the product has to be more accessible. n
key MarkeTs in 2009
singapore
(59% of its exports)
hong kong
(24%)
Malaysia
(12%)
China
(2%)
Taiwan
(2%)
Thailand
(1%)
mexico’s Partner cedmex
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42 Negocios Photos CourTesy of fil Guadalajara - Pedro andrés / arChive / Ceronne
HISTORY
LITERATURE
MesoaMeriCan hisTory To The web
Germany, Guest of Honor of FIL 2011
LITERATURE
“The day we gather most of Pre-Hispanic codex digitally we will have a great virtual Amoxcalli [House of Books in Nahuatl] that will let us understand the Mesoamerican world better,” declared Miguel León Portilla, doctor in history and anthropologist, during the inauguration of the Congress on Digitali-zation of Mexican Codex, in May 2010.
That day is near. Supported by the National Council for Culture and Arts (CONACULTA), the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and the Center of Studies on Mexican History, the Digital Mexican Library will soon be
Germany will be the country Guest of Honor of the 2011 Guadalajara Interna-tional Book Fair (FIL).
Germany’s participation will be co-ordinated by the Frankfurt Book Fair, in cooperation with different partners from the German cultural and econom-ic sectors.
www.fil.com.mx
Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes was award-ed the Grande Medaille de la Ville de Paris, Vermeil echelon (Grand Medal of the City of Paris, Bermejo category), which is the highest honor given by the so-called “City of Lights” in the arts and literature.
www.sre.gob.mx/francia
Paris Awards Carlos Fuentes
launched, providing online access to those impor-tant and interesting Mexican cultural treasures.
The creation of the Mexican Digital Library represents the only option to gather at least 20 Pre-Hispanic codex that survived the Conquest, to present guarded in libraries around the world. Only one of them –Colombino– is preserved in Mexico at the National Library of Anthropology and History. The other documents are kept in Canada, the US, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the UK.
dti.inah.gob.mx
The Lifestyle briefs
Ph
oto
s u
lis
es M
uñ
iz
a luxurious fraMe for ConTeMPorary arT
Marco (Museum of Contempo-rary Art) in the city of Mon-terrey is, as stated in its name –the Spanish word for frame–,
one of the most important venues for culture and the arts in Latin America and the world.
The history of this 16,000 square meter window to the arts began in 1991. Since then, most visitors to the capital city of the state of Nuevo León, strolling near the Macroplaza –the natural route to the old barrio in this industrial hub– are amazed at the terracotta building’s beauty and simplicity.
Welcoming the visitor, Paloma, a monu-mental six meter tall bronze sculpture by Mexican sculptor Juan Soriano (1920-2006), is just a taste of what is awaiting inside Marco. During its 19 years of life and along its 5,000 square meters of halls and exhibit rooms, the museum has hosted from the photographs of Mexican artist Manuel Álvarez Bravo to the storyboards of the complete history of Pixar animation company. And also works of art-ists such as Hermenegildo Bustos, Julio Galán, Mathias Goeritz, Frida Kahlo, Joan Brossa, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi and Antony Gormley, just to mention a few.
But Marco is in itself a building worth seeing. It was created by Mexican architect Ricardo Le-gorreta, who managed to make a one of a kind experience tour for the senses of this museum.
Legorreta has built several iconic projects in Mexico and America, such as the home of the Comisión Nacional de Derechos Humanos (Na-tional Human Rights Commission) and the Cami-no Real hotel, both in Mexico City; the restoration work of Pershing Square, in Los Angeles, Califor-nia; the new Cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua, and the City Library in San Antonio, Texas.
As in other spaces where he worked, in Marco the architect wanted the experience to be not as if the visitors were walking through a
ART & ARCHITECTURE
lab showing works of art but as a work of art in itself, integrated with the guest exhibits. In the eleven halls, the visitor can perceive how every exhibit is illuminated with both natural and ar-tificial lighting and how every fragment is part of a single window.
That window is open not only to new trends in global art but also to family work-shops, film festivals and meetings. Since its beginning, Marco has become one of the most important venues for social, cultural and business events held in the metropoli-tan area of Monterrey.
It may be overstated to say that whoever came to Monterrey and failed to visit Marco had not seen anything yet, but it is right to say that whoever has been in the capital city of Nuevo León and has also visited Marco, defi-nitely had a complete experience by admir-ing a beautiful frame for contemporary art.
44 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photo CourTesy of huGo d’aCosTa
Drinking a glass of wine in France is not the same as drinking it in Mexico. By the same token, you cannot make wine in the same
way in the “old” world as in Baja California, in Northern Mexico. Hugo D’Acosta is aware of the importance of context and this under-standing underpins his work as an enologist.
Mexican sommelier Pedro Poncelis says that D’Acosta is not simply an independent winemaker producing signature wines, but wines “in context,” because with each of his wines, whether they are produced at his Casa de Piedra winery –located in the Valle de San Antonio de las Minas in Baja California– or in his project in France, La Borde Vieille, care is taken at every stage of the process to make a wine that is one of a kind.
“If we made signature wines, all our wines would taste the same,” D’Acosta explains. “We’d be just another ingredient, an extra lay-er, rather than a defining factor. The vine, the vineyard, the climate, the geographical location and the enologist himself all contribute to this so-called ‘context’ and that is how to produce a specific wine.”
An Enologist in ContExt
Hugo D’Acosta has been working in his own winery –Casa de Piedra– for the past 10 years, but with his talent as an enologist he has also influenced other estates, revolutionizing wine making in Baja California.
D’Acosta was born in León, Guanajuato (in the Bajío region, north of Mexico City) but was brought up in Mexico City. He studied agricul-tural engineering in Querétaro and he claims he has spent longer being unemployed than having a job.
Ten years ago he found the perfect context for his chosen métier: a family-run wine opera-tion on a “human scale.” At his Casa de Piedra winery, visitors are welcomed with a phrase that sums up his personal discovery: “Welcome to our dream.”
As well as Casa de Piedra –that produces 36,000 bottles of Vino de Piedra red wine and 6,000 of Piedra de Sol white wine “on a hu-man scale”– D’Acosta now has other projects in the valleys of Baja California that follow the tradition that he and a group of enolo-gists began back in the 1990s: the creation of an innovative Mexican wine-producing area.
This refers to the wine cellar called Para-lelo and La Estación de Oficios El Porvenir, an atelier better known by its nickname “La Escuelita.” Paralelo produces 60,000 bottles of Ensamble Colina and Ensamble Arena each year. A Belgian enologist, Thomas Egli, is the di-
Hugo D’AcostA
by francisco vernis
interview hugo d’acosta
rector of the atelier, where the general public is taught to produce wine, brandy (orujo), mezcal and olive oil.
—How did you become an enologist?Quite by accident. When I was young I had the opportunity to study at a fruit and wine production school. I was amazed that you could do so much with a grape. At that point, without having a clue about what was involved, I decided that I wanted to enroll at an enology school.
