Guadalajara, Mexico — The Mexican branch of Chinese injection press maker Haitian International Holdings Ltd. had its most successful year yet in 2016, putting it among the three most successful Haitian subsidiaries, along with Turkey and the United States, the company said.
Haitian Huayuan Mexico Machinery S de RL de CV sold 360 machines last year, said Deputy General Manager Jose Antonio Barroso, at the Expo Plasticos trade fair in Guadalajara.
"We sold about $35 million," he said. "We feel optimistic that [in 2017] we will be able to match our results of last year," although he cautioned that the business environment "is a bit uncertain."
The auto industry accounts for 40 percent of the subsidiary's sales and the largest machine the company sold in 2016 was a press with a clamping force of 2,800 metric tons, to a Tier 1 auto supplier in San Luis Potosí, which Barroso declined to name.
But he suggested the auto sector may be reaching a peak, at least for now.
"We have to accept that the automotive industry is probably at the high end of the course. It has been growing since 2010. We hope it will increase even more in the coming years but there will be some point when that growth cannot continue forever," he said.
"We have to diversify," he said, adding that home appliance makers are Haitian's second biggest market in Mexico.
The subsidiary employs 55 full time, including 20 service engineers.
