the new mexican energy model
TRANSCRIPT
XI20
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Negociospara exportadores
The Lifestyle Riviera Nayarit,Mexico’s Pacific Coast Treasure
Special FeatureMexicoFeeding the World
THE NEWMEXICAN
ENERGY MODEL
Mexico is on the move. Our country has concluded an important transforma-tive cycle that includes 11 structural
reforms. With these profound changes, Mexico is breaking the restraints that have prevented it from reaching its full potential.
Six of these transformative reforms aim to elevate the productivity and competitiveness of our economy, to accelerate its growth. They form a platform that will enable us to drive de-velopment in the coming years.
With the Labor Reform, Mexico ad-vances towards a more efficient and flexible labor market that permits the incorporation of women and young adults. Meanwhile, the Economic Competition Reform establishes clear rules that set competing companies on a level footing and bring down entry barriers to new participants across all sectors.
In the same way, the Telecommunications and Broadcasting Reform encourages effective competition in the sector, enabling Mexico to close the digital gap and integrate more Mexi-cans into the knowledge society. In addition, it
generates great opportunities for new produc-tive investments and latest technologies.
The Tax Reform increases the State’s finan-cial capacity and favors public investment in pri-ority areas for economic activity, such as science, technology, and infrastructure. In its turn, the Financial Reform gives place to the conditions that allow the robust Mexican bank to par-ticipate more actively in the country’s growth, through more credit options and at lower inter-est rates for families and businesses.
Finally, the Energy Reform will allow the par-ticipation of a higher number of companies, thus modernizing the sector with more productive in-vestment and cutting-edge technologies. This en-sures the supply of electricity and hydrocarbons at competitive prices for industries and homes.
The transformative reforms are already a real-ity. Now, the Mexican Government is putting them into action. To do so, we follow an agenda of ac-tions in concrete terms that will allow them to be implemented effectively. By combining the efforts of authorities, the private sector, and citizens, we are building a more prosperous Mexico.
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Enrique Peña NietoPresident of the United Mexican States
Table of Contents November 2014
cover feature
THE NEW MEXICAN ENERGY MODEL
From ProMéxico
Special ReportGreen Solutions 2014:
Opportunities for Green Investment in Mexico
Mexico in the WorldOpportunities for Cooperation
between Mexico and the Netherlands in the Food and Agriculture Sector
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10 Briefs12ph
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Mexico Feeding the World
La Nao Foods
Intergan
Prinsa
CAFESCA
Cool Flavors
Mieles Campos Azules
Comal Foods
Agri-food Industry Figures
Preserving Mexico’s Flavors
Special Feature: Mexican Food Industry
figures
Business TipsMexico and Renewable
Energy Generation
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Mexico’s Partner
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Swiber Offshore México
3Tek Solar
Gamesa
Sunpower
Eosol Energy
Newen
Risen Energy México
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The Lifestyle The CompleTe Guide To The mexiCan Way of life
The LifestyleBriefs
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Fernando Romero:Beauty, Sustainability, and Economic Development
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Mexico,a Series of Contemporary Snapshots
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RIvIeRa NayaRIT,Mexico’s Pacific Coast Treasure
Nestled between the Pacific and the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the space of just a few years this tropical paradise has become one of the country’s most interesting tourist destinations, whether you want to relax, take up residence, or do business.
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Protecting Our Water, Land, and Skies
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| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
Para exportadores
De ProMéxico
82 Breves 84
fot
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encuentro 1:1,creatividad de sur a norte
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La internacionalización de servicios: Experiencias del turismo de reuniones en Francia
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apuntes y reflexiones para concretar negocios en el mercado peruano
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Retos para la internacionalización de las pymes Mexicanas
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ReFLexIoNeS eN ToRNo a la sustentabilidad energética en México
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November 2014
PROMéXICOfrancisco N. González Díaz
Ceo
Karla Mawcinitt BuenoCommunication and image
General Coordinator
Sebastián escalante Bañuelosdirector of publications and Content
Copy Editingfelipe Gómez antúnez
Jorge Morales Becerra contreras
Cover Photoarchive
Negocios ProMéxico es una publicación mensual editada por ProMéxico, Camino a Santa Teresa número 1679, colonia Jardines del Pedregal, delegación Álvaro Obregón, CP 01900, México, DF Teléfono: (52) 55 5447 7000. Portal en Internet: www.promexico.gob.mx; correo electrónico: [email protected]. Editor responsable: Gabriel Sebastián Escalante Bañuelos. Reserva de derechos al uso exclusivo No. 04-2009-012714564800-102. Licitud de título: 14459; licitud de contenido: 12032, ambos otorgados por la Comisión Calificadora de Publicaciones y Revistas Ilustradas de la Secretaría de Gobernación. ISSN: 2007-1795.
Negocios ProMéxico año 7, número XI 2014, noviembre 2014, se imprimió un tiraje de 13,000 ejemplares. Impresa por Cía. Impresora El Universal, S.A. de C.V. Las opiniones expresadas por los autores no reflejan necesariamente la postura del editor de la publicación. Queda estrictamente prohibida la reproducción total o parcial de los contenidos e imágenes de la publicación sin previa autorización de ProMéxico. Publicación gratuita. Está prohibida su venta y distribución comercial.
ProMéxico is not responsible for inaccurate information or omissions that might exist in the information provided by the participant companies nor of their economic solvency. The institution might or might not agree with an author’s statements; therefore the responsibility of each text falls on the writers, not on the institution, except when stated otherwise. Although this magazine verifies all the information printed on its pages, it will not accept responsibility derived from any omissions, inaccuracies or mistakes. November 2014.
download the pdf version and read the interactive edition of
Negocios ProMéxico at negocios.promexico.gob.mx.
EDITORIAL COuNCIL
CONsEjO EDITORIAL
Ildefonso Guajardo villarreal
francisco de rosenzweig Mendialdua
enrique Jacob rocha
francisco N. González Díaz
embajador alfonso de Maria y campos castelló
Luis Miguel Pando Leyva
francisco Javier Méndez aguiñaga
rodolfo Balmaceda
Guillermo Wolf
Jaime Zabludovsky
Gabriela de la riva
adolfo Laborde carranco
Silvia Núñez García
María cristina rosas González
ulises Granados Quiroz
Karla I. Mawcinitt Bueno
This publication is not for sale.
Its sale and commercial distribution are forbidden.
11
Fromproméxico.
Few countries can truly claim such a profound transforma-tion as Mexico. The New York Times recently referred to it as “radical.” Probably
one of the most relevant steps is the trans-formation of the energy sector. It opens a great attractive market to foreign investors, through services, licenses, profit-sharing and production-sharing agreements. In few words, for the first time in over 75 years, private companies can participate in Mex-ico’s energy sector. A Citibank study esti-mates that the impact of the energy reform will attract over 40 billion usd in invest-ment flows between 2015 and 2019.
In addition, Mexico represents a window of opportunity for the development of renew-able energies. Mexico is the third most impor-tant destination in the world for investment in solar energy projects and its wind potential is one of the most attractive. The renewable energy sector has recorded steady growth in the country during the last decade. Installed capacity for energy generation from renew-able sources has grown substantially and conditions are ripe for business development in the sector, as you will discover in this issue.
In order to go deeper into business de-velopment and opportunities in our coun-
try, this edition includes content related to the country’s agri-food sector. Mexico has a gastronomic tradition recognized as Intangible Heritage by UNESCO. It offers a vast assortment of products that have innovated their processes and penetrated traditional and non-traditional markets. As a result, the country occupies a privi-leged role as a producer and supplier of food and beverages.
Mexico is the leading exporter of beer, mango, mezcal, papaya, tomato and tequila, among other products. It excels in the export of confectionery, baked goods and meat prod-ucts, to name just a few examples. Moreover, it is the sector’s second most important sup-plier to the US and the third largest producer of processed foods in America.
ProMéxico has driven the formation of agri-food export consortia in order to strengthen small producers and help them to export and internationalize. For-eign demand for agri-food products from Mexico has increased significantly, not only to serve Hispanic consumers, but also to supply Halal and Kosher markets.
Mexico definitely has many competi-tive advantages. Energy and agri-food are just two we want to highlight for the in-ternational business community.
Welcome to Negocios!
Francisco N. González DíazCEO
ProMéxico
BRIEFS BRIEFS
Japanese auto parts maker Sumitomo Electric Industries plans to build a new manufacturing plant in the state of Aguas-calientes. The projected 28 million USD fa-cility will produce sintered parts for trans-mission gears and key engine parts.
global-sei.com
AUTOMOTIVE
European aircraft manufacturer Airbus will open a Center for Research and In-novation in Aerospace Engineering un-der the auspices of the Autonomous Uni-versity of Nuevo León.
AEROSPACE
CuTTINg eDge TRaININg
The 15 million USD center will pro-vide training for pilots and other airline operations personnel.
www.airbusgroup.com
SuMIToMo TaRgeTS aguaSCaLIeNTeS
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AUTOMOTIVE
ToyoDa goSeI LaNDS IN guaNaJuaTo
Japanese auto parts maker Toyoda Gosei will invest 67 million usd to establish a new manufacturing plant in Guanajuato. The site is projected to produce radiator grills, console boxes and other parts for the region’s automotive OEMs.
www.toyoda-gosei.com
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ELECTRIC
Brazilian electrical equipment manufacturer WEG will build a new production plant in the state of Hidalgo, with an investment of 120 million usd, to provide metallurgical and machining pro-cesses for metal parts.
www.weg.net
Weg BuILDS NeW PLaNT
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French electricity company Schneider Elec-tric will construct Mexico’s first 100% so-lar-powered building in the northern state of Nuevo León, which is expected to be up and running by 2016.
The building, to be located in the city of Monterrey’s technological research and innovation park (PITT) –a hub for local tech firms– will house Schneider’s design center.
The building, to be constructed with the support of the federal government and boasting zero electricity consumption, will occupy land adjacent to the company’s of-fices in the IT hub.
www.schneider-electric.com
RENEWABLE ENERGY
CLeaN PoWeReD INNovaTIoN
US-based biotechnology multinational Monsanto inaugurated a new seed technology research center in the western state of Jalisco. The new site is planned to centralize the company’s ef-forts to develop new hybrid and genetically modified strains of corn. Monsanto expects to invest 90 million usd over the next five years in its new research center.
www.monsanto.com
BIOTECHNOLOGY
STRoNg SeeDS FoR a STRoNg INDuSTRy
BRIEFS BRIEFS
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Containerisation International and Lloyd’s List issued their traditional annu-al ranking of the list of the top 100 global containerized ports.
According to the publication, eight ports of Latin America are among the top 100 ports worldwide. The Mexican port of Manzanillo is ranked 68th worldwide.
According to Lloyd’s, Manzanillo is the main commercial port for Mexico’s containerised cargo and one of the five largest hubs in Latin America.
In 2013, Manzanillo began operations at the port’s second specialised container terminal (TEC II), that Philippines-based International Container Terminal Services Incorporated (ICTSI) will run under a 37 year concession through Contecon Man-zanillo.The three stage ICTSI project will
INfRAESTRUCTURE
MaNzaNILLo IS aMoNg The WoRLD’S ToP 100 PoRTS
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have the capacity to handle 2 million TEU annually by 2020.
