A s Mexico continues to grimace under the self-inflicted pain of its peso devaluation, plastics suppliers, processors and end users both here and there scramble to make sense of the country's new economic (dis)order. The country's situation brightened considerably Jan. 31 when President Clinton sidestepped a recalcitrant Congress and cobbled together a rescue plan that could bring Mexico nearly $50 billion in financial aid - just days before the country appeared likely to default on outstanding loans.
In such volatile times, one of the most valuable commodities available to any businessperson is fresh, accurate information-particularly specialized information that succinctly addresses the issues and markets that directly affect business. That makes Plastics News' imminent introduction of Mexifax, a Spanish-language, weekly news product for Mexican readers, all the more valuable. Plastics News soon will transmit the debut issue of the one-page Mexifax to more than 1,000 plastics industry executives in Mexico. Each Monday's issue of Mexifax will contain, on average, six to eight news items reported, written and edited by Plastics News' regular crew of 22 editorial staffers and correspondents, including Mexico City-based correspondent Richard Higgs.
The copy then will be professionally translated into Spanish before being broadcast via fax to Mexico.
Some items in the news fax, which Col 1, Depth P36.08 I6.11 carries a subscription cost of $99 per year, will be synopsized from articles running in our regular Plastics News edition. But others will be exclusive to Mexifax, targeted specifically at a Mexican readership hungry for independent information about resin pricing, ma-
terials and machinery developments, and customer and competitor activity.
With the collapse of the peso, some Mexican processors at least have the silver lining of improved export prospects. Mexifax will help keep such firms informed of which end markets are hot and which are not - and why.
And Plastics News is not limiting its Mexico activity to Mexifax. In addition to exhibiting again at the Feb. 21-24 PlastImagen '95 trade show in Mexico Col 2, Depth P16.07 I2.77 City, the newspaper will continue to cover Mexico's plastics industry in its regular pages and will produce a special report on Mexico on May 15.
Mexico's medium-term economic prospects are anything but certain. But for Mexico's plastics processors, one thing is certain: They are about to gain fast access to breaking news, in Spanish, that directly affects their businesses. And the messenger is Mexifax.
Grace is editor of Plastics News.
NOTE: Those interested in receiving Mexifax should fax their request-along with their name, title, company name, address, fax and telephone number-to J.A. Lewellen, Plastics News circulation department, at (313) 446-6795.
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