To get there, first I had to study a degree in agricultural engineering. After that I stud-ied viticulture and enology in France and then in Italy.
When I finished my studies I returned to Mexico [in 1983] to work for Martell, which had a winery in Tequisquiapan [Querétaro]. I worked there for a year. I was still too young to want to be stuck in such a closed company and so I began to look for other options in the wine industry. I wandered around the world. I began working independently for some vineyards in Querétaro and in early 1985 I went to work for a year in Napa Valley in Cali-fornia. I returned to Mexico with the idea of doing something in Querétaro, where I spent another year encouraging people who had a vineyard and made wine. I was then hired by Vergel, in Coahuila, where I worked for three years. Then I got a job with Santo Tomás and this brought me to Baja California in 1988.
—How much has the area around Ensenada changed since you started working for Santo Tomás?A lot. During my time there Baja California has changed dramatically. In 1988, many things began to happen: Monte Xanic was created –a watershed moment in Mexico’s wine industry– with its focus on signature and fine wines. This heralded a new phase for Mexican wine.
—How do you react to being described as a “wine revolutionary” in Mexico?We saw a beautiful activity that was very closed-off, monopolized and which needed to be opened up to really blossom. I thought it was vital to establish more wineries and to create new opportunities, new ideas, and
new producers. The best way to go about this was by trying to influence friends and acquaintances, so that more people would pick up the courage to make wine.
—How did you build the Casa de Pie-dra project?I spent 12 years in Santo Tomás. It was a busy time and good fun. Eventually I real-ized that I was really motivated to do dif-ferent things, like a winery on a “human scale.” Also, I needed to start a different life and build something for my family’s future. We started out with a small project, for a family to live off its wine production. We began to lay the foundations stone by stone, nurturing and investing in the business until we could strike out on our own.
—How much has Casa de Piedra grown, compared to what you set out to achieve?At the outset we wanted to design a winery on a human scale, a family business that would produce just two wines: one red, one white. We realized from the beginning that the winery would need to produce around 3,000 cases of wine, which is exactly our current production. Obviously, it took us a number of years to reach this point.
—How different is large-scale wine production compared to smaller op-erations such as Casa de Piedra’s?The difference between working for a large company and a small one is the human aspect, what you can have a hand in and what you can influence. When wine cellars reach a certain size you lose direct contact with all the products. For example, if a cellar houses 2,000 barrels, it is virtually
important thing is to understand that you’re working with living things and that they come from within a context. You must learn about a place with respect. Despite what many believe, it’s not so much about having a special sense of smell. The senses do help, but they’re not as important as inspiration, and inspiration doesn’t come unless you work hard.
—What are the characteristics of Casa de Piedra wines?Piedra del Sol is a white wine that seeks to be an expression of the vineyard. It is made
46 Negocios i The Lifestyle
“the difference between working
for a large company and a small one is the human aspect,
what you can have a hand in and what you can influence.”
impossible to smell, test and check them all. On the other hand, with 300 or 400 barrels you can have a much more direct contact. The idea is to handle a scale so that you can be involved in every stage of the process: as the wine is produced, while it ages, when it’s mixed. The idea is to have direct con-tact rather than control, so that the grapes picked by hand are later bottled by hand.
—What special talents do enologists need?Work, work and more work. It’s a craft that is learnt with practice. I think that the most
Photo CourTesy of huGo d’aCosTa
hugo d’acosta does not just make
two wines for casa de piedra, he
also works on other projects of his
own and for other wineries.
adobevalle de guadalupe,
baja california
redgabriel 2005
(Merlot, Cabernet franc,
Malbec, Cinsault)
serafiel 2005
(Cabernet sauvignon, syrah)
Kerubiel 2005
(syrah, Tempranillo,
Mourvedre, Grenache, Cinsault,
viognier, Merlot)
miguel 2005
(Tempranillo, Grenache,
Cabernet sauvignon)
roséuriel 2006
(Cabernet franc, Tempranillo,
Grenache, Chenin blanc,
Moscatel, viognier, syrah)
la borde vieillefrance
whiteParteaguas 2007
(Carigan blanc, Macabeo)
Parteaguas 2008
(Grenache, Macabeo)
reddsy (mainly syrah,
complemented with Carignan and
Grenache)
dcr (mainly Carigan,
complemented with syrah
and Grenache)
dgr (mainly Grenache,
complemented with Carignan
and syrah).
Paralelovalle de guadalupe,
baja california
whiteemblema (sauvignon blanc)
redensamble arenal (Merlot,
Cabernet sauvignon, Petite syrah,
barbera)
ensamble colina (Merlot, Cabernet
sauvignon, Petite syrah, zinfandel)
aborÍGenvalle de guadalupe, baja california
white Ácrata sinónimo (Palomino,
sauvignon blanc)
Ácrata tacha (Grenache,
nebbiolo, Chenin blanc,
Tempranillo, Cabernet sauvignon)
redÁcrata origen
(Misión)
Ácrata tinte del valle (Grenache,
durif)
Ácrata Portada (Grenache,
Carignan, durif)
tinto de la casa (various reds)
5 estrellas (Tempranillo,
Cabernet sauvignon, Merlot,
Cinsault, Grenache)
tabla no. 1 (Malbec)
date (Carignan)
The d’aCosTa brand
interview hugo d’acosta
from the Chardonnay grape; it’s simple and has a taste linked more closely to the grape, mirroring the characteristic freshness of this variety, without adding any extra layers. It’s a fresh, simple wine: the ideal accompa-niment to seafood. Vino de Piedra, on the other hand, does aim to be a much more complex wine for the palate, boasting the many flavors of the vineyard. It is a formal wine, robust, with quite a wide range of spicy flavors that should age well over many years. It uses Cabernet and Tempranillo grapes, almost half and half, but this varies according to the year.
—Do you have any favorite year?Our first harvest was in 1997. It was a symbolic harvest for its strength, its power, its ageing potential. The even years: 2000, 2002, 2004, have attracted a considerable following, they are very easy wines, very fruity and well-balanced. The wines of 2003, 2005 and 2007 are very fine and have a certain elegance.
—Do you only drink wine?I always drink wine, practically every day. I also like mezcal and new beers, the fashion-able artisanal ones.
—Do you enjoy wine and food pairing?I’m not good at pairings. Sometimes I get good matches that I enjoy but it’s not some-thing I focus on. I try to be less formal and enjoy wine more freely.
—When do you most enjoy a glass of wine?It’s always a question of who you’re with. It also depends a little on the season and the time of day but above all, wine is a drink to enjoy with friends.
—Have you ever been disappointed by one of your wines?Yes. I have been greatly disappointed but it’s like everything, like human relationships, there are disappointments and sometimes it’s just a question of misunderstandings. But yes, there have been wines that haven’t lived up to my expectations.