TEC II, with a first phase 400,000 TEU capacity, occupies an area of 73 ha and
According to BBVA Bancomer’s Regional Sector Situation analysis, thanks to the recently implemented energetic reform in Mexico, the states of Tabasco, Veracruz, Chiapas, Puebla, Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila and San Luis Potosí will register a higher economic dynamism by 2018 than the one they would have observed without the reform.
According to the document, the larg-est oil production platform imply that Tabasco, Chiapas and San Luis Potosí will accelerate their growth. With the re-form, Tabasco will grow 7%; Chiapas, just over 4% and San Luis Potosí, above 5%; whereas without reform, the expansion of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ta-basco would be close to 4.5%; in Chiapas, 2.5%, and San Luis Potosí, under 4%. “To enable greater oil production platform in the coming years is one of the main goals of energy secondary laws. The benefits of this will be reflected primarily in those states that concentrate both conventional and un-conventional resources,” says the report.
ENERGY
a PoSITIve ReFoRM
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Canadian sports vehicle maker Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP) plans to begin construction on its third manufacturing plant in Mexico in 2014. The 55 million usd site, to be located in the northern bor-der city of Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, will manufacture all-terrain vehicles.
www.brp.com
AUTOMOTIVE
BRP’S ThIRD IN MexICo
Spanish renewable energy developer Acciona Energía has signed a contract worth 111 million usd with private in-vestors Actis and Comexhidro for the design, engineering and construction of a 49.5 MW wind farm in Mexico.
The Ingenio wind farm, located in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, in-cludes, through additional contracts, the sale of the project developed by Acciona Energía México to its new owners, plus the operation and maintenance of the wind power complex for 15 years.
RENEWABLE ENERGY The wind farm will be equipped with 33 turbines, each with rated power of 1.5 MW and a rotor diameter of 77 meters, mounted on 80-meter-high (hub height) steel towers.
Construction work on the site –near the Eurus, Oaxaca II, Oaxaca III and Oaxaca IV wind farms, all owned by Acciona– is expected to conclude in the fourth quarter of 2015.
When completed, the Ingenio wind farm will produce enough clean energy to power 125,000 Mexican homes, while avoiding the emission of 206,000 metric tons of CO2 that would have been pro-duced by conventional power stations.
www.acciona-energia.es
WINDS oF SuCCeSS
In an exercise on energy projections, BBVA Bancomer considers that the produc-tion of oil and natural gas will increase 20% by 2018; however, it also estimates that the share of hydrocarbon extraction from wa-ters, generally attributed to Campeche, would be 20% lower compared to 2014.
Based on the potential growth of these state economies, BBVA Bancomer predicts that Mexico’s GDP will grow a percentage point more than the expected without en-ergy reform in 2019, to reach 4%.
www.bbvaresearch.com
will have three docks in order to handle super post-panamax vessels.
www.lloydslist.com
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Mexican solar power developer Iusasol is building a new photovoltaic cell manufac-turing plant in Estado de México. The 200 million usd facility is intended to serve growing demand driven by Mexico’s re-cently implemented energy reform.
iusasol.com
CaPTuRINg SuN PoWeR
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November 2014
The event has become a space for dialogue that unites the triple helix of the public and private sectors and academia, with the goal of sharing new trends and linking networks that develop into innovation and business opportunities for the national economy. Thus, the promotion of a forum of this scope is fundamental to motivate the domestic market and the growth of green business in Mexico.
undergoing and the potential for the future. Structural reforms were proposed and ad-opted in several sectors which are of great importance for the environment, energy, and education. They give us a glimpse of the modernization and optimization of “green” sectors, allowing sustainable development and taking our country to a more competi-tive level in the global economic arena.
In an effort to support the sustainable products and services industries in Mexi-co, Green Solutions 2014 will address the following topics:
photo archive
gReeN SoLuTIoNS 2014: OPPORTUNITIES fOR GREEN INVESTMENT IN MExICOthe mitigation of climate change, economic sustainability, and care of the environment have been key components for the Mexican government, companies, institutions, and other organizations. the transition towards the use of clean energy sources, the reduction of energy consumption, and support for sustainable city models will be crucial components for Green Solutions 2014.
Almost a quarter of the installed capacity for energy generation in Mexico is derived from renewable sources. Installed capac-ity is currently at 15 gigawatts (GW), but is expected to reach 35GW by 2027. Mexico is convinced that the development of clean technologies and energy generation from al-ternative sources are elements that cannot be put aside. For this to be consolidated, more incentives must be put in place to attract the green investment needed by the sector.
Green Solutions has been and is one of the major efforts of the Mexican govern-ment to promote sustainable business and attract green investment. As the name sug-gests, it is a forum to seek and find solutions that achieve greater energy efficiency, reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and optimize the use of natural resources, among other goals.
The event has become a space for dia-logue that unites the triple helix of the public and private sectors and academia, with the goal of sharing new trends and linking networks that develop into innova-tion and business opportunities for the na-tional economy. Thus, the promotion of a forum of this scope is fundamental to mo-tivate the domestic market and the growth
of green business in Mexico. This year will be the 5th edition of
this important event. Green Solutions 2014 will be held on November 5 and 6 and ProMéxico will be joined by the state of Aguascalientes, which has decisively pushed the fight against climate change and care of the environment. This edition will aim to:1. Spread Mexico’s potential and com-
mitment to green investment.2. Transfer public environmental policies
to the business sphere.
by francisco n. gonzález díaz*
Special reportSpecial report
3. Promote business meetings.4. Offer solutions in terms of financing,
liaison, knowledge of regulations, and investment opportunities related to the recent approval of reforms.
5. Communicate the investment opportu-nities derived from the recent structural reforms.Some 3,500 participants are expected.
The main topic of this forum is Green invest-ment to bring Mexico to its full potential. The relevance of this topic is directly linked to the transformation process the country is
• Environmentalpublicpolicies.• Agro-industry and sustainable manu-
facturing.• Greenfinancing.• Renewableenergies.• Opportunities and green investment
for SMBs.Green Solutions has successfully held
four previous editions with an atten-dance surpassing 15,000; 5,000 business meetings and 115 conferences, panels, and seminars. In 2014, new horizons are sought.
The impetus from the Mexican gov-ernment towards events like Green So-lutions shows the country’s commitment to its environmental future, but also to attaining business opportunities aimed at promoting the use of clean energy sources.
Great transformations have been made a reality thanks to a meeting of minds. Mexico is pulling together to ensure a more prosperous, greener Mexico. N
*ceo of ProMéxico.
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November 2014
photo courtesy of pemexcover feature cover featurecover feature cover feature
This comprehensive Energy Reform aims to boost economic growth, promote social development and take care of the environment, enhancing the country’s competitiveness and increasing its produc-tion and industrial capacity. The design of the new energy model was based on international experience and best prac-tices, as well as on six basic principles: 1) hydrocarbons in the subsurface belong to the nation, 2) free market access and di-rect and fair competition amongst State-owned enterprises and private companies, 3) strengthening of regulatory bodies, 4) transparency and accountability, 5) sus-
The NeW MexICaN eNeRgy MoDeLon august 12, 2013 the Mexican government announced its constitutional energy reform initiative to attract investment and modernize the energy sector. after more than 14 months of open debate, the design and institutional framework stage of the energy reform was concluded last october 31 with the publication of the operational rules of the new legislation and institutions of the energy sector.
by the ministry of energy
A fundamental aspect of the reform is the transformation of both Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) into State-owned productive enterprises, so that now they have the obligation to generate value for their owners, that is, for all Mexicans.
tainability and environmental protection, and 6) maximizing the State’s revenue for the Nation’s long-term development.
Mexico now has a modern energy model. The hydrocarbons sector allows private investment in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, in the pro-cessing, transport and storage of hydro-carbons, petroleum products and petro-chemicals, as well as in distribution and marketing. In the power sector, private en-terprises can now invest in the generation and supply of electricity and, on a contract basis, in the expansion and modernization of the transmission and distribution grids.
The intention is to create competitive mar-kets that enable, in the short and medium terms, the reduction of energy costs, a se-cure supply, and to reach all current and potential consumers in the most efficient and sustainable way.
These changes throughout the energy value chain adhere to one of the central goals of the current Administration: to modernize the country’s institutional ar-rangement to give the Mexican economy heightened competitiveness. Along with the education, financial, tax and telecom-munications reforms, the transforma-tion of the energy sector will further the dynamic performance of all the country’s production forces, bringing greater pros-perity to the population as a whole.
Regarding institutions, greater pow-ers are given to the Ministry of Energy (SENER) and to the energy regulatory bodies such as the National Hydrocarbon Commission (CNH) or the Energy Regula-tory Commission (CRE). National energy control centers are also created to encour-age competitive natural gas and electricity markets (Cenagas and Cenace), as well as an independent regulator called the Na-tional Industrial Security and Environmen-
tal Protection Agency of the Hydrocarbons Sector (ANSIPA). Finally, the Mexican Pe-troleum Fund for Stabilization and Devel-opment –a public trust fund managed by Mexico’s Central Bank– was created and will be responsible for the long-term man-agement of oil revenues.
A fundamental aspect of the reform is the transformation of both Pemex and the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) into State-owned productive enterprises, so that now they have the obligation to gen-erate value for their owners, that is, for all Mexicans. To achieve that aim, their inter-nal structure was modernized to resemble that of energy companies in their field, with a professional management board and the flexibility to partner with third parties, to manage their budgets autonomously and seize the business opportunities they deem appropriate. The State is no longer a man-ager but an owner.
As a result of Round Zero –process by which the State granted Pemex the fields for which it proved to have financial, technical and execution capabilities– Pe-mex received 20,589 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) in proven and prob-able reserves (2P), enough to guarantee
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photo archivecover feature photo archivecover feature
Volume* 4yr estimatedinvestment**
Surface(Km2)
Blocks(Number)
Annualestimatedinvestment**
109
60
141
25,903
2,597
612
14,606
3,782
1,557
19,000
15,100
16,400
4,750
3,775
4,100
*Million Barrels of Oil Equivalents / **Million / 1In 10 contracts
Exploration(Prospectiveresources)
PemexFarm-0uts(2P Reserves)
Extraction(2P Reserves)
Total: 183 Total: 29,112Total: 183
Total: 50,500Total: 12,625
15.5 years of production at the current rate. This figure represents 100% of the company’s requested reserves and 83% of the nation’s 2P reserves; the remaining 17% of 2P reserves are available for future bidding rounds.
Regarding prospective resources, Pe-mex received 21% of the nation’s total and 67% of what it asked for. These en-titlements guarantee Pemex’s solid plat-form to meet the new scheme of competi-tion, while the State ensures a minimum production level. Pemex will be able to participate in later bidding rounds on an equal ground with other bidders. Pemex also has the possibility to request the mi-gration of its entitlements to contracts, and of forming partnerships. In the inter-ests of transparency and suitability, the selection of its partners in these farm-outs will be the result of an international pub-lic bid conducted by the CNH. Until now, the company has announced its intention to migrate 14 fields grouped into ten con-tracts, with total estimated 2P reserves of 1,557 MMboe.
Besides Pemex’s entitlements, the State will conduct exploration and extraction
activities through contracts with private companies, state productive enterprises or partnerships between the two. The design of the contractual process provides for the participation of different agencies in order to maintain an institutional framework of checks and balances.
SENER will be in charge of the selec-tion of the areas that will be up for bid, the design of the contracts and the bidding guidelines. The kind of contract will be de-cided based on the type of resources in the bidding areas and following international best practices.
The Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) will be in charge of defin-ing the fiscal terms and awarding vari-ables. In the interests of transparency and in order to minimize discretional ac-tions, the awarding variables will be emi-nently economic, and could be payment to the government, a work commitment beyond the minimum or a combination of both.
The bidding processes, including awarding and signing of the contracts on behalf of the State, will be performed by the CNH, which will also supervise their
operation, approve the exploration and development plans and authorize the sur-face exploration and drilling of explor-atory wells. The Ministry of Economy (SE) will monitor compliance with local content goals, while the ANSIPA will be responsible for the oversight of industri-al safety and environmental protection. Finally, all public revenue, other than taxes, from hydrocarbons exploration and extraction activities will be managed by the Mexican Petroleum Fund.
On August 13, an initial approxima-tion of the blocks that will be offered up for bidding as part of Round One was announced to the public. From the geo-logical information available, 169 blocks with high resource potential were iden-tified –60 of them can be classified as development or extraction blocks while 109 of them as exploration blocks.
The first approximation to Round One includes shallow water blocks, un-conventional fields, and deep water. The goal of this diversity is to attract com-panies of different sizes and specialties.
The expected investment for this first round, including Pemex’s farm-outs, is estimated at more than 12.6 billion USD per year, that is, 50.5 billion USD over the 2015 – 2018 period.
The tendering of the different types of areas will be staggered throughout 2015. The terms and conditions for shal-low waters will be published in the first two weeks of November, followed by ex-tra heavy oil in the first half of December.
In the case of Chicontepec and uncon-ventional resources, the terms and condi-tions are expected to be published in the first half of January 2015, whereas those of onshore and deep-waters will be pub-lished in the first two weeks of February 2015 and March 2015, respectively. The first contracts are expected to be awarded between June and September 2015, so that by the end of next year, the Energy Reform will be yielding its first results in terms of hydrocarbon production.
This reform opens up important busi-ness opportunities for both local and for-eign investors. Mexican companies are
called upon to take a leading role, either as service providers, international busi-ness partners or operators. The State is working to build thorough public poli-cies that will create a national energy industry and stimulate the emergence of production chains and high-paying jobs, as has already happened in other indus-tries such as automotive and aerospace.
In designing the legal framework for the operation of the Mexican energy sec-tor, priority was given to adhering to in-ternational best practices. One of the ad-vantages of being among the last coun-tries to open up to private investment is the opportunity to learn from previous experiences, both positive and otherwise. With the guidance of the State and strict transparency rules, the participation of private investment will inject dynamism to an industry that had been closed off for decades. With this new energy mod-el, Mexico will be able to ensure energy supply for the development and competi-tiveness of the national economy for de-cades to come. N
Mexico now has a modern energy model. The hydrocarbons sector allows private investment
in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons,
in the processing, transport and storage of hydrocarbons,
petroleum products and petrochemicals, as well as in distribution and marketing. In the power sector, private
enterprises can now invest in the generation and supply of electricity and, on a
contract basis, in the expansion and modernization
of the transmission and distribution grids.
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November 2014
Business tipsBusiness tips
MexICo aND ReNeWaBLe eNeRgy geNeRaTIoNWith a strong commitment to the development of renewable energies, Mexico is seeking to meet its energy needs and at the same time display global responsibility by contributing to the reduction of emissions responsible for the greenhouse effect.
by maría cristina rosas *
In the early 19th century, 95% of the primary energy consumed in the world came from renewable sources. A century later, that percentage had fallen to 38% and at the beginning of this century it stood at just 16%. That trend seems to be reversing, as in many industrialized countries the proportion of renewable energy has grown considerably in the last two decades.
Global investment in renewable en-ergy has grown dramatically: in 2004 it was 22 billion USD, rising to 130 billion USD in 2008, 160 billion USD in 2009, and 211 billion USD in 2010. About half of the estimated 194 gigawatts (GW) of new electricity capacity in the world in 2010 was renewable energy. In early 2011, at least 118 countries had policies in place to support renewable energy or some kind of national goal or quota, well above the 55 countries that had such policies in 2005.
The growing interest in renewable energies is due to several factors. First, these energy sources contribute to reduc-ing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. They also reduce energy dependence and contribute to job creation and techno-logical development. The arguments in favor of renewables have been endorsed by numerous analyses and are supported by major international institutions. As environmental sustainability policies be-come consolidated around the world, it is necessary for countries to include envi-ronmental impact studies in their devel-opment plans, which inevitably leads to increased use of renewables.
The use of renewable energy brings with it several advantages, which in-clude:• Anincreaseinsupplyandtheamount
of energy, enabling countries to meet their socio-economic needs.
• Renewabilityandsustainabilityofre-sources.
The energy generated by renewable sources worldwide grew 8.3% in 2013, rep-resenting 22% of total energy production. Meanwhile, jobs in the sector increased 14% to 6.5 million. According to the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), in 2013, the world developed re-cord power generation capacity from renew-able sources of 1,560 GW, meaning that now more than a fifth of world energy production comes from renewable sources.
While developed countries have energy policies that favor renewable sources, a growing trend is also observed in emerging economies to promote their development. To date, 95 developing countries have pro-posed promotion of clean energy genera-tion technologies.
The list of the five leading countries in energy generation from renewable sources is headed by China, a country which is respon-sible for 24% of renewable capacity world-wide. In 2013, for the first time, the energy derived from hydropower, photovoltaic and wind sources exceeded that produced from fossil fuels and nuclear energy in this coun-try. The US is in second place, followed by Brazil, Canada and Germany.
Throughout this decade, the falling cost of technologies that make use of re-newable energy sources has led to high growth rates in manufacturing, particu-larly in solar photovoltaic technology but also wind power and biofuel production.
Mexico made a commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 30% by 2020 and 50% by 2050, according to the Climate Change Law passed in June 2012, in order to comply with the provisions agreed at the United Nations (UN) and in the Kyoto Protocol, where the country voluntarily imposed a reduction in the use of fossil fuels for electricity generation of 65% by 2024, 60% by 2035 and 50% by 2050. In addition, Mexico has set a goal of gener-ating 35% of power in the country from renewable sources by 2024. In that regard, numerous opportunities are emerging in the area, to which the recent energy reform must be added.
Under the National Energy Strategy 2012-2026, the Special Program for the Development of Renewable Energies, pro-grams on bioenergy, the Program for the Promotion of Solar Water Heaters in Mex-ico (Procalsol) and the wider evolution of the energy market in the coming years, we can expect an expansion of the infrastruc-ture using renewable energy to generate electricity, heat and biofuels in the country.
Mexico can achieve the goal it has set itself by increasing wind power alone. However, it is expected that as part of that goal, it will also enjoy a boost to power generation from other renewable sources.
Mexico can achieve the goal it has set itself by increasing wind power alone. However, it is expected that as part of that goal, it will also enjoy a boost to power generation from other renewable sources.
Geothermal energy, for example, presents low relative costs. If geothermal resources are achieved equivalent to the quality of steam deposits found to date, geothermal generation could amount to 2.3% of total capacity by 2026. Today, Mexico is the fourth largest producer of electricity from geothermal energy, behind only the US, the Philippines and Indonesia.
There is already an initiative of public and private bodies in place to set up three research consortia for renewable technolo-gies allocated through the Sustainable En-ergy Sector Fund, aimed at identifying and supporting the country’s capabilities for expanding energy generation, with the em-phasis on geothermal energy.
In that regard, the Transmexican volca-nic axis has been identified as a priority area crossing the country transversely from Co-lima to the borders of Puebla and Veracruz states with significant areas of thermal activ-ity, whose development may help establish Mexico’s position as one of the largest gen-erators of geothermal energy on the planet.
Meanwhile, as reported by the Euro-pean Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA), Mexico is among the three most attractive countries in the world to invest in photovoltaic projects. States like So-nora, Chihuahua, Durango and Baja Cali-fornia have the land area and potential for installing electricity-generating capacity using solar concentration fields. Similarly, the levels of solar radiation along the Pa-cific coast and the states in the northeast-ern region permit further expansion of so-lar panel installations in the country.
Thus the outlook for renewables is ex-tremely promising. According to informa-tion from ProMéxico, from 2008 to date it has attracted 47 multiyear green invest-ment projects from abroad –mostly in the wind sector– totaling more than 8.2 bil-lion USD and more than 4,950 new jobs. According to ProMéxico, the renewable energy sector receives the second highest amount of confirmed investment, exceeded only by the automotive sector. N
*Professor and researcher in the Political and
Social Sciences faculty, National autonomous
university of Mexico (uNaM).
• Emissionsreduction.• Economicallyviableandabundant.• Formsofenergythatareclosetocon-
sumers.• Promotion of an intelligent cycle of
production, consumption and distri-bution.
• Use of locally available energy re-sources, meaning they are friendly to the environment and can promote community development.
Unlike hydrocarbons, renewable ener-gies are inexhaustible. For example, the sun produces 2,850 times more energy than is needed in the world today; wind energy has the potential to meet that goal 200 times; biomass 20 times; geothermal five times; waves and tides trice, and hydropower once. According to the Research Association for Solar Power, the solar radiation that reaches Earth in a single day holds enough energy to meet current demand for eight years.
photo archive
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Negocios ProMéxico |
24 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
infographic oldemar figuresfigures
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
That is almost one quarter of the country’s installed capacity to generate electricity.
It is expected that by 2024, 35% of the electricity generated in the country will come from clean technologies. By 2035 that figure will be 40% and 50% by 2050.
The regions with the greater potential for wind energy in Mexico are the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (Oaxaca), the Gulf of Mexico, la Rumorosa (Baja California) and the Yucatán Peninsula.
Average daily solar radiation during the year in Mexico is5.5 kilowatt-hour per square meter (kWh/m2), but in some regions it may exceed 8.5 kWh/m2.
Mexico is part of the "Sun belt", which means it is among the five most suitable countries for the development of photovoltaic projects.
Mexico has the potentialto generate 6,500,000 GWhper year from solar energy.That is equivalent toapproximately 27.6 timesthe country’s total consumption of electricity in 2013.
Mexico has the largest manufacturing base of photovoltaic panels in Latin America,with a productioncapacity of over 737 MW per year.
Mexico has an enormous capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources. In 2013, the country’s installed capacity to produce energy upon renewable sources was 14,891 megawatts (MW).
A BRIGHT FUTURERenewable energy in Mexico
WHERE IS RENEWABLEENERGY PRODUCED IN MEXICO?
Main states with installedcapacity in 2013
Stations in operation andunder construction, MW
A GROWING BUSINESS Investment in renewableenergy projects in Mexico(million , estimated upon investment announcements)
HOWMUCH
RENEWABLEENERGY DOES
MEXICOGENERATE?
MW, 2013
Sources: Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) / Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) / FDI Markets.
11,694
0 12,000
6,0003,000 9,000
1,638
0 12,000
6,0003,000 9,000
823
0 12,000
6,0003,000 9,000
Hydro Wind Geothermal
76
0 12,000
6,0003,000 9,000
Solar
661
0 12,000
6,0003,000 9,000
Biomass
0 150
75
120
0 1,000
500
976
0 200
100
169
0 4,000
2,000
3,332
0 900
450
890
MWMWMW MW MWInstalledcapacity
Capacity underconstruction
*Only includes hydroelectric plants with installed capacity of 30 MW or less.
