Engineered fasteners supplier EFC International Inc. has opened a subsidiary company and warehouse in Mexico to cope better with its booming business south of the border.
St. Louis-based EFC, which designs but does not manufacture plastic, metal and rubber caps, plugs and knobs, is enjoying an annual sales growth of at least 10 percent in the Mexican market, where it has 500-plus customers, according to Joyce Gerber, marketing production manager.
"A lot of our business in Mexico is automotive," she said in a June 19 telephone interview. The company supplies Ford, GM, Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda vehicles, among others, according to its website.
EFC is optimistic about the outcome of negotiations to reform the North American Free Trade Agreement, "although we're keeping a close eye on the talks," Gerber said.
The Mexico operation, called EFC Global S de RL de CV, is located in Querétaro, in central Mexico. It employs sales engineers, customer service and support staff, according to Mary Becker, the company's vice president of North American sales.
Founded in 1983, EFC has warehouse facilities in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea and now Mexico.
"EFC's robust international growth is a tribute to the EFC team and to the strong international reputation of the world-class manufacturers they have partnered with," Becker said. According to Gerber, the trend for plastic items is growing faster than for those of metal and rubber.