—Which is the best wine you have ever tasted?That’s a hard one. I’ve tried many wines and
narrowing it down to one is very difficult. I have good memories of some Italian wines and of some experimental wines produced by several colleagues here in Mexico. It would be unfair to talk about a single wine.
—Do you have a favorite wine producing area?As a region, I really like Piamonte in Italy. The area where I’m currently doing some work
in the Southeast of France also strikes me as attractive, innovative and with plenty of new ideas. I love white Austrian wines and obvi-ously Mexican ones.
—Do you prefer red or white?I drink more red wine, although not so much out of preference. There are more options with red wine, but I think both have their own special place. n
48 Negocios i The Lifestyle illustration oldeMar
Football is the only sport with multiple roots. It is not unusual for a South Af-rican kid to think football is originally from South Africa or for a “pibe” (an
Argentinean child), to believe it originated in that country. We all own it and it is, therefore, the most popular and democratic sport. The Olympic Games require 28 sport disciplines to attract the world’s attention. Football does it on its own. The whole world has given it a passport. However, this sport has its own birth certificate…it is from England.
As a child I was always amused at the strange words in my favorite game. “Corner,” “offside,” “penalty,” words that all of us screamed on an empty lot where two rocks formed our goal, with two teams of kids with no shorts or jerseys or ref-eree, but with lots of dirt. There were no defend-ers or strikers as we all played every position. The game was fun and we did not care about its roots or how it arrived in Mexico.
Now I know that words that back then sounded strange are no less part of the sport’s identity.
Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano said: “At the end of so many centuries of official de-nial, the British islands ended up acknowledg-ing the existence of a ball in their fate. In the Victorian era, football was already unanimous not only as a vice for the masses, but also as an aristocratic virtue. The future leaders of society learned to win playing football in the grounds of schools and colleges.” Thus, the rules that set the grounds for modern football were created in 1848 at Cambridge University and in the fall of 1863 twelve English clubs gathered to create The Football Association.
In the second half of the 19th century, Eng-lish travelers took their favorite sports in their backpacks. Tennis, rugby and cricket came
As Mexican as Ever
Even though football is not Mexican, it is definitely part of the country’s history. British immigrants brought it to the country and soon it was adopted as the Mexican national sport.
by francisco vÁzquez
with them to many countries, including Mex-ico. But here, like in most of the world, football was more than welcome.
During the last century the sport spread and became popular throughout the whole country.
There are two cities disputing recognition as the “cradle” of Mexican football: Orizaba, in the state of Veracruz, and Pachuca, in Hidalgo. Still, if there is any doubt as to where a ball was first kicked, it is most certain it was kicked by English-men. In Orizaba they were textile workers, miners in Pachuca. The Orizaba Athletic Club was found-ed in 1898, though it was more focused on cricket and other sports, whereas the Pachuca Athletic Club –a football team– was created in 1901.
It was the beginning of the 20th century. Gen-eral Porfirio Díaz had been the president of Mex-ico for several years. The social atmosphere ap-peared to be calm. And the Englishmen started to spread the game among Mexicans –especially those from the high classes– teaching them how to dominate a handmade leather ball containing an inflated pig’s bladder inside.
Football began contending with cricket for preference among English travelers and dwell-ers of the central regions of Mexico. Inspired by Pachuca Athletic Club, several clubs in Mexico City also formed football teams. In September of 1902 an amateur football league was created and in October of the same year the first Mexi-can Football Championship opened with five teams: Pachuca Athletic Club, Reforma Ath-letic Club, British Club, Mexico Country Club and Orizaba Athletic Club –which won that first tournament.
During its first decade football was a sport of minorities and expatriates. The football league experienced a two year crisis, in 1907 and 1908, when only four and three teams participated respectively. Still, there were fa-mous names such as Camphuis, Thomas and Bennetts, as well as Percy C. Clifford and Rob-ert J. Blackmoore, who introduced the rules of the game and the first official balls.
Mexican football’s identity began shaping up thanks to English immigrants, a mix of aris-tocrats playing in the private schools of Mexico City and working class miners spending most of their days in the underground darkness. These Englishmen planted a seed on fertile ground, a work which was later continued by other European migrants, especially from Spain, France and Germany.
Then the Mexican Revolution arose, a war that was also very influential in the future of this sport. Political, social and economic turmoil prompted many Englishmen to leave the coun-
try. In fact, the Mexican tournament had to be interrupted for two years. And amongst those leaving, football players were no exception.
The place left by foreigners began to be taken by Mexicans wearing T-shirts and shorts, some-thing rather unusual in revolutionary Mexico –a land of rouge men riding horses and carry-ing guns. In my hometown of Ocotlán, Jalisco, stories tell that the first men to make a pass and score a goal were mocked by baseball enthusi-asts, another sport which arrived in the country around the same time. Said in revolutionary terms, the Civil War made football its own sport. Mexicans started to harvest what the English-men planted and the new icons had names such as Jesus Piña, Alfonso Ortíz and Carlos Orozco, among others.
The Revolution only stopped organized football matches during the first couple of years (1910 and 1911). After that, in spite of the bullets, the ball kept rolling and the first teams with Mexican players were founded. The first team of Mexican-only players, named Club de Futbol México, was founded in 1910. However, there still were a few foreigners who also participated in the football revolution. For example, Guadalajara Club, popularly known as Las Chivas (The Goats) and maybe the one with the largest number of followers, was created by Belgian Edgar Everaert. This team was founded in 1906 under the name of Union Football Club and two years later it ad-opted the name Guadalajara. The colors of the uniform resemble those of the Club Bruges, from Belgium: red and white jersey and blue shorts.
The Oro team was founded in Guadalajara to represent the jewelry industry and the popular club América was created in Mexico City in 1916 from the union of two St. Mary schools. Atlante was founded in 1920, with a line up of players from the lower income neighborhoods, immedi-ately rivaling America. The poor versus the rich. In 1921, the military formed their team: Marte. In turn, the Power Company also created Necaxa (1923), which soon took the name of Los Rayos (The Thunderbolts).
Soon after the end of the Mexican Revolution, President Álvaro Obregón organized a series of festivities to celebrate the Independence first centennial. Football –already a popular sport– was part of the celebration, with the First Na-tional Tournament with participation of Mexi-
can teams and representatives of the expatriate colonies, such as Asturias and España, from the Spanish community; the Germania, from the German community, and LAmicale Francaise, from the French colony. The Mexican teams were Luz y Fuerza, México, Reforma and Gua-dalajara and Atlas, both from Guadalajara. Also playing in that tournament were teams like Mo-relos, ADO from Orizaba, Iberia from Córdoba, a joint team from the port of Veracruz and, of course, the Pachuca Athletic Club. It is ironic that the final match was disputed between two teams from the Spanish community: Asturias versus Real Club España, which won the championship organized to celebrate Mexico’s independence from Spain.