2,707 3319*
Oaxaca
1 10 136
Baja California Sur
572* 40 268
Veracruz
200 81 33
San Luis Potosí
500 13
Tamaulipas
24* 539 570 37
Baja California
37* 2 386
Sonora
324 28
Nuevo León
56* 50 8466
Jalisco
501 33 37
Coahuila
NUMBEROF PROJECTS
‘13‘11 ‘12‘10‘09‘08‘07‘06‘o3
2,922
2,423
1,897
869
1,000
874
91
273
7501
#
1
1
3
4
4
5
7
14
27
Negocios ProMéxico |
26 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
Mexico’s Partnerphotos courtesy of swiber offshore mexicoMexico’s Partner
long and 36 inches in diame-ter –almost the same distance as the Panama Canal– that we built under the sea in the area of Campeche.”
Based on that experience, Swiber decided to settle its strategic offices in Mexico in order to expand its opera-tions to the Americas. Also as a reaffirmation of its long-term commitment, Swiber flagged its five vessels with the Mexican flag.
“A good definition of what the company does is de-veloping offshore fields. Once various studies have been car-ried out showing it is ready to produce, a company like Swiber comes along to build the installations for transport-ing the oil from the well to land. That was what we did in that first project and what we continue to do in others with Pemex,” Villegas says.
Internationally, the firm has an operating fleet of 51 vessels –comprising 38 offshore and 13 construction vessels– in re-gions such as Asia-Pacific, Mid-dle East, and Latin America.
In less than three years, the company has invested about 250 million USD in Mexico. In August 2014, Swiber executives announced to the press the firm’s inten-tion to invest about 700 mil-lion USD in the country by 2017, thanks to the reform in the energy sector implemented by the Mexican government.
“Our attention has been focused mainly on the Mexi-can market but we also want to explore in Colombia and we are looking at other op-portunities in the region, including the Caribbean coun-tries, Peru, Argentina, and Venezuela, virtually all Latin American countries, and we are even thinking of the US,” Villegas adds.
Entering Mexican waters was no accident for Swiber Offshore. Villegas explains
that the country has led to big profits for the company.
“It is a country with an excellent geographical posi-tion but Mexico also has a well-earned reputation in the world, backed up by economic policies, and has an excellent command of its macroeco-nomic indicators. It has signed free-trade agreements with several countries and has been a pioneer in the field. For ex-ample, it is in negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partner-ship (TPP), to which Singapore is a party. All that means that Mexico’s business practices meet global standards,” says Antonio Villegas.
Following the energy re-form, Pemex will be one of the main customers for Swiber Offshore in Mexico. Villegas reveals that the company an-ticipates the national energy sector will be one of the most important markets in the me-dium and long term.
“That will be a very im-portant market for Swiber in the next five years; it is a ques-tion of combining the energy reform with other factors. Pemex is a very productive business […] and the idea is to establish capital investment of about 700 million USD, with larger modern fleets working offshore. A feature of our fleet is that it is made of vessels no more than five years old and that gives it a special value,” Villegas said.
The technological and innovation component is im-portant for a company like Swiber Offshore. In India, for
In less than three years, the company has invested about 250 million usd in Mexico. In August 2014, Swiber executives announced to the press the firm’s intention to invest about 700 million usd in the country by 2017, thanks to the reform in the energy sector implemented by the Mexican government.
example, the company man-aged to put in place a deepwa-ter platform weighing approxi-mately 13,000 tons. It did so by working back-to-front: building the infrastructure on land and then using a special vessel to position it at sea by a “float over” method (the plat-form slides over the water and is installed). That represented
savings of up to 100 million USD for the client.
Mexico has surpassed Swiber Offshore’s expectations. The future of the firm in the country will be linked to the oil and gas industry over the next few years, says Villegas. “There are great expectations for the energy reform, especial-ly for Mexico’s future, and we are ready to make our contri-bution. I am pleased with what Mexico has achieved and the changes in the energy industry that are intended to create a more prosperous and efficient industry, as well as making it a more competitive country,” he concludes. N
www.swiber.com
SWIBeR oFFShoRe MéxICo, THE TREASURE THAT LIES IN MExICAN WATERSHaving established itself in Mexico, Singaporean company Swiber offshore has decided to double its investments over the next five years. the idea is to invest up to 700 million usd in the Mexican energy sector.
by antonio vázquez
Less than three years ago, Mexico was totally unknown to Swiber Holdings Limited, a Singapore company and lead-ing global integrated construc-tion and support services pro-vider to the offshore oil and gas industry. After a big proj-ect carried out for Petróleos
Mexicanos (Pemex) the firm was surprised at what it meant to invest in Mexico.
With 18 years’ experi-ence, more than 2,500 em-ployees worldwide, and list-ings on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Swiber came to Mexico in 2012 to work in
a project that consists in the procurement, transportation, and installation of a pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico.
Antonio Villegas, Presi-dent of Swiber Offshore in Mexico, clearly describes the company’s first project in Mexico: “A pipeline 77 km
29
Negocios ProMéxico |
28 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
photos courtesy of 3tek solar Mexico’s PartnerMexico’s Partner
3Tek SOLAR competed with US companies to win the bid for the huge development at Plantronics. Once it had secured the contract, the company leveraged its 20 years of experience in design and implementation of construction projects in the industrial and commercial sectors operating as Tri Tektura.
At the Plantronics plant, the 1.16 MW photovol-taic system was installed with 4,300 solar modules occupying an area the size of two soccer fields. With such a large-capacity system, the Plantronics installation can generate close to 2 GW hours of clean energy per year, which is equivalent to an annual re-duction in emissions of 1,360 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2).
“Nationally, I know of no other company that has inte-grated a roof-top solar system on par with our Plantronics installation,” says the director of 3Tek SOLAR.
Full SErvICE3Tek SOLAR competed with US companies to win the bid for the huge development at Plantronics. Once it had secured the contract, the com-pany leveraged its 20 years of experience in design and im-plementation of construction projects in the industrial and commercial sectors operating as Tri Tektura. Additionally, 3Tek SOLAR provided its ex-pertise acquired over five years in power-needs analysis, and integration of alternative en-ergy generation technologies.
“We developed a complete EPC turnkey package: engi-neering; materials and equip-ment procurement; permitting; and system construction,” Montoya recalls.
During the prospecting stage, it was necessary to think about the location of the solar power installation from the viewpoint of the local geographical and spatial elements. A basic premise of Hector Montoya is that in-dustrial building design is all about maximizing long-term operations by reducing energy costs and managing natural resources. So, for the Plan-tronics project it was necessary to assess how optimal energy would be produced, at what
times throughout the day, and how it would interconnect with the electricity grid. Fur-ther consideration was given to analyzing the best options for monitoring the system once it was in operation.
For the execution of the work, approximately 100 peo-ple were hired for the better part of a year. According to Montoya, “the staff was well trained to carry out a project of this magnitude with the expected quality standards, on time, and within budget.”
The technology providers were hired in the US, while the wiring and support systems contracts were allocated to local businesses. The advanced monitoring system was com-missioned from a US company that provides the service over a five-year period. This enables the customer to obtain real-time
power generation data anytime during the day, how much is being produced, and what the average amount of generation will be for a given period.
ShIFTIng ThE PArAdIgm“There is a new mindset and culture to be developed in Mexico,” says Héctor Mon-toya. From his point of view, Plantronics broke away from deep-seated beliefs in Mexico about the reliability of alter-native energy systems. This highly successful giant step forward has served to trigger and expand new economic opportunities and establish an area of expertise in the solar industry in Mexico.
3Tek SOLAR markets itself as a company that bases its work on high standards of quality, safety and sustainabil-ity –a company able to provide
and replicate effective prac-tices. Given current economic conditions, in which interest in green energy and the benefits of the transitioning to them is quickly spreading, 3Tek SOLAR is collaborating with ProMéxico to plan new paths for further expansion.
“Business leaders are going to realize that they should not miss out on taking advantage of the sun and the free, clean energy it provides. Further-more, the openness to renew-able energy is now clearly defined in local and national regulations. As part of that openness, a tax benefit has been established that will pro-mote the growth of this sector as well as the company itself,” said Montoya.
“Broader adoption of re-newable energy systems may take some time, however it is a process that we are excited to be a part of and to take a lead-ing role in. Together with inno-vative industrial leaders such as Plantronics and skilled solar in-tegrators like 3Tek SOLAR, we will most certainly consolidate its success throughout Mexico,” he concludes. N
www.3teksolar.com
IT’S TIMe To TuRN aND FaCe The SuN
3tek SoLar, Inc. recently designed and installed the largest and most ambitious self-supply rooftop solar project in Mexico. Such an achievement is the optimal platform from which to lead and revolutionize the country’s adoption of green energy.
by omar magaña
On September 27, 2014 the first gigawatt was generated by 3Tek SOLAR’s sizeable photovoltaic installation on the Plantronics factory that manufactures telecommunica-tions components in Tijuana, Baja California –serving as a 70% self-sufficient clean en-ergy producer.
For 3Tek SOLAR, the company responsible for the design and implementation of the project –the largest of its kind in the private sector in Latin America– this is more than good news. It is a testa-ment to the effectiveness and value of what 3Tek SOLAR has promoted over the last five years among Mexican
entrepreneurs: self-supply power generation from re-newable sources. According to the company, this is the ideal moment to invest in renewable energy and see the immediate financial and envi-ronmental benefits of energy self-sufficiency.
Héctor Montoya, Director of 3Tek SOLAR, emphasizes that the considerable cost-savings exhibited by the moni-toring system in the Plantron-ics photovoltaic installation should clear away any doubts or myths about alternative energy generation. The signifi-cant results in projects such as this one, clearly demonstrate that investments in solar en-
ergy produce immediate and tangible results and that com-panies who are committed to the idea will see marked sav-ings in their operating costs.
When Plantronics commis-sioned 3Tek SOLAR to devel-op their photovoltaic energy system, its long-term goal was to maintain constant savings of 70% of its current energy consumption, remarks Mon-toya. He recalls a phrase used often by executives in the solar industry in relation to cost reductions from renewable energy investing: “Going green makes you green (dollars).”
“In most cases, the in-ternal rate of return is in excess of 14%. For financial
analysts, that is a very good number, if not a great one,” says Montoya.
Systems that capture solar radiation and convert it into electricity allow companies to fix resource costs at current prices over the long term.
According to 3Tek SO-LAR, the average lifetime of photovoltaic modules is over 30 years, based on the manu-facturers’ own standards. Moreover, since the systems have no moving parts, main-tenance costs are minimal. Therefore, an investment in a solar energy system generally pays for itself eight to nine times over the course of its lifetime.
31
Negocios ProMéxico |
30 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
photos courtesy of gamesa Mexico’s PartnerMexico’s Partner
According to information from the firm, Gamesa has in-stalled more than 30,000 MW in 45 countries and manages the operation and maintenance of about 19,500 MW. As a developer and builder of wind farms, it has installed 6,400 MW and has a portfolio of 16,300 MW at varying stages of development.
In Mexico, the company has installed around 1,400 MW and performs operation and maintenance services for a further 1,000 MW. As a developer it has built 244 MW and has a large portfolio under development.
For Suárez there is no doubt about Gamesa’s leading position in the country and future dominance in a market that will place greater empha-sis on clean energy over the next decade.
