San Luis Potosí, Mexico — Injection molder Nissha PMX Technologies SA de CV is in the midst of a major expansion of its manufacturing plant in central Mexico.
Having invested $22 million since its formation in January 2005, the company is injecting another $10 million into the business this year alone, according to CEO Fernando Ibarra.
In an April 19 telephone interview, Ibarra said the money will be spent on constructing more factory space and on new machinery.
The company, whose parent is Schaumburg, Ill.-based Nissha USA Inc., is increasing the size of its facility in San Luis Potosí from 32,000 square feet to 107,600 square feet.
Currently the company has 42 injection molding machines with a clamping force range of between 40 and 1,000 metric tons. "We will have 55 machines by the end of the year," said Ibarra.
Engel, KraussMaffei and JSW technology satisfies Nissha PMX's injection molding requirements. The company also has 10 rotational molding machines.
"In the 24 months to the end of 2018 we grew 100 percent in sales," reaching $28 million last December, Ibarra said. Nissha PMX manufactures automotive engine parts and automotive interior and exterior components as a Tier 2 supplier for companies including Germany's Webasto Group.
In addition, it supplies the domestic appliance market, working with Whirlpool Corp. and Samsung Electronics as a Tier 1 supplier. It makes the fascia for Whirlpool washing machines and driers.
"Right now we are 65 percent automotive and 35 percent appliances," Ibarra said, "and the company's growing. We have 213 full-time employees right now. By the end of the year, we will have about 350."
Business growth will come from both automotive and domestic appliances, he added. "We are developing tools for platforms for the next five or six years."
Ibarra said that "not many companies" in the NAFTA region offer the in-mold decoration technology that Nissha PMX has.
He is director of the supplier development committee of the San Luis Potosí automotive cluster whose counsel has been sought by those involved in renegotiating NAFTA.
Asked whether changes to NAFTA will impact Nissha PMX's business, Ibarra said: "In a minor way, but not in a way that will hurt business. Everyone understands that we have to modernize our relationship with the United States and everything [proposed so far] seems to be reasonable, with nothing crazy.
"Our Tier 1 customers are expanding their sourcing in Mexico and the supplier business out of Mexico is moving full-steam ahead."