In Mexico, football was considered an amateur sport during the first decades of the 20th century. It was not until 1943 that it be-came a professional sport, when the Mexican Football League –now the Mexican Football Federation– was created.
Currently, baseball is also a popular sport in Mexico, especially in the Northern states which are next to the US-Mexico border and in the Southeast region. However, even there, when it comes to cheering and going mad over a sport, football scores highest.
Not all Mexicans have played or play foot-ball but most cheer for one team. Chivas and América are the clubs with the most fans. Except in its first years, when there were foreign players, Chivas is known for including only Mexican play-ers in its line up and it is regarded as the people’s
team. Whereas America, which at first includ-ed Mexican players only, has become a club which drafts foreign players and signs them up for millions of dollars.”
The fans want to see their teams win but are also happy if someone else defeats a most hated rival. Hence a counterpart is also a must. Chivas-América, Atlas-Chivas, Monterrey-Tigres are some of the most popular rivalries contributing to increasing the passion Mexi-cans are known for when it comes to football. In the 1990s, a newspaper from Guadalajara, Siglo 21, would read, only partly joking, that if Chivas lost its Sunday match, the following day more blue collar workers would miss work or be less productive.
True, football unites us, as a TV ad would say referring to the Mexican national team. It has since before TV and Internet came into our lives and now it is doing it with the drive of the media. The Mexican Football Federa-tion usually says it is the 15th league according to FIFA’s ranking. It is also known as the Latin American league with the highest salaries for its players.
But beyond the professional leagues, foot-ball is still being played in parks and empty lots, in the Mexican cities and in the country-side, by kids who might not know the rules but are determined to score a goal. This spirit is still the same as when the sport began to be practiced –when it came to Mexico from Eng-land– though many think now that kicking a ball is a very Mexican custom. n
tHe lifestyle feature living football passion
50 Negocios i The Lifestyle
As this article is being written, Mexico has just qualified for the second round of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
That is a great achievement for the national side, the fans and the country. Mexico may not go on to win the World Cup but everyone in the country can be proud of their team’s passion and commitment, an attitude reflected in their fantas-tic supporters.
As a foreigner who arrived in Mexico five years ago from Scotland, where football is a reli-gion, it was a big bonus to make my new home in a country where football is King. Being a football nut, I could never be happy in a country where the beautiful game was not the main attraction.
Take the US, for example. I’m sure it’s a very nice place to live but I just can’t get excited at the thought of American football, baseball and bas-ketball. Or Canada, a country I know is a great place to live and work but where ice hockey is the national sport. A terrific game, for sure, but let’s face it, it’s not in the same class as football.
I mean, in the US, the most popular ball game in the world is not even called football but “soc-cer,” a name originally used in the 19th century to distinguish real football from rugby football.
But Mexico? Ah! That’s a different ball game, to confuse a metaphor. In Mexico they re-ally know and love their football, just like back in Scotland. At the risk of being sexist, girlie moves involving picking the ball up or hitting a small sphere with a bat are frowned upon.
Nope: just pure and lovely football, the most exciting, skilful and easy on the eye game in the world.
World Cup Winners In Passion for the Game
As Mexico participated in the greatest football show on Earth, Graeme Stewart, a fully paid up member of the Tartan Army of Scottish football fans –unfortunately missing in action at this year’s World Cup finals– reveals his empathy with Mexican football.
by graeme stewart
And for that, Mexico, I salute you. You may flirt with baseball, I believe they are quite fond of that statistical past time down Yucatán way, or even basketball –a waste of a good round ball–, as I have seen several basketball courts in Mexico City. Not too many, I am pleased to say.
Many things made me feel right at home in Mexico, like the large quantity of rain in the summer months, good beer and a fondness for tequila that rivals my countrymen’s insa-tiable thirst for whisky. But the passion for football is the one thing that struck a chord of recognition and which I found to be the most welcoming aspect of Mexican life.
I first became aware that football was even played in Mexico during the 1966 World Cup, in England, when the host nation drew 0-0 with El Tri (the Mexican National Football Team) in that tournament’s opening game.
That awareness was heightened four years later when the World Cup was held in Mexico in 1970. In my opinion, that was the greatest World Cup to date. It had the greatest World Cup team –the peerless Brazilians of Pele, Jairzinho, Tostao, Gerson and Rivelino– yet seen. And, for the first time, it was in glorious colour on television.
For a 14 year old, that tournament had a profound effect. It was the first time I had seen the Azteca, home of footballing gods, and the other impressive stadia in Guadalajara, Queré-taro, Monterrey and others.
Mexico had become prominent on my foot-ball radar.
When, in 1986, Colombia held up her hands and admitted that she couldn’t play host to the greatest sporting spectacle on Earth –and I include the Olympic Games– and Mexico stepped in, I knew that once again we were in for a special treat, a footballing extravaganza.
illustration oldeMar
I was right. The 1986 World Cup in Mexico was a resounding success both on and off the park. The organizers had slaved to put on the show and their dedication and hard work paid off with everything going without a hitch. The football on show was a joy to behold and the fans were magnificent. They gave the world the “Mexican Wave” and between those won-derous fans and the performance of the Mexi-can team –unlucky to lose to eventual finalist West Germany in the quarterfinals–, connois-seurs of the beautiful game around the world fell in love with Mexico all over again.
To this day, some experts say –albeit tongue in cheek– that the World Cup should be held only in Mexico, such was the success of the two tournaments hosted there.
That is why when my dear father in law Don Eduardo Ricalde Medina, who, incidentally, was the ticket director during the ’86 World Cup, took me to the Azteca for a private tour shortly after I had arrived on these shores, it was one of the proudest moments I have experienced in a life-time of following football.
To be in the stadium where both Pele and Maradona had lifted the World Cup in triumph,
to be in the seats where those fans had shown the world how to enjoy football without violence, to be seated next to El Niño –the statue of a young football fan situated right among the fans, and surely one of the greatest monuments to the joy of football ever seen– was overwhelming for this football fanatic and something I will never forget.
I have returned to the Azteca to watch Club America –my Mexican family’s club of choice– play and I have always been full of admiration for Mexican football fans.
They turn out in great numbers to support both their club and national teams, yet there is never a hint of football hooliganism. The vio-lence that can scar games in Britain and con-tinental Europe is absent and in its place is an intense yet good-natured rivalry with fans of competing teams mingling without fear.
Sports psychologists would have a field day comparing the psyches of some knuckle dragging European fans with their Mexican counterparts.
It is also refreshing to see that Mexican foot-ball clubs seem to have dealt with last year’s worldwide financial recession far more capably than many football teams in Europe who are now having to deal with the result of profligate
spending in years past.Hardly a week goes by without a British
football club announcing that it is in financial difficulty yet, unless I’ve missed it, Mexican clubs seem to be impervious to overspending, poor fiscal management, financial reckless-ness, call it what you will.