“It depends on who you ask but overall the commitment to renewable energy in Mexico is strong. The goal set by the Ministry of Energy (SENER) in 2014 is that 35% of energy produced in the country should come from renewable sources. Then there is the Special Pro-gram for Renewable Energy, which sets a target of 8,700 MW of installed capacity of wind power by 2017, which would be around 5,200 MW more than currently installed, according to annual estimates of installed wind capacity es-tablished in the program itself,” says Suárez.
To get an idea of the im-portance of wind energy in the renewables mix, the same pro-gram sets a target of 483 MW of installed solar energy capac-ity for 2017, while installed capacity for geothermal power should reach 962 MW. Only generation from hydro power tops wind, with a projected installed capacity of 12,551 MW by 2017.
On that basis –leaving aside Brazil, which has a
separate administration within Gamesa– Mexico is recognized as the largest market in Latin America and as a result the corporation has a special fo-cus on the country and, from there, on strategies for Central and South America.
mAInTAInIng ThE dIFFErEnTIATIng FACTorSGamesa is a corporation that develops solutions for the field of renewables: it manu-factures and markets its own turbine models on 2-2.5 MW and 5 MW platforms, in ad-dition to those in the offshore division for coastal water applications; it promotes, develops and sells wind farms, including their operation and maintenance and invests in researching and designing technologies that will produce
Among the recent announcements by the company in the country, in addition to the designation of Hipólito Suárez as CEO, of note is the partnership with Santander bank for the development of wind power projects with a generation capacity of up to 500 MW in the state of Oaxaca over the next three years.
energy more efficiently from the sun, water, and wind.
“We have a presence across the value chain: we develop our own projects, we supply the machines –a niche in which we are also leaders– and we provide maintenance. In one way or another, our understanding of the entire value chain provides us with a benefit,” says Suárez.
“In the case of Mexico, we have additional benefits due to our proximity to customers and our flexibility. In addition, our agreement with Santander for the development of 500 MW in the Oaxaca area puts us in a very good position,” he adds.
What lies on the horizon as a result of the energy reform in Mexico? Suárez highlights three characteristics of the emerging scenario: 1) a large market in terms of electricity
gaMeSaREMAINS A REfERENCE POINTrecent announcements by Gamesa in Mexico point to its continued and growing involvement in a market where it has set itself clear goals ahead of the growing need for energy from renewable sources.
The largest manufacturer of wind turbines in Spain, one of the top five manufacturers worldwide and one of the most important firms in the development of wind proj-ects worldwide, Gamesa is committed to maintaining its leadership in Mexico, where it is investing heavily in the renewable energy sector and, as a result, has become the nerve center of operations for Gamesa in Latin America.
Among the recent an-nouncements by the company in the country, in addition to the designation of Hipólito Suárez as CEO, of note is the partnership with Santander bank for the development of wind power projects with a
generation capacity of up to 500 MW in the state of Oaxa-ca over the next three years.
“We aim to establish a clear position in Mexico and to continue working in the other economies in the region while maintaining a strong presence in them: this is an aggressive but feasible growth plan,” says Hipólito Suárez.
Following a period outside the corporation, which he was part of for 15 years, Suárez returned in 2013 as Deputy Director for Mexico and Latin America. Upon his return, he acknowledges, he found a company “with a more diversi-fied position and greater inter-national presence.”
by omar magaña
demand; 2) regulatory stability: “We sense it will be a market with significant legal certainty and that is a great foundation on which to take forward en-ergy projects in general,” says Suarez, and 3) local capacity for the generation of suppliers that the sector requires.
In relation to that last point, Hipólito Suárez reveals that Gamesa is locating sup-pliers of components for their wind turbines in Mexico. As regards wind farm construc-tion projects in the country, Gamesa is working with Mexi-can suppliers of engineering, civil engineering, and electrical work. The latter, according to Suárez, has involved the recruitment of a thousand people working on parallel construction projects. N
www.gamesacorp.com
33
Negocios ProMéxico |
32 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
Mexico’s Partnerphoto courtesy of sunpowerMexico’s Partner
haRNeSSINg The PoWeR oF The SuN
as a global solar energy solutions company, Sunpower designs, manufactures and
delivers high efficiency solar solutions for homes, businesses and utilities.
by proméxico
In early October 2014, the company announced that its SunPower E-Series and SunPower X-Series solar panels manufactured in Mexico, were awarded the Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver distinction by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Founded in 1985 and headquar-tered in San Jose, California, Sunpower operates in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Since 2011, SunPower has been majority-owned by Total, the fifth largest publicly-traded energy company in the world.
In 2011 the company opened a solar panel manu-facturing operation in Mexi-cali and in 2013 it estab-lished offices in Mexico City. Today, SunPower operations in Mexico employ more than 1100 people.
In less than three years, SunPower Mexico has become the company’s largest mod-
ule assembly site by output. “Our manufacturing facility is 320,000 square feet and has quickly grown to employ more than 1,000 employees to be-come our largest module man-ufacturing facility by output. Its proximity to our North American customers improves our responsiveness, delivery times and carbon footprint,”
says Ingrid Ekstrom, Corpo-rate Communications Director at Sunpower.
A mATTEr oF quAlITy“We manufacture the most efficient and reliable solar panels on the market today, and we also design and build solar power systems and technology for residential, commercial and solar power plants,” says Ingrid Ekstrom, Corporate Communications Director at Sunpower.
In early October 2014, the company announced that its SunPower E-Series and Sun-Power X-Series solar panels manufactured in Mexico, were awarded the Cradle to Cradle Certified Silver distinction by the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute.
Sunpower’s are the world’s first and only solar panels to achieve that certification –which is a comprehensive product quality standard that evaluates product design, manufacturing, corporate citizenship and ethics prin-ciples–, based on the sustain-able manufacturing processes implemented at the company’s facility in Mexicali.
In addition to manufac-turing high efficiency panels in Mexico, the company is also working to develop solar power plants to help reduce the country’s dependence on fossil fuel-based energy sources. SunPower has more
than 1,500 megawatts of solar power plants operating around the world today.
mExICo’S SolAr mArkETSunpower expects that the energy reforms in Mexico will open the market to competition and innovation, and solar will be a big part of that. “We see very interesting opportunities in the utility-scale space, combined with direct energy sales to in-dustrial, commercial, and public customers,” says Ekstrom.
Since its founding in 1985, SunPower has always main-tained a strong focus on re-search and development. “We design and manufacture the most efficient solar technology on the market, and we work to continually improve our own processes and products to ensure that our customers maximize return on invest-ment.” says Ekstrom.
“In ensuring we are devel-oping the highest performing products, SunPower partners with institutions such as the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), PV Evo-lution Labs, Fraunhofer, Atlas Material Testing Technology, and Photon. Total is a key partner today in our research and development efforts, as well as in our business devel-opment efforts in Mexico,” Ekstrom concludes. N
us.sunpower.com
35
Negocios ProMéxico |
34 November 2014
| Negocios ProMéxico
November 2014
photos courtesy of eosol Mexico’s PartnerMexico’s Partner
pany as a leader in Mexico’s solar energy sector.
Its 16.8 MW park in the Durango Industrial Logistics Center opened in the spring of 2014 and has 70,000 solar panels that take up an area of 32 hectares. According to state government and company sources, a total of 500 million pesos (approximately 37 mil-lion USD) were channeled into the first phase of the project.
“We have begun building an electrical substation at the same center to generate an extra 100 MW and plan to expand the park to 117 MW,” says Bernal.
Installed capacity could soon increase to 500 MW in the same zone, given that the government has been support-ive of the company’s projects.
Initially, Eosol considered setting up operations in Baja California but after analyzing the possibilities of connecting to the electricity grid, and with some convincing from the Du-rango government, the latter emerged as the most viable op-tion. Now that TAI Durango Uno is up and running, Eosol is more convinced than ever that Durango was the best choice, since it has enabled the company to distance itself from the competition and take the lead in certain regions.
According to Bernal, Mex-ico has the potential to expand in other subsectors such as biomass, thermosolar and wind energy, which are also part of Eosol’s portfolio.
In its capacity as a devel-oper, promoter and operator of energy projects, Eosol has been involved in the Fed-eral Electricity Commission’s (CFE) Agua Prieta II initiative –Mexico’s first combined-cycle power plant, which features a 14 MW solar park. “Right now we’re developing proj-ects in Durango and two in
when it undertakes long-term business ventures in a country, but in the case of Mexico that figure is 50%.
Eosol Energy was incorpo-rated in Mexico in February 2011 and has since earned a reputation as a pioneering force, based on what it has accomplished in Durango. It now has offices in Mexico City and Durango and has announced a three-year in-vestment plan through 2016, which provides for an injec-tion of as much as one billion USD in Mexico.
The company has actively promoted renewable energies at forums and other events in Mexico because, as Beltrán says, the sector needs to earn credibility: “There are still
Now that TAI Durango Uno is up and running, Eosol is more convinced than ever that Durango was the best choice, since it has enabled the company to distance itself from the competition and take the lead in certain regions.
people who think renewable energies are Utopian. I always cite Germany as an example. They have a plan to close all their nuclear plants by 2030.”
Bernal predicts that the recently passed energy reform will remove obstacles and make it easier for the private sector to work alongside the CFE, which will continue to play a prepon-derant role in energy generation in Mexico, in light of its experi-ence and scope.
“It’s a huge company. We need its support and we need for it to build new plants of its own, although that’s not to say combined-cycle plants shouldn’t continue to exist,” concludes Bernal. N
www.eosolenergy.com
Sinaloa. We’re also looking at options in Tamaulipas, where we’re about to close a proj-ect,” says Bernal.
mExICo, A globAl PArTnErBefore coming to Mexico, Eosol had positive experiences working in Spain, France, the US and other countries. Its first taste of Mexico was in 2009, when it rendered engineering services during the construc-tion of Chrysler’s photovoltaic park in Saltillo, Coahuila, via its subsidiary, Injuber.
That was when company executives in Spain decided who were to become their anchoring partners in Mexico. Generally speaking, Eosol En-ergy likes its local partners to retain a stake of at least 25%
eoSoL eNeRgy,fOR A fULL TRANSITION TO CLEAN ENERGY
Countries that aim to play a leading role in world affairs should already be taking con-crete steps to fully substitute fossil fuels for renewable sources of energy, says Eosol Energy Managing Director in Mexico Óscar Bernal.
According to German au-thorities, nations that fail to make a full transition to clean energies in the course of the 21st century will be left behind, says Bernal, adding that Eosol
Energy is confident Mexico will make tangible progress in terms of infrastructure and establish-ing a legal framework to sup-port the sector.
Eosol has officially been operating in Mexico since 2011 and has developed the TAI Durango Uno, a 16.8 megawatts (MW) photovoltaic park –the first active facility of its kind to be hooked up to the Federal Electricity Commis-sion’s grid.
the governments of countries that play an important role in the global arena should have long-term plans in place to make a full conversion to renewable energies in the 21st century. Mexico can’t afford to be left behind.
by omar magaña
“We’d like to be the stan-dard bearer of renewable energies in Mexico, as we have been up until now with the first plant connected to the national electricity grid. If this country doesn’t want to get el-bowed out of the global econ-omy, its government admin-istrations need to stay firmly focused on long-term strate-gies that go beyond debate on how much longer we’re going to be able to exploit fossil
fuels. Mexico needs to bear in mind that the transition to clean energies will require the implementation of large-scale projects in this area every year for decades. We should all be praying that next year it’s not 16 but at least 1,000 MW,” says Bernal.
