promexico: negocios magazine: mind over matter

8/4/2019 ProMexico: Negocios Magazine: Mind Over Matter

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mind overmatter

38 Negocios Photoscourtesy of honeywell

H

oneywell has its head in the

clouds and its feet in Mexico.

Founded in 1904 by a young

engineer by the name of Mark

Honeywell, the company

now has 122,000 employees worldwide.That includes 19,000-plus engineers and

scientists whose task is to invent, design and

manufacture products that respond to global

trends in safety and energy efficiency.

Part of that design effort and intellectual

capacity is located in North Mexico, in

facilities that develop aerospace projects for

commercial airlines and the military.

The Mexicali Research & Technology

Center in Baja California is one of a kind. This

35-million-dollar system integration lab has

Founded in 1904, Honeywell has a 30-year presence in Mexico,where it develops aerospace systems. Its goal is to apply

Mexican talent to compete not only in manufacturing but also in project design and management.

by gUstavo aréchiga



mexicO’S ParTner honeywell

been in operation since 2007 and employs 400

people engaged in the design engineering and

testing of components for aircraft systems.

Also on the border, Honeywell Chihuahua

Manufacturing Operations is a manufacturing

center that produces mechanical enginecomponents. These facilities in Chihuahua

have been recognized as a Center of

Excellence in advanced precision mechanics

for commercial and military aircraft engines.

Honeywell is also present in Monterrey,

Nuevo León, where it has a center that serves

suppliers and supports the manufacture of

commercial vehicles and jets.

In 1986, Honeywell significantly enhanced

its position in the aerospace industry with

the acquisition of Sperry Aerospace, which

contributed flight controls, space vehicles and

the first FAA-certified wind shear warning

system, making Honeywell the world’s leading

integrator of avionics systems.

It was around that time that the company

realized Mexico had the potential to becompetitive in the aerospace industry and

began hiring engineering graduates and

professionals with six or seven years of

engineering experience.

According to Alfredo Cárdenas Roldán,

director of the Mexicali Research & Technology

Center, Honeywell has invested in Mexico for

strategic reasons because its proximity to the

US and South America facilitates product

transportation and because it has a steady

supply of skilled labor, with 90,000 engineers

graduating each year from reputab

universities like the Tec de Monterrey, the

National Polytechnic Institute and research

centers funded by the National Science and

Technology Council (CONACYT).

“You find cosmopolitan people educatedat good schools and who like aerospace

engineering. The company realized there’s a lot

of talent in Mexico in the field of engineering.

That’s why the design groups have grown so

much. We’re asserting ourselves in the design

of the products Mexico makes. We’re starting

with simple products but the long term goal is

for all manufactured goods in Mexico to also be

designed here; to do away with all the coming

and going whereby products are designed and

approved in the US and then manufactured

honeywell’s research & technology center in mexicali, BaJa california is one of a kind. this 35-

million-dollar system integration laB has Been in operation since 2007 and employs 400 people,

engaged in the design engineering and testing of components for aircraft systems.



40 Negocios Photoscourtesy of honeywell

in Mexico. The idea is to position Mexico as

a leader in the technology that develops the

products designed here,” says Cárdenas.

On the commercial end, Honeywell has

also found an ally in Mexico. The company

has teams providing assistance for corporate

jet and commercial airline markets, while

Mexico leads in customer services for Latin

America.

Honeywell has employees in Baja California

and Monterrey who handle corporate projects

and programs, take care of the finances and

engineering design, draw up contracts, deliver

products and provide after-sales support.

Cárdenas believes “Mexico has an

enormous advantage in its manufacturing costs

which are extremely competitive, sometimes

lower even than in Asian markets. Mexico

also has great potential on the operatingside of things. But it’s the engineering aspect

that’s really taking off. Thanks to Honeywell,

other companies in Mexicali are bringing in

engineering teams for their own projects.”

On the supply front, Honeywell has a chain

of direct and indirect suppliers who have

buoyed its success in Mexico for many years.

The challenge here is that the aerospace

industry demands certified products, which

implies costs too expensive for many small-

scale manufacturers to absorb. Honeywell

is trying to surmount these obstacles so the

products manufactured at its facilities can also

be designed by Mexican minds.

But it’s not all business. Since 2008,

Honeywell has been organizing university

programs to support and promote science and

math in Monterrey, Chihuahua and Mexicali.

For example, the Rocket Club is an educational

physics project where kids can learn about the

concepts of gravity and mass by building their

own rockets.

In the mid-term, the company plans

to expand its global Honeywell Turbo

Technologies program and set up a world

class testing center in Mexicali. The MultiAir

gasoline engine Fiat automobiles are equipped

with is an example of that technology, which

offers 10% more power and a 15% improvement

in fuel economy compared to conventionalengines, resulting in reduced emissions of CO

2

and polluting particles.

Mexico’s aerospace sector has experienced

exponential growth over the last decade, to

the point where it is now the sixth largest

worldwide. Exports have also grown in the

last five years, touching 3.13 billion usd in 2008.

Clearly the sector is in good health and has a lot

more than hot air propelling it.n

www.honeywell.com

on the commercial end, honeywell has also foUnd an ally in mexico. the company

has teams providing assistance for corporate Jet and commercial airline markets,

while mexico leads in cUstomer services for latin america.

green aPPrOacH

This summer, the Mexican airline

Interjet made its first round-trip pas-

senger flight using Honeywell Green

Jet Fuel, a biofuel produced from

Jatropha curcas. Flight 2605 departed

from Mexico City and landed safely in

Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.

The fuel used to power the Airbus

A320-214 was produced using a pro-

cess technology developed by Honey-

well UOP, which turns the natural oils and fats in the Jatropha into a biofuel

that is then blended with petroleum-

based jet fuel.

The use of this biofuel can reduce a

flight’s carbon footprint by as much as

80% compared to conventional jet fuel.

a gianT Of THe air

wiTH a mexican flair

System integration testing for the

Airbus A350 and the design of the

HTF 7500 engine for Embraer are the

main aerospace engineering projects

Honeywell is focused on in Mexico.

The Airbus A350 competes directly with the Boeing 787 and is indubitably

Honeywell’s priority program here.

The craft’s rear engine, cockpit system,

engine system, control electronics, fans

and valves are being designed in Mexi-

cali, Baja California, while state-of-the-

art aerodynamics are being employed

to reduce wind resistance and improve

speed and fuel economy.

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