Long may it continue.As in Scotland, football pervades daily life
in Mexico. It is watched in bars, restaurants, golf clubs, homes and anywhere where there is a television. It is talked about over lunch, a drink and in the workplace. Fans plan their an-nual holidays around league and international fixtures, weddings have been postponed be-cause of a clash with an important match and husbands, brothers, fathers and grandfathers have been posted missing for a month during the World Cup.
Bill Shankly, a tough Scot who managed English side Liverpool Football Club to great success in the 1960s, was once asked if foot-ball was a matter of life or death. “Don’t be so stupid,” he growled. “It’s far more important than that.”
That sums it up for me and for Mexico. n
tHe lifestyle feature living football passion
mexican football fans turn out in great numbers to support both their club and national teams yet there is never a hint of football hooliganism. the violence that can scar games in britain and continental europe is absent and in its place is an intense yet good-natured rivalry with fans of competing teams mingling without fear.
52 Negocios Photos franCisCo vernis
interview kerstin scheuch
Kerstin Scheuch’s heart took her to Mexico and today, nine years af-ter her arrival, her heart does not let her leave the country.
Her position as Director of Centro –a design, film and television university that was estab-lished in 2004 by Gina Diez Barroso–, her Mexican husband and her two daughters –who are practically Mexican– are the ties that keep this Austrian woman in Mexico City.
“In Mexico I feel much more inspired, pro-ductive and agile. Whenever I visit Vienna I find rain and people who don’t say hello. Everything is sad and it makes you sad. Over here, everything is open,” says Scheuch, who used to live in London before coming to Mexi-co. There, she worked in strategic project con-sulting at KPMG Consulting.
In 2001, when Kerstin was 41, she met Gina Diez Barroso, a designer and the president of Grupo Diarq, who told her she was capable of contributing to her dream of establishing a university that would train skilled creative in-dividuals in Mexico.
Diez Barroso trusted Scheuch’s experience –in addition to her work in KPMG, she com-
Mexico in tHe HeArtkerstin scheuch is an austrian woman who has been living in mexico for nine years. while she has had many opportunities in other countries, she decided to stay in mexico with her two mexican daughters and manage centro, a design, film and television university.
pleted Art History studies and an MBA in Fi-nance, and she worked in Sotheby’s and in the Wiener Secession museum’s management.
That is how Scheuch became involved in Centro’s project, which currently has 880 stu-dents and a pool of teachers and principals from around the world.
“Centro is like my baby, I don’t think of it as a job. I can honestly say I would still be here even if I was earning 10 dollars a month because I love our growth strategy. Our achievements so far have been amazing, but we still have a lot to do in the next three years,” explains Scheuch.
Centro opened its doors in 2004 with the Film and Television; Visual Communication; Habitat Design; and Furniture and Object Design programs. It created its educational model with the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, it hired international experts to manage every program and it com-missioned an avant-garde building from F403 –a Mexican architectural firm with architects such as Juan Carlos Tello, Federico Quirós, Sal-vador Arroyo and Alejandro Hernández.
Also, it formed a professional council that included people such as Enrique Norten and
Javier Sordo Madaleno; advertisers such as Carlos Alazraky; film producers; museum di-rectors and international business experts.
“We can achieve a lot in Mexico. When we opened the Center in 2004, people from the Art Center College of Design told us this was what they wanted to do. In fact, I think they were a little jealous and they could not believe that this could happen,” explains the institution’s director, who is expecting to get the land to build a new 12,000 square meter campus in Mexico City.
Centro’s project was so appealing to Scheuch that she passed on an offer to go to Af-rica. She also declined an opportunity in Bar-celona, where the Art Center College of Design hired her to start a graduate studies center. Between 2005 and 2007 she traveled between Barcelona, Mexico City and Pasadena, but the Art Center College of Design wanted her to stay in Spain. The chance to be in Spain, closer to home, with a more attractive income and an interesting challenge was tempting, but Scheuch started thinking too much about it. She asked for a three-year contract and many other benefits that were finally granted to her, but she finally realized she didn’t want to leave.
by francisco vernis
54 Negocios Photos franCisCo vernis
—Can you see yourself living somewhere else?No, I’m staying in Mexico. My husband and my daughters are here. After all these years living in Mexico I am still Austrian, but I realize that my daughters are Mexican. For instance, my two-year old daughter dances, sings and loves karaoke, which would be unusual for an Austrian child. This has been difficult because my roots are different. Now, when we visit Austria I try to teach my daughters a part of what I am. However, Austrian lifestyle can be unattractive to a small child who prefers to dance, sing and hit a piñata instead of listening to classical music.
—What is your favorite part of living in Mexico?I love that restaurants are open almost 24 hours. The weather is extraordinary, I love flowers and fruits. I am a cold person, which
does not mean I don’t like hugs and nice ges-tures, and in Mexico people are kind regard-less of the way I am. This is a luxury.
When I leave home in the morning, I see people who are nice even if their lives are diffi-cult. This way of facing life grows on you quickly.
In spite of all our problems, we can do it. Anything is possible in Mexico.
—What do you think of Mexico’s design industry?The industry is growing quickly. Just look at how interior design has progress in restau-rants in the last ten years. There are many opportunities because the industry is develop-ing. In fact, Centro’s slogan was “There is a lot to do.”
The education and creativity offers focus a lot on the American and European models, but there is a Latin aspect that is very interest-ing. The trend is to focus in what is happening here and to reinterpret it. We do not want to emulate what is happening in Europe -for ex-ample- we just want to find our own language, our own way.
For instance, at Centro all our academic directors have their own firms and are very
“when i leave home in the morning, i see people who are nice
even if their lives are difficult. this way of facing life grows on
you quickly. in spite of all our problems, we can do it. anything is possible in mexico.”
interview kerstin scheuch
busy. This reflects how much we can do in Mexico.
We are working with companies that are being sold, and no company is doing it to com-mit suicide. They do it because they have to do it, because it will help them sell more. Busi-nesses are valuing design more and more in their business strategies.
—How does Centro compare to other projects you have worked for?I thought I was going to have a more academic path… More writing, exhibits, curatorship or something like that, but at my first job –when I was 22– at Sotheby’s I restructured the de-partment, changed a few things, saved costs, organized events. Then I was offered a posi-tion in the Wiener Secession museum, which was turning 100 years at the time, and I was in charge of organizing the celebrations. The museum was working with losses and when I left it was doing much better, I got sponsors and achieved many good things.
At that moment I realized that my strength is that I understand creative people and their working processes. I am convinced that Cen-tro’s directors are the main visionaries, and that my job is to help them fulfill their vision. If we work towards that, we will do very well.
—Would Centro have been possible else-where?It’s sad and beautiful, but I think that there are very good projects and things have been re-solved in other parts of the world, the process is the same in many ways. The great advantage in Mexico was that the topic had not been re-solved completely. We studied the background work in other parts of the world, but we were not in Los Angeles or New York, we had to make things work here.
We had more liberty to invent something new, which is not that easy.