A Sunny PAThTAI Durango Uno is just the tip of a larger project designed to position the com-
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Mexico’s PartnerMexico’s Partner photos courtesy of newen
The challenge is to design a combined consumption plan, whose ultimate goal is to reduce costs, and determine which solar photovoltaic systems are most suitable for the individual customer.
ThE EFFICIEnCy drIvEAs has occurred with other technologies, the price of equipment and systems for the generation of clean electricity has gradually dropped and more and more consumers are finding it cost effective to implement them due to the substantial long-term savings they offer.
In its capacity as an inte-gration and consulting firm, the company identifies needs and suggests ways of reduc-ing electricity consumption. “If you want to reduce con-sumption, residential or in-dustrial, you’re going to have to make some improvements as regards energy efficiency. We [Mexicans] are right at the bottom of the stack when it comes to energy efficiency,” says Pavón.
The challenge is to design a combined consumption plan, whose ultimate goal is to reduce costs, and deter-mine which solar photovol-taic systems are most suitable for the individual customer. And because the systems newen sells are modular, customers can expand their capacity when necessary.
Recouping your invest-ment in systems of this kind will depend on the capacity of the equipment and post-instal-lation consumption levels but,
NeWeN,REAL CHANGE BEGINS IN YOUR OWN BACkYARda champion of renewable energies, the company has been operating in Mexicali –one of the cities with the highest solar radiation indexes in Mexico– for 30 years
by omar magaña
It’s now possible to generate clean electricity at home to cover a portion of our daily needs and integration compa-nies are springing up to assess the requirements of individual customers and recommend ap-propriate technologies.
Newen (Energías Alternas), which has been operating in Mexicali, Baja California, since 1986, serves precisely that market niche with modular photovoltaic systems that have
a capacity of up to 10 KW –the maximum permitted by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) for residential use.
Although the residential sector is its most important source of revenues, the firm also offers rural electrification solutions, a market it entered in the mid-1980s and re-mained focused on until 2006.
Additionally, the company offers systems connected to the national electricity grid
for businesses, industries and public services, sells remote monitoring systems and com-ponents, has an R+D center where it plans to produce its own technologies and its own alternate energies theme park.
The theme park opened in 2007 and showcases the various solar photovoltaic and thermal technologies cur-rently available, with a view to educating the public about the potential of renewable energies and busting the myths sur-rounding them.
Founder and director of newen, the engineer Mario Pavón is confident promotion-al efforts will gradually give rise to a natural market with a clearer idea of the products and solutions the company offers. “Education can help position us and expose us to more users, not just regionally but nationwide,” he says.
AdAPTIng To A rEnEwAblE rEAlITyAccording to Pavón, we will gradually make the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energies as a society and on all levels the same way we made the leap from horses to auto-mobiles. “It’s an opportunity to develop new businesses and new industries, and it’s a global one. It’s not just about selling solar panels. There’s a lot more potential to renew-able energies.”
Newen currently imports its photovoltaic modules and pe-ripherals, mainly from the Unit-ed States, Spain, Germany and China, but Mexican companies specialized in the metalwork-ing and electrical industries are starting to produce specific parts for the renewable energies sector, such as harnesses, special connectors and structural bases with one or two moving axes.
on average, it takes between two and seven years. And since photovoltaic solar modules have an average lifespan of 25 years, you get your money back cyclically.
“The residential sector is where there are more oppor-tunities to sell solar systems. That is the type of customer we get the most calls from and where we close the most sales,” says Pavón.
The company is also work-ing on customized packages that can be shipped to any part of the country and in-stalled by the final consumer with the assistance of special-ized technicians.
As regards the industrial sector, companies like newen are helping attract fresh capi-tal but, according to Pavón, Mexico will only be able to hold onto its position as a top destination for invest-ment in the productive sector if it can guarantee investors that their operations in the country will be more effi-cient, based on better man-agement of energy costs.
Pavón agrees with his peers in the renewable energies sector that this is the time to integrate the business com-munity and citizens in what all the signs say will be the energy model of the future, reason why newen is focusing on
fostering new talent. “Globally speaking, knowledge about renewable energies is still limited, but a lot of initiatives are emerging in Mexico and we believe that, with some training, they can offer a final product that can be used effi-ciently,” he concludes. N
energiasalternas.com
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RISeN eNeRgy MéxICo, WHEN THE SUN COMES OUT TO dO BUSINESS
“Technically, the state of Du-rango has good levels of solar radiation and land is readily available,” says Bao Ronglin, CEO of Risen Energy México, a Chinese company that plans to invest 600 million USD in a 300 MW solar energy plant here.
Since it was founded in 2002, Risen Energy has posted exponential growth. By 2010, it was trading on the Chinese stock exchange and by 2013 it had made it on to the list of the top 20 companies in Ningbo, a Chinese city that is home to several large energy companies.
Today Risen has 4,000 employees and a presence in Europe –mainly Germany– and Australia; a total of 38 solar plants have been estab-lished. Its core activity is the manufacture of solar panels and LED lighting systems.
It was in 2012 when a group of Risen Energy direc-tors attending the first Chinese Trade and Investment Expo in Mexico realized the coun-try’s potential. “The company
risen energy of china is a leading solar energy company that will be investing 600 million usd in a 300 MW solar energy plant in the state of Durango.
formed a mission to assess the viability of setting up a solar energy plant in Mexico,” recalls Ronglin. “I had the opportunity to accompany that mission, one of whose members was the former Risen CEO, and once we saw the levels of irradiation in Du-rango, we decided to invest in the state. This part of Mexico receives a lot more solar ir-radiation than anywhere in China or Europe, and we can expect very good yields.”
According to Ronglin, as soon as Mexico’s Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) and the Ministry of Energy (SENER) grant the necessary permits, Risen Energy will be-gin construction on the plant in Durango.
“Here we will generate some 300 MW. We’re talking about a very large amount of energy in one single invest-
ment, in terms of figures for Mexico. In terms of green or solar energy, we can safely say this will be the largest invest-ment in all of Latin America. That’s why it’s going to take 600 million USD to get it up and running.”
A great percentage of the population will benefit from the clean or environmentally friendly sources under the goals set by the Mexican gov-ernment for the near future.
Aside from high levels of solar irradiation, another fac-
tor that swayed Risen Energy’s decision to invest in Durango was its highway infrastructure, which provides easy access to the port of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, thereby facilitating trade with China. Likewise, the state government’s cooperation has been crucial.
“There are several reasons behind our decision, such as the fact that labor isn’t ex-pensive anymore compared to China. Mexico’s geographical location also helps because of its proximity to the world’s
Aside from high levels of solar irradiation, another factor that swayed Risen Energy’s decision to invest in Durango was its highway infrastructure, which provides easy access to the port of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, thereby facilitating trade with China. Likewise, the state government’s cooperation has been crucial.
by antonio vázquez
largest market, the US. Then there are the free trade trea-ties Mexico has entered into and the fact that the exchange rate is stable, which is another plus,” says Ronglin.
As soon as Risen has the licenses it needs, construction on the plant in Durango will begin. The initial phase will take two to three years and require some 300 workers. After that, the plant will begin generating solar energy and conducting research activities.
“Our plans for Mexico will very much depend on the results we see and the country’s demand for solar energy. Risen Energy México can go any-where in the country. In fact, some states, like Baja Califor-nia, Nuevo León and others up north, have already contacted us,” concludes Ronglin. N
www.risen-lighting.com
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The natural richness of Mexico’s geog-raphy and culinary traditions inherited throughout history has contributed to the development of an industry that is feeding the world. Nature, culture and technology work together with the food industry in Mexico, which is now the third largest producer of processed foods in America, the second largest supplier of food to the US and the eighth largest producer in the world.
Avocado, vanilla, cocoa, cactus, ama-ranth, dahlias and agave –the plant from which tequila and mezcal are distilled– are some of the 200 varieties of crops originating in Mexico, which for centu-ries have formed the basis of Mexico’s rich culinary culture; it is no wonder that UNESCO has declared Mexican food an Intangible World Heritage.
Food imports from other parts of the world have been added to this base of na-tive cultures and culinary traditions, con-tributing to the diversification and expan-sion of industry in Mexico.
The Ministry of Economy (SE) indi-cates that the growth of the industry in Mexico is due to several factors, such as production capacity, agricultural resourc-es, economic growth, the expansion of the middle class and low manufacturing costs. Although much of the population’s diet is made up of traditional products or dishes such as corn or wheat tortillas, ready to eat and frozen foods have gained popularity in Mexico as a result of peo-ple’s changing lifestyles.
An InduSTry In ConSTAnT growThIn 2013, the production of processed food in Mexico was 135.3 billion USD, a 4% increase over 2012 representing 12% of the manufacturing gross domestic product (GDP) and 4% of total GDP; production in this sector is expected to top 141 billion
MexICofEEdING THE WORLdIn Mexico, the food industry is growing steadily; in a territory with geographical, cultural and commercial advantages, the industry is finding the right conditions for consolidation, backing technology and innovation.
by jesús estrada cortés
USD in 2014 and record an average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 6.4% in the 2013-2020 period, to reach 208 billion USD.
Much of that production is intended to cater to the Mexican population’s growing consumption. In 2013, the consumption of processed foods in Mexico was worth 137.1 billion USD, and it is expected to reach 142 billion USD in 2014 and 209 bil-lion USD in 2020, with an AAGR of 6.2%.
sales to the UK grew by 140%, explained by the shipment of products such as sug-ar cane and molasses. Another destina-tion for which exports increased com-pared to 2012 was Switzerland, with an increase of 166% thanks to products like sugar cane, prepared sauces, extracts, es-sences and concentrates of coffee, jams, jellies and marmalades.
The principal products exported by Mexico in 2013 were sugar cane –with a remarkable growth of 58%– baked goods, chocolate, confectionery and cof-fee. Other products whose exports in-creased in 2013 were malt extract, with a growth rate of 20% over the previous year, chilled or frozen pork (23%) and sugars such as fructose (29%).
Much of the growth in the industry’s volume and sales are due to international investment in Mexico. In 2013, the food industry in the country attracted for-eign direct investment (FDI) amounting to 734 million USD: the cumulative FDI between 2003 and 2013 reached a value of 22.2 billion USD. The countries that made the largest investments over that period were the Netherlands (60% of total FDI), the US (19%), Switzerland (17%) and Japan (1.4%).
AnoThEr wAy To ATTACk ThE mArkETFrom the perspective of the National Chamber of the Canned Food Products Industry (CANAINCA), the feeling is that this sector in Mexico “has experienced growth” in the words of Juan Carlos Lo-renzo Leboreiro, president of the organi-zation that brings together and represents companies engaged in the production and packaging of processed foods in Mexico.
“This year we have calculated growth of between 4% and 5%, which shows greater dynamism compared to the 3.9% increase recorded by the industry in 2013,” says Lorenzo Leboreiro.
The good health of the processed foods sector in Mexico “can be attributed to the efforts made by the industry to at-tack the market in a smarter manner. This year sales to the National Association of Supermarkets and Department Stores (ANTAD) have fallen but sales in tradi-
tional channels have returned to growth. That is a trend that can be explained by people rationalizing their spending –housewives are heading to their corner stores more than to the supermarket,” ex-plains Lorenzo Leboreiro.
