Mexico City — Resin distributor Chase Plastics will add warehousing in Hermosilla by the end of the year and also plans to double the size of its Mexican sales force in the next 18 months.
"We're seeing purchasing move from the U.S. to Mexico in some cases because of the amount of manufacturing and consumption of material here," Bill Guenveur, regional manager, said April 3 at Plastimagen 2019 in Mexico City.
Clarkston, Mich.-based Chase has been selling into Mexico for more than 15 years. The firm began warehousing from Querétaro in 2016 and since then has added sites in Monterrey and Juárez.
Adding a warehousing site in Hermosilla will allow Chase to easier supply customers in that region, Sales Vice President Alan Arduini said. Another site in Tijuana is being considered as well, he added.
Chase's number of Mexican sales reps could grow from five to 10 by late 2020. Guenveur said more sales reps are needed because of higher sales of engineering resins to injection molders, primarily in the automotive sector. Automotive sales account for 44 percent of Chase's business in Mexico.
Electrical/electronics is another major end market for Chase in Mexico. Overall, the firm's Mexican sales are growing at a rate of around 20 percent per year.
Chase offers the same line card in Mexico as it does in the United States. The recent addition of specialty materials from Sabic "was a huge impetus for us [in Mexico] in coverage and in the number of customers that we can supply," Arduini said.
Top selling materials for Chase in Mexico include nylon, acetal, polycarbonate and filled polypropylene.
"We can offer seamless, integrated coverage in Mexico," Arduini said. "Not all distributors can do that."