Mexico’s great opportunity is that there is a lot to do and a great pool of talent to do it. With attractive salaries you can attract the best talents. In New York you would have to pay millions.
Mexico is also a nice place to live. Five of our seven program directors are foreigners –British, Swiss, Polish and American. I’m sure they are in Mexico for a reason. For instance, in Mexico I earn a third of what I earned in London, but living in Mexico offers me a life style, a way of being, the chance of holding on to the idea of having an impact on other people, of achieving something important. n
desiGn in aCTion
students at the Centro have
worked with various companies.
kirsten scheuch’s only condition
was clear: nothing is done for
free. in spite of that, they are
highly demanded. They have been
involved in projects such as the
following:
voiTstudents from the visual
Communication program designed
the football that is being used for
the Mexican soccer league’s first-
division matches in 2010.
Pfizerstudents from the Product design
program, together with Pfizer,
designed and manufactured a
stand for ave de México, which
groups associations that fight
against aids. it was a meeting
place.
seMana 39students from the interior
architecture program organized
the second edition of semana 39,
a congress that gathers interior
space experts and that was
attended by professionals such as
filippo bombace (Milan), brunete
fraccarolli (sao Paulo) and enrico
bonetti (new york). The event was
sponsored by Comex, hotel habita
and Porcelanosa.
fashion fabulousstudents from the Textile
and fashion design program
organized the first in a series of
round tables to discuss fashion
and trends, with attendees such
as ricardo seco (Converse) and
the founders of Malafacha y Trista.
esPaCio Televisastudents from the visual
Communication program
designed the concept for
espacio Televisa’s 2009 national
campaign.
hershey’sstudents from the Product design
program designed the packaging
for hershey’s kisses. The company
selected 12 proposals out of 30.
roToPlÁsstudents from the Product design
program worked with rotoplás
to design solar water heater
supports that are already being
sold.
ProMéxiCostudents from the Product design
program did the architectural and
image design for ProMéxico’s
pavilion at the nafsa 2009
annual Conference & expo in los
angeles. The pavilion housed 30
Mexican universities.
“we do not want to emulate what is
happening in europe -for example- we just want to find our own
language, our own way.”
56 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photo arChive56 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photos jan MarCzona / MaGnus von koeller
Cuatrociénegas Valley might seem like a set of alien landscapes. But no. You are on planet Earth, in Mexico, more precisely in the center of the state of Coahuila. There, in the desert –an oasis of dryness in the middle of the Sierra Madre–, iridescent lakes and snow-white dunes where species not found elsewhere in the world live, are displayed.
Cuatrociénegas is one of those sites one must see. The same valley that hosts pasture is home to a set of ponds, desert and fossils. It only takes desire and a little of decision to get there. By road, Cuatrociénegas is about 295 miles from Torreón, Coahuila’s capital. By air, the best way to get there is through the airport of the city of Monclova.
Paradise extends a few kilometers from the city of Cuatrociénegas Carranza, in the bank of Mapimí Bolson, an ecological reserve in the Northern Mexican desert regarded by scien-tists from all over the world as one of the most important natural areas in the Western Hemi-sphere due to the wide variety of ecosystems it hosts.
cuatrociénegas:landscape, science and fun at the same valley
and dive in some of them, like La Becerra, El Churince, La Ilusión, El Anteojo and Los Mezquites river.
Other ponds like Poza Azul or El Moja-rral, are worth being admired. Poza Azul owes its name to its turquoise and sapphire waters, which get those colors due to the presence of minerals in the soil. El Mojarral is where the life of a unique species of crappie, not found elsewhere in the world, starts and ends.
Water in Cuatrociénegas is as important as the region’s extreme dryness. Visitors can stroll through gypsum dunes, an extensive and changing landscape made of fossils that have been there a million years, since the re-gion was part of the Tethys Sea.
The valley is a place for contemplation, scientific research and conservation. But it is also an ideal place for leisure activities such as mountain biking, camping and abseiling.
The site, which reminds of a scene of James Cameron’s Avatar or a recreation of the Moon, is in Coahuila, Mexico, and one cannot afford to end life without having visited it. n
This variety combines, for example, the desert and water. In the valley, water is a subject that would take several chapters of a scientific research. It runs underground through 184,000 hectares of interconnected rivers and reaches about 400 ponds, each one with a different mineral composition. With certain restrictions, visitors can swim
interview andreas heineckedestination mexico’s northern region
The conquerors who in 1542 first came to what is now Ensenada, in Baja California, must have been stunned by the beauty of the land-scape that stretched before their eyes. Yet, no one knows if they made it to see one of the big-gest marine geysers in the world, which some-one several years later called La Bufadora (The Buffalo Snort).
Today, this natural spectacle and many others surrounding it –including man-mold-ed ones– can be seen by all who visit the All Saints’ Bay, about 80 miles South of the border between Mexico and the US, in the Mexican Pacific Ocean coast.
Nearly 30 miles away from Ensenada, in a desert ecosystem, La Bufadora waits for its visitors everyday. It is a cave among the rocks at the sea level that during the day gets filled by the ocean streams. Once it is filled, water is violently expelled from its inside,
ensenada: the spectacle of nature
reaching heights of up to 30 meters. That is La Bufadora’s gift to visitors’ sight. Due to the strength with which water is expelled, the marine geyser produces an overwhelm-ing sound that resembles the roar of a huge angry animal.
Of course, La Bufadora is just one of the many attractions in Baja California, the nar-row land corridor that divides the Gulf of Cali-fornia and the Pacific Ocean. The climate char-acteristics and the natural context of the area can be admired in several landscapes, from the grape plantations for wine production to the arrival of gray whales to the lagoons of Baja California.
The All Saints’ Bay can be reached by air, sea and land. By air, via the airport of Tijuana, Mexico’s fourth most important airport, which also offers connections to Ensenada. Between Tijuana and Ensenada, the scenic highway lets travelers enjoy the seascape. Another option is to take federal highway 1 –or Trans-Peninsular highway–, which goes from Tijuana to La Paz, in Baja California Sur. Cruise ships traveling from Southern Baja California to the port of Ensena-da also promise a superb show. n
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58 Negocios Photos Carlos adaMPol Galindo / alex briseño
There is a legend that says that the Copper Canyon, in Chihuahua, was created by the gods when the planet was still malleable. The leg-end is not far from reality. This mountain range that extends for 6,000 miles emerged from the soft ground after a volcanic eruption, about 20 or 30 million years ago. Today, a little over 600 linear kilometers of this work of the gods can be admired on board of a train whose career is amazing. It is also possible to measure the Can-yon’s profound depths on board of an aircraft and to travel through its bifurcations by road.
This place takes its name from the copper mines found in the zone during the Colony, in the depths of one of the deepest canyons in the world –four times the Grand Canyon. Some of the cliffs still preserve their indigenous names, like Urique, which is one of Mexico’s deepest precipices. Others were renamed by the con-quistadors and Jesuit priests, who sprinkled the cliffs zone with monasteries.