“As an industry, we have top inter-national companies in Mexico. There are companies that have invested lots and continue to invest in cutting-edge capital
goods, which puts us at a level comparable to the US and Europe,” he adds.
Thus, the strengths of the processed food industry in Mexico include the fusion between tradition and investment in the latest technology. CANAINCA includes affiliates with a very long history, such as Herdez, which is 100 years old, and La Costeña, which is 85, which also highlights the technological challenge.
The processed food market had a vol-ume of 28,424,000 tons in 2013. It is ex-pected that the volume of processed food market in Mexico will grow at an AAGR of 2.9% between 2013 and 2018. The cat-egories with the largest volume of sales in 2013 in the domestic market were baked goods, dairy products, processed dehydrat-ed foods and fats and oils.
Another part of the Mexican produc-tion of processed foods is intended for the global population. In 2013, Mexican exports in the sector recorded a value of 8.4 billion USD, and between 2006 and 2013 grew at an AAGR of 11%. The main export destination was the US (70%), fol-lowed by Japan (6%), Guatemala (2%) and Venezuela (2%).
While the US prevails as the main export destination for Mexican industry, exports are diversifying. For example,
While the US prevails as the main export destination for Mexican industry, exports are diversifying. For example, sales to the UK grew by 140%, explained by the shipment of products such as sugar cane and molasses. Another destination for which exports increased compared to 2012 was Switzerland, with an increase of 166% thanks to products like sugar cane, prepared sauces, extracts, essences and concentrates of coffee, jams, jellies and marmalades.
In the country there are also plenty of opportunities for food exports, with a wide range of products, both fresh and processed, that also meet the health safety standards of the world’s major markets.
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Thus, the strengths of the processed food industry in Mexico include the fusion between tradition and investment in the latest technology. CANAINCA includes affiliates with a very long history, such as Herdez, which is 100 years old, and La Costeña, which is 85, which also highlights the
technological challenge.
The competitive advantages of the processed foods sector in Mexico lie in the country’s agricultural and climatic diversity, along with the geographical proximity to the world’s largest market –the US– tariff-free goods thanks to multiple free trade agreements, abundant raw materials that are available throughout the year, skilled labor and technology.
“Although we are the national cham-ber for canned food, we do not use pre-servatives in our processing. Instead, our processed foods are natural; there are plenty of technologies to produce a natu-ral processed food. We are here to help housewives in the modern world, since many work and do not have time, for example, to cook grains and pulses,” ex-plains Lorenzo Leboreiro.
The processed food industry is an im-portant link in the production chain of
the food industry in Mexico. “Most of the country’s agricultural production is con-centrated in the central supply markets. The processed food industry is very close to these markets and we act as an outlet for them. For example, when there is a sig-nificant import of a given product, the pro-cessed food industry contributes to ensur-ing local prices do not fall, benefiting rural producers and markets,” says Leboreiro.
An additional advantage of the in-dustry in Mexico is the country’s de-
mographic dividend, which provides “a promising future with a dynamic market of nearly 130 million consumers, making the country attractive per se, not just for the food industry but to all sectors of the economy,” says Leboreiro.
There are 50 affiliated companies in CANAINCA, including companies like Nestlé and Unilever, which gener-ate about 30,000 direct jobs. “Each of those companies has major training and staff development programs, and aim to
be socially responsible companies. The main asset in the industry is human re-sources and it is something we take great care of,” asserts Leboreiro.
Furthermore, by maintaining a dy-namic foreign trade, companies in the sector comply with international certifi-cations, such as those of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency with which CANAINCA maintains a good relationship, with joint and coop-erative programs.
Finally, as Lorenzo Leboreiro explains, Mexican geography is also an advantage for the food processing industry: “In farm-ing and fishing we have excellent raw ma-terial and we have a competitive advan-tage since virtually all the world’s climates are found in the country,” he says.
A dISh wITh mAny oPPorTunITIESAccording to an article by Damien Cave in The New York Times on May 31, 2014, Mexico is considered the most competitive place to manufacture industrial goods for the North American marketplace.
The competitive advantages of the pro-cessed foods sector in Mexico lie in the country’s agricultural and climatic diver-sity, along with the geographical proximity to the world’s largest market –the US– tar-iff-free goods thanks to multiple free trade agreements, abundant raw materials that are available throughout the year, skilled labor and technology.
In addition, Mexico is considered a competitive country in manufacturing costs for the processed food industry. Ac-cording to the KPMG study Competitive Alternatives 2014, Mexico offers cost sav-ings of up to 9.1% compared to the US.
On the other hand, many companies invest in Mexico attracted by a robust do-mestic market, high consumption and the possibility of generating economies of scale. Additionally, Mexico has a strict regulatory framework of health and safety standards.
Mexico also offers great opportunities for the development of domestic suppli-ers in segments such as natural sweeteners and industrial crops; cocoa for the con-fectionery industry and vegetables for the pre-cut, pre-packaged and ready-to-eat sector. The competitiveness of the food industry can be increased through invest-ment in post-production activities such as the cold chain, preservation technology, packaging, biodegradable plastics and specialized transportation.
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Mexico’s geography is also an ally of the fishing and seafood industry, a dynamic sector that caters to growing domestic consumption and international markets. The country is the leading exporter of oysters in the world, fourth for fresh bluefin tuna, second for frozen bluefin tuna, third for frozen sardines, fifth for chilled sardines, fifth for trout and ninth for frozen shrimp and prawns.
The enormous potential of the fisher-ies sector in Mexico is the result of hav-ing 11,592 kilometers of coastline, of which 73% belongs to the Pacific coast and 27% comprises the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and islands. The conti-nental shelf is about 394,603 square ki-lometers (km2). The country has 12,500 km2 of coastal lagoons and estuaries, providing 6,500 km2 of inland waters such as lakes, ponds and rivers.
Seafood consumption is important for Mexico’s rich cuisine, making the country the second largest market in Latin America. In 2013 Mexico consumed 635,000 tons of seafood and that figure is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 2% to reach 706,000 tons in the 2013-2018 period.
In 2012, the volume of fish production in live weight was 1.68 million tons –rep-resenting growth of 1.6% over 2011– of which 84.9% was production from cap-ture fishing and the rest from aquaculture.
That same year, production of cap-ture fishing was valued at 871.9 million USD, mainly species including sardine (50.3%), tuna (6.7%), anchovy (5.4%), shrimp (4.3%) and octopus (2.2%).
The competitiveness of the food industry can be increased through investment in post-production activities such as the cold chain, preservation technology,
packaging, biodegradable plastics and specialized transportation.
In 2013, according to data from Pro-México and Global Insight, the net operat-ing profits of companies in the processed foods sector were worth 22.4 billion USD, higher than that reported for countries like Japan (17.1 billion USD), Indonesia (10 billion USD), Russia (8.4 billion USD) and Germany (6.5 billion USD).
In the country there are also plenty of opportunities for food exports, with a wide range of products, both fresh and processed, that also meet the health
safety standards of the world’s major markets.
In that sense, the SE indicates that there are niche markets with high de-mand that Mexico is able to meet, where sophisticated marketing is key and it is necessary to invest in certification and market knowledge.
For example, a segment with high poten-tial is Halal-certified food. The Muslim pop-ulation –almost 2,000 million people– repre-sents one fifth of world population. Mexico
exports numerous products that could re-ceive Halal certification, such as milk, agave syrup, beef, chicken, mayonnaise, ketchup, cocoa and cocoa derivatives, guava paste, food coloring, alcohol-free vanilla, carbon of mineral or vegetable origin and artificial fla-vorings. Some products that are already cer-tified include hamburger meat, sesame seeds, dehydrated products such as egg white, to-matoes and organic and inorganic chemical products that are used in small quantities for food and fishery products, among others.
Another example is Kosher certification, which represents a significant opportunity due to the tariff advantages resulting from the free trade agreement Mexico has signed with Israel. In 2013, Mexico exported to Is-rael 4 million USD of processed foods, main-ly prepared fruits and preserves, extracts, essences and unflavored instant coffee, con-fectionery not containing cocoa, prepared or preserved vegetables and mixed vegetables, and fructose and fructose syrup.
In the 2003-2013 period, exports of pro-cessed foods from Mexico to Israel grew at an AAGR of 7.3%. In 2013, Mexico was ranked as the fourth largest supplier of sug-arcane to Israel, fifth for jams, jellies and marmalades, and third for uncooked and cooked fruits and coconut oil.
There are also opportunities to export Mexican processed products to supermar-ket chains in the US and Canada. In 2013, US imports of processed foods from Mexico were worth 5.7 billion USD –5% more than in 2012. The main products were cane sugar (1.1 billion USD), bakery products (682 mil-lion USD), chocolate and prepared chocolate products (485 million USD), confectionery (476 million USD) and coffee (340 million USD). The AAGR for imports from Mexico in the 2003-2013 period was 13%.
As for the Canadian market, Mexico is the eighth largest supplier of processed foods and imports in 2013 were valued at 222 mil-lion USD. The main products that Canada bought from Mexico were chocolate, coffee, cooked or frozen fruit, prepared or preserved fruits and confectionery.
That recipe, which combines tradition and modernity, nature and technology, is increasingly attracting investors to cultivate the fertile industrial fields of Mexico. The outlook suggests that the food industry will continue to grow, with the support of in-novation, meeting the needs of the world’s growing population. N
FIShIng wEAlTh
Meanwhile, aquaculture production had a value of 574.2 million USD and the main species produced in that activity were shrimp, with a 39.5% share, crap-pie (28.7%), oyster (17.2%) and carp (7.9%).
Over 2,400 commercial fish farms operate in Mexico together with around 800 units for auto-consumption. The de-velopment potential for the production of farmed shrimp is very high, as is that of scaled fish (snapper, mackerel, cor-vina, croaker and sea bass) and bivalve mollusks (oysters, clams and mussels).
In the case of fish and processed sea-food products in Mexico, the market value in 2013 was 1.4 billion USD. It is expected that in the 2013-2018 period chilled and frozen products will grow at a rate of 5.7% annually.
Besides serving the domestic market, the fishing industry in Mexico also feeds people around the world. Exports grew by an annual average of 5% between 2005 and 2013. In 2013, 63.4% of Mexican exports of fish and shellfish were sent to the US, while the second destination was Hong Kong, with a share of 10%, fol-lowed by Japan, Spain and Vietnam.
The most exported products from Mexico are crustaceans (shrimps, lob-sters and crabs), with 43% of total for-eign sales, followed by fresh fish (14%), mollusks (13%), frozen fish (12%) and crustaceans, mollusks and other prepared aquatic invertebrates which, though they have a share of 7%, reported an annual growth of 72% in 2013.
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Cooperation between Mexico and the Netherlands has blossomed into large-scale, multi-sectorial agribusiness projects that have been a source of inspiration for local governments, producers and centers of expertise. One such project has been the development of urban agroparks or clusters of agriculture and food companies in key states in Mexico, with the support of the Wageningen University (Alterra).
oPPoRTuNITIeS FoR CooPeRaTIoN BETWEEN MExICO ANd THE NETHERLANdS IN THE fOOd ANd AGRICULTURE SECTORthere is enormous potential for cooperation between Mexico and the Netherlands in food and agriculture, where sustainable projects are setting milestones in the bilateral relationship.
by leonora hammer* and eduardo antonio islas salazar**
The Netherlands started down the path of economic development as a predominantly agricultural nation. The country’s achieve-ments in terms of harnessing the benefits of its land, water, weather and the environ-ment in general are common knowledge and have resulted in a high degree of spe-cialization in its agricultural sector.
