Flexible packaging producer Intertape Polymer Group Inc. of Montreal has opened a warehouse close to Monterrey, northern Mexico, as it aims to boost sales in the country.
The building “will better meet our customers' needs by offering just-in-time delivery, thus reducing their inventories and increasing delivery times,” Intertape President and CEO Greg Yull said in a news release.
The facility is shared with a local logistics company and Intertape has invested “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in it, IPG's Gary Watkins said Sept. 10. Watkins is vice president of specialty markets for North America and director of business development in Mexico and Canada.
Intertape has 50-60 distributors in Mexico “and a multitude of end users,” Watkins said.
The company, which reported second-quarter sales of $180.2 million, up from $173.1 million in the first quarter, has supplied the Mexican market for many years, according to Yull, but with supply and service “coming from the United States.
“With our increased focus in Mexico on many different market segments, as well as an expansion of our sales force, August 2010 marks a key turning point for IPG in the Mexican market as we establish a bricks and mortar presence,” added Yull, who was president of Intertape Polymer Group's tapes and films division before accepting the company's top job in June.
While ordering from the U.S. is still an option, the Monterrey facility will enable customers to place smaller minimum orders and it will provide faster delivery of stocked items, according to the company.
“Non-stock items will be delivered directly to distribution from the U.S.,” Intertape said.
The company, whose shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange, employs about 2,000. It has operations at 16 locations: 13 manufacturing facilities in North America; a converting plant and a small warehouse in Piedras Negras, in northern Mexico; and a manufacturing plant in Europe.
Asked whether Intertape plans to put a manufacturing plant in Mexico, Watkins replied, “No, not in the near future.”