What matters most is what happens there: La Sinforosa with its two amazing wateralls, Ro-salinda and San Ignacio; Batopilas; Candamena, where Piedra Volada and Baseaseachi, the two highest waterfalls in Mexico, are born.
Experts in the Copper Canyon –many of whom have earned the title after visiting the region thousands of times– recommend to enjoy the scenery on board of the Chihua-hua-Pacific Railway, affectionaly known as “Chepe” (www.chepe.com.mx).
coPPer canyon: a divine masterpiece
“Chepe’s” building took almost a century. It began operations in 1961 and today it is one of the most modern in Latin America and a Mexican engineering marvel. It departs from Los Mochis, in Sinaloa –in Northwestern Mexico– to the city of Chihuahua, or vice versa. Bordering the inland cliffs and towering over up to 2,500 meters, it goes into the mountains, through 85 tunnels, and “flies” over rivers and cliffs, as it passes over 39 bridges.
The train makes several stops in its way from Los Mochis to Chihuahua, at the sta-tions of Sufragio, El Fuerte, Temoris, Ba-huichivo, Cuiteco, San Rafael, Posada, Di-visadero, Pitorreal, Creel, San Juanito and
Cuauhtémoc. It offers two kinds of wagons, first class and economy. No matter in which wagon the trip is made, a spectacular scenary can be admired along the fourteen-hour trip.
The trip can be made in one day, with a fifteen-minute stop at Divisadero station, or spending some time at the places where “Chepe’s” stations are located. Most of those who know the area recommend to stay a couple of days in at least two of those places, Divisadero and Creel, where a wide range of accommodation options can be found and, most importantly, where the landscape the gods created has been carefully preserved. n
Located 350 Km to the Northwest of the state capital of Chihuahua, Paquimé was the cen-ter of the Casas Grandes culture for over 300 years, reaching the peak of its power around the 13th century. It is believed that the popu-lation of the city reached 3,500.
The buildings of Paquimé were con-structed with rammed earth (adobe). Many walls were plastered with mud or caliche and painted white or decorated with colored patterns and designs. Inhabitants of the city enjoyed running water and even a sewer sys-tem. The “T-door” shape can be recognized sprinkled throughout the ruins.
Paquimé contained a ceremonial area, temple structures, a ball court, ceremonial pyramids, and a parrot hatchery. Imported parrots from the tropic were protected from the sun so that the vibrant plumage (used for ceremonial adornment) would not fade.
Paquimé left an extraordinarily rich, if confusing, archaeological record. UNESCO declared the city World Heritage Site. There is a long standing debate as to whether this
culture spread North, which would explain the vast similarities between Paquimé, the Hohokam and other cultures from the US Southwest of the time. Paquimé and Chaco Canyon are lined up longitudinally within 1 kilometer.
The remains, only part of which have been excavated, are clear evidence of the vi-tality of a culture which was perfectly adapt-ed to its physical and economic environment, but which suddenly vanished at the time of the Spanish conquest. n
Paquimé: the ancient north’s cultural center
destination mexico’s northern region
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60 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photos MarCelo rodrÍGuez / elizabeTh GoMM
Located in Mexico’s Northeastern region, Nuevo León is a progressive state known as an important farming, industrial and modern commercial center. This state has a hot climate and beautiful natural scenery at places like the Bustamante and García Caverns, ideal spots to go cave diving.
For the adventurous at heart –or for anyone willing to experience close contact with nature– the state of Nuevo León offers two excursions to choose from: Hidrofobia and Matacanes. First, within the state municipality of San-tiago, the Hidrofobia circuit path begins at a recreational center called Cola de Caballo or “Horse Tail” and ends at the wonderful cascade known as El Chipitín, in the locality of Potrero Redondo. After descending along the 75 meter cascade via rappel, visitors will have to walk for a while until reaching a stream that has to be crossed both on foot and swimming for no less than six hours before getting to the end of the
nuevo león: prepared to amaze visitors
long trip at some fresh natural pools belonging to the Ramos river.
And second, Matacanas is actually a harder excursion than Hidrofobia, if such is possible. Those who dare embark on this circuit –also lo-cated in the Santiago region– will be escorted at all times by a guide during the 10 hours or so the trip takes. This includes cascades, rappel, hiking, swimming, climbing and exploring.
For those preferring to stay dry or at least away from any aquifer, a few canyons can be found in the area, such as La Huatesca and Potrero Chico. Also, quite popular among climbers, an 890 meter natural wall awaits to be conquered in the region of Hidalgo.
For visitors hoping for a little more rush of adrenaline, there’s always the option of para-gliding from the Cerro de Potosí mountain in the Galeana region, or even parachuting from a fully functional plane taking off at the airport of Northern Monterrey.
Located within the García municipality, García Caverns are indeed an expression of nature’s whim, where visitors can walk a path through millions of years of geological history, and watch –aided by proper lighting– the full magnificence of the stalactites and stalagmites found inside this natural site of wonder.
Visitors can also take long walks or go on a photo safari at the Cumbres de Monterrey National Park, where they`’ll find numerous natural attractions, such as Monterrey’s em-blematic Cerro de la Silla, Chipinque Ecological Park and Huasteca Canyon, which are excel-lent places for ecotourism outings and adven-ture sports.
In the city of Monterrey, which ranks among Mexico’s three most important commercial centers, colonial and modern architecture, such as that of the Palacio del Obispado and the Museum of Contemporary Art (Marco) can be admired. n
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Back in June 2008, the national press pub-lished a report by anthropologist Alejandro Aguilar Zeleny about the imminent extinction of ópatas, the ethnic group with the highest population in the state of Sonora during the 17th century. Only four speakers of this indig-enous group tongue remained by the time this was brought to people’s attention. Aguilar Zeleny urged to recognize the importance of our ancestral cultures.
lutisuc: rescuing the indigenous cultures of the northSonora –Mexico’s second largest state– where eight indigenous cultures remain, is not considered to have a wide artisan tradition. But this is changing thanks to Lutisuc, an organization that has marked a before and after comparison in the way indigenous traditions in the state of Sonora are appreciated.
by cristina Ávila-zesatti
Strange as it sounds, over the last few years Inmaculada Puente, a Spanish woman from the province of Burgos, has been the most committed person in rescuing forgot-ten ethnic groups from Sonora. She created Lutisuc, an organization promoting self-man-agement and culture preservation for indig-enous groups in Sonora by helping them to develop productive projects.
“When I first came to Mexico I was sur-
prised that ancestral cultures were so alive and vibrant. However, I was amazed of how neglected they were, maybe because in Spain there is a whole movement to recover and preserve ancient cultures. Since they are a day-to-day thing in Mexico, probably they are not receiving the level of attention I think they should get. That was the main reason behind the founding of Lutisuc,” Puente ex-plains.
62 Negocios i The Lifestyle Photos CourTesy of luTisuC
Married to a Mexican, she arrived in Her-mosillo back in the 90’s. Her fascination for Mexican indigenous cultures meant she got increasingly involved with such communi-ties; first at a personal level, paying frequent visits to indigenous communities in the mountains of Sonora. Then, as a professor of History of Art, arranging visits with their students to various ceremonial centers and pre-Columbian sites.
But her increasing personal interest took an official shape in 1997, when she created an organization to protect indigenous heritage in Sonora, to keep it alive amongst their people and to help non-indigenous learn to appreciate it. “It never ceased to amaze me and it contin-ues to do so today,” she says.
When a culture disappears, everybody losesDuring her conversation with Negocios, the founder of Lutisuc repeated –over and over–a phrase that seems like a mantra leading her cultural rescue work for years: “Every-body loses when a culture disappears.”
According to the organization’s Website, “the role of Lutisuc when working with in-digenous communities is sharing, particu-larly by listening, motivating and systematiz-ing activities, encouraging the involvement of beneficiaries so that they become the main actors of their own development”.
Everything in Lutisuc has a profound
meaning, because that is precisely one of the areas of work, to give a “new meaning” to in-digenous cultures in Sonora. Until recently, these cultures were not known much, not in Mexico nor internationally.
In taracahíta the name of the organization means “moon in conjunction”. Puente and her students found the word on an antique diction-ary but years later, they found out that in some other indigenous tongues of Sonora, the same word meant something absolutely different, the translation would be something like “that’s it”.
“The moon is always present in the organi-zation, since we are a group of women working mostly with indigenous women. And we work together; that is why we thought the name was appropriate. Then, when we discovered the second meaning of the word, we saw it as something positive too. After all, we are work-ing to put an end to indifference and ignorance about indigenous peoples. When something finishes, it is followed by something new, and that is what we want: renewal and re-apprecia-tion”, Inmaculada Puente explains.
for the last 13 years the work of lutisuc
has helped indigenous communities find sustainable ways
of preserving their identity and
–on the other hand– non-indigenous people
learn to appreciate autochthonous
groups.
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Sonora is the second largest state of Mexico, with an exuberant natural wealth of beaches, mountain chains and deserts. It is also one of the strongest economies in Mexico. The same as in natural wealth, So-nora has a lot to offer in terms of ancestral cultures, as their custom, traditions and languages have endured the effects of years and still remain alive. But they are seriously threatened now.
For the last 13 years, the work of Lutisuc has helped indigenous communities find sustainable ways of preserving their identity and –on the other hand– non-indigenous people learn to appreciate autochthonous groups.
“We want them to give a new meaning to their history. It is a work of empowerment, of reinforcing their self esteem. In order for us non-indigenous people to acknowledge them as they deserve, first they have to lead their own transformation, live and own their reality again. Lutisuc does not give charity and is not an aid organization, because we truly believe that indigenous people have a lot to give to our societies. Since every road has two ways, we also work with non-indige-nous people [… ] we work on various strands”, says Inmaculada Puente.
A long way that starts to bear fruitAs in every ritual, constant repetition builds a tradition. That is how Lutisuc’s work has evolved, having started with 15 people and now being run by just 5. To Inmaculada’s eyes, that “shrinking” is the measure of their success:
“We do not want to be drowned in bureau-cracy. We are nothing but a bridge. Work and growth have to happen in the communities, not in the organization. We are just an instrument, and nothing happens if people forget about us. Fortunately, thanks to our persistence, some government institutions have adopted some of our initiatives and programs. That is great because communities do not need us anymore in many areas. This means they are managing themselves and starting to own their decisions. So far this is our greatest achievement, because even if Lutisuc disappeared, they are taking their own way”.
No matter how you look at it, you can notice the influence of the organization. Their work has tangibly and directly benefited over 10 thousand people of all ages –children, women and men from various indigenous communi-ties in Sonora– after 125 years of existence.
And many more people have benefited too, maybe more intangibly, but equally im-portantly: non-indigenous people who now value their roots and the presence of autoch-thonous groups; the very culture of Sonora, since people’s identity is more cohered; and, of course, the wider Mexican society, which gains a lot in its tradition and cultural wealth with the rescue of all 8 indigenous groups still alive in Sonora.
“Things are much easier now. We do not have to go to the communities anymore. We still do it, but it is basically for coaching pur-poses. In the end of the day, all of our pro-grams were designed on the field, and not behind a desk. We know what they need, and they have learned to ask for it. Women who are leaders in their communities come here often and take useful teachings back to their people. We are now working with a “cascade training” model, which is working great”, Pu-ente mentions.
Lutisuc’s work is based on five programs which give rise to endless activities and ac-tions –at small and large scale– according to needs.
“From the onset, our programs were de-signed in such a way that people earn eco-nomic benefits and, at the same time, are able to strengthen their roots and traditions. We start with handcrafts, as it is something you can touch, something you may not un-derstand but you like, and this develops links. We promote handcrafts production. We deliver workshops to reach great qual-ity, with full respect for their traditions and identity, then we look at ways of helping them market the pieces. We have always had a wonderful response, particularly amongst communities, because they have always been willing to collaborate, to learn and also to teach their peers,” says Puente.
With this in mind, “Embroidering an iden-tity” and the “Indigenous Handcrafts Forum” to sell handcrafts produced by communities were the first two programs Lutisuc imple-mented. These programs are still operating. Then other programs followed, like Learn by Playing, Meeting my Roots and Institutional Links. The latter meant the organizations continued working with “their women”, but also with government institutions from Sonora, from the Federal Government and from many other parts of the world.
The cost of running all Lutisuc activities is around 95,000 usd per year. This is little money if you consider that rescuing an an-cestral culture and keep it from extinction is priceless.
“We want Sonora to be aware of its wealth and to protect it. I think we have made prog-ress. It is hard to measure it, but now I can see indigenous products and cultures in the daily life of Sonorans. And that is great prog-ress,” ended Inmaculada Puente, a woman who came from Spain and fell in love –and got other to fall in love- with indigenous cul-tures from this Northern state of Mexico. n
Embroidering an Identity Created for indigenous women, it aims to help them commercial-ize handcrafts and, simultaneously, reaffirm their cultural identity,
preserve traditional techniques and develop new skills.
www.lutisuc.org.mx
Lutisuc’s Programs
Indigenous Handcrafts
ForumIt promotes fair trade
among Sonora’s indigenous craftsmen.
Learnby Playing
Artistic stimulation workshops for
indigenous children.
Meeting My Roots
It is focused in disseminating
Sonora’s indigenous culture and spreading
social awareness about the importance
of preservingindigenous valuable
heritage.
InstitutionalLinks
Lutisuc has become an important reference among
institutions working with indigenous communities.
To expand its sphere of influence, it has made alliances with various
national and international agencies to strengthen its
communication, awareness and fundraising activities.
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