Here, the food and agricultural in-dustry is comprised of a sustainable val-ue chain that covers everything from the development of seeds and genetically im-proved animals to extremely hi-tech tech-nical processes, such as energy-generating greenhouses and animal husbandry centers that also produce fertilizer inputs. That
That history is one common to the Netherlands, which is the world’s second exporter of agricultural products. But there is always room for improvement and the goal of cooperation between the two countries is to restructure their agri-cultural and livestock sectors through the sharing of experiences.
As a result, Mexico’s farming tech-niques have benefited from Dutch tech-nology and know-how, which have been adapted to the country’s weather, land and working conditions.
In this so-called “triangle” or “golden circle” of intensive cooperation, the parties involved constantly exchange information
with a view to improving conditions in the sector and promoting agribusinesses, tak-ing into account not only public policies but also the needs of companies and the input of centers of expertise.
Food And AgrICulTurE CluSTErSCooperation between Mexico and the Netherlands has blossomed into large-scale, multi-sectorial agribusiness projects that have been a source of inspiration for local governments, producers and centers of expertise. One such project has been the development of urban agroparks or clus-ters of agriculture and food companies in key states in Mexico, with the support of the Wageningen University (Alterra).
In large cities, such clusters seek the vertical and horizontal integration of val-ue chains and are comprised of produc-tion systems with rural transformation centers that favor sustainable farming methods and consolidation and transfor-mation centers that directly serve cities and export markets.
However, urban food and agricultural clusters are not models that can be repli-cated; rather, their members need to work closely together and constantly exchange ideas and relevant information so the mechanism can be adapted to the chosen site. Also, certain conditions must be taken into consideration, such as the availability of natural resources, proximity to cities, the capacity for horizontal and vertical ex-changes between the companies involved, and the existence of a logistics system to support the chain.
This particular project focuses on com-panies from the Netherlands and other countries that, along with Mexican com-panies, have faith in Mexico’s potential in subsectors of the value chain, like hor-ticulture and intensive animal husbandry, among others.
An unprecedented effort by the vari-ous players that make up the sector’s value chain in Mexico, during the initial phase, this model will be implemented in differ-ent Mexican states, where it is expected to encourage regulated production, while fos-tering investment and sustainable systems that benefit the country’s cities.
The Dutch embassy in Mexico orga-nizes seminars, trade missions and a series of other activities to promote the business opportunities to be had in Mexico’s ag-ricultural sector. By the same token, Pro-México, via its office in the Netherlands, has made it its mission to keep Dutch com-
panies informed of investment and busi-ness opportunities in Mexico.
Mexico has huge export potential and it isn’t limited to fruit and vegetables like avo-cado, greenhouse tomatoes, cucumber, pep-per, and citrus fruits, but extends to products with greater added value, like juices, pro-cessed meat, fish, and other vegetables.
In that context, the development of mechanisms like agroparks or urban food and agriculture clusters constitutes an in-valuable opportunity for Mexican com-panies and their Dutch counterparts to improve and diversify their exports, while facilitating access to new markets which, in turn, will help strengthen their interna-tional presence. N
* agriculture advisor at the Dutch embassy in
Mexico.
** ProMéxico’s trade and Investment commis-
sioner in the Netherlands.
chain has created quality products of ex-port standard, while the accompanying environmental and energy saving benefits translate into added value.
In recent years, the efforts of the gov-ernments of Mexico and the Netherlands, as well as organizations and business com-munities of both countries, have facilitated the sharing of experiences and know-how in the sector.
Mexico has a long history as an ag-ricultural nation. Its varied weather and enormous biodiversity have favored the production of a vast selection of vegetables and ornamental plants, plus it has a solid livestock industry.
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Special featurephotos courtesy of la nao foodsSpecial feature
In 2011, with the goal of boosting trade between Mexico and several Asian coun-tries, Marc Rodríguez and Evaristo Trev-iño, partners of La Nao Group Limited based in Hong Kong, joined forces with Beatríz Gomez, Roberto Ramos and Oc-tavio Alcocer from a Mexican exporting firm based in Guadalajara, and created La Nao Foods Limited.
La Nao Foods Limited has corporate presence in Hong Kong and Mexico, and its mission is to represent, position and com-mercialize the highest quality of Mexican food products throughout the Asian region.
“We believe that the fastest growing economies and trade opportunities in the years to come lie between Asia and Latin
La Nao Group has successful experience in Asia offering strategic, commercial and legal advisory services to Mexican companies wishing to enter the Asian market. One specific example of La Nao Group’s success in the food sector was the establishment of the Café Punta del Cielo franchise in Hong Kong during 2010.
America. By becoming the best professional international team specializing in bringing high quality food products to Asia, we will be the bridge between Latin America and Asia. Hong Kong is the ideal place to intro-duce the best of Mexico to Asia; it is a strate-gic and trend setting environment,” says La Nao Foods Director, Marc Rodríguez.
The name La Nao refers to “La Nao de China” an alias for the “Galleons of Manila”, the maritime commercial route between Asia and Mexico. This course was planned by King Phillip the Second of Spain to trade coveted goods from the East. His ships navigated their cargo across the northern Pacific Ocean from Manila to Acapulco before crossing Mex-
ico by road to Veracruz and eventually being shipped on to Europe. in 1565, the San Lucas was the first liner to sail the route, which lasted 242 years.
The La Nao Foods team decided that in order to be successful in the Asian re-gion, a true East-meets-West working platform had to be carefully designed, de-veloped and executed. Export All Jalisco has vast experience in dealing with Mexi-can producers, export logistics, and rep-resenting important food brands in mar-kets such as the US and Canada. La Nao Group has successful experience in Asia offering strategic, commercial and legal advisory services to Mexican companies wishing to enter the Asian market. One specific example of La Nao Group’s suc-cess in the food sector was the establish-ment of the Café Punta del Cielo franchise in Hong Kong during 2010.
Combining their relative areas of ex-pertise would ensure that the Mexico of-fice could focus on sourcing, developing relationships with producers, guarantee-ing quality production standards and op-erating efficient export logistics, while the Hong Kong office could concentrate on sales and marketing by participating in various trade shows and developing and supporting their Asian regional distribu-tion channels. La Nao Foods has devel-oped three primary business units: a pro-prietary gourmet brand, representations and commodities.
In order to build a unified and consis-tent practice that could warrant success, the La Nao Foods team decided to create their own brand. Kanté, which means “old tree” in Mayan, is a label that is character-ized by innovative products derived from the rich variety of Mexico’s raw materials, while meeting the most stringent interna-tional quality standards. It creates a new image of Mexican food abroad with a sophisticated approach and offers a wide range of benefits to consumers. The added value La Nao Foods brings with the devel-
opment of a proprietary brand is a highly integrated quality management platform through selection of raw materials, pro-cessing, packaging, distribution and mar-keting. The company’s product line in-cludes avocado oil, agave syrup, honey, vanilla extract and sauces.
“Developing our own brand has giv-en us the knowledge base and skill set to properly understand and represent other brands seeking to enter the Asian market. A great deal of work, time and capital goes into building a brand that can compete at international level. Because of our success in positioning Kanté in Asia, we are con-fident we can provide the best advisory and representation services to ensure our clients success, which is tied to our own,” explains La Nao Foods Mexico Office Di-rector, Beatriz Gómez.
For its representations model, La Nao Foods selects products and brands that meet the criteria required to be suc-cessfully positioned in the Asian market. It searches for products and brands that are experiencing demand with growth potential, have regulatory approval (or in the process of approval) for trade and have management interested in the Asian market which can appreciate the time and investment required to participate in such a competitive and important market. Cur-rent brands represented by La Nao Foods include Tequila Alacrán, Mezcal Amores and Café Punta del Cielo.
In the commodities world, La Nao Foods has strategic alliances with vari-ous buyers and producers of this type of produce such as pork, beef, chicken, seafood and coffee, all of which meet the international quality standards and production capacity required to satisfy market demand.
“One of the main contributing factors to our growth is the valuable support we receive from the Mexican government. We work very closely with entities such as ProMéxico and the Ministry of Agri-culture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), as well as several consulates in the markets that we operate in,” reveals La Nao Foods Di-rector, Marc Rodríguez Lane.
One of La Nao Foods other keys to success has been constant participation in the right trade shows. Each year the company participates in several food ex-pos throughout Asia. During 2013, it par-ticipated in nine international commercial
fairs covering Hong Kong and Macau, Ja-pan, Korea and China. That has allowed the company to properly assess market needs and reactions as well as meet poten-tial importers, distributors, retailers and food service industry contacts in order to successfully position its brands and con-tinue to increase its client base.
“We met our Hong Kong distributor in the HKTDC Food Expo of 2012. It has been a great partnership ever since. You can now find our Kanté product line in the most prestigious gourmet supermar-kets of Hong Kong, such as City Super,” boasts La Nao Foods Commercial Man-ager, Tamara Raya Cano.
La Nao FooDS,BRINGING HEALTH ANd HAPPINESSTO ASIA THROUGH MExICAN GOOdSMexico has been an importer of goods in its trade with the asian region. However, a group of innovative Mexican entrepreneurs decided to help set the trend in the opposite direction. food and beverages is one of the ideal sectors to focus on when thinking about the vast and quality products that Mexico has to offer the world.
by proméxico
La Nao Foods has expanded its cov-erage to different regions by adapting its products to meet the local needs and re-quirements for market acceptance, while always maintaining its core values. The company is currently operating in Hong Kong, China, Japan and India.
“Our commitment is to provide Asia with a variety of gourmet and healthy Mexican food and beverage options that will ultimately increase the happiness and livelihood indexes of the consumers and communities we live and work for,” con-cludes Marc Rodríguez. N
la-nao.com
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Special featurephotos courtesy of interganSpecial feature
Exports account for approximately 25% of annual sales –4.5% of Mexico’s total beef exports– and go to markets as diverse as Angola, Canada, Congo, Hong Kong, Japan, Panama, Puerto Rico, Russian Federation, South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam, to mention just a few.
INTeRgaN,MExICAN BEEf fOR GLOBAL CONSUMPTION
It’s only taken this company a decade to consolidate itself as one of the most important beef exporters in Mexico and one of the top eight in its niche on the domestic market.
by antonio vázquez
Just over a decade ago, a group of cattle farmers from the Comarca Lagunera re-gion of the state of Durango had the idea of a setting up a facility to integrate all the services needed to put prime beef on consumers’ tables.
Their initiative, which they baptized Integradora de Ganaderos de Engorda
de la Laguna (Intergan), was simple but savvy: a factory where the cattle would be slaughtered and the beef processed and marketed all under one roof.
Built in 2003, Intergan’s six-hectare facil-ity in the municipality of Gómez Palacio in Durango employs 273 people and is one of the most modern of its kind in Mexico.
Over the years, the company has ob-tained a series of certifications but it wasn’t until 2007, after receiving TIF certification from Mexico’s Food Health and Safety Service (Senasica), that it began expanding beyond the country’s borders.
“Intergan is among the leading eight companies of its kind in Mexico and be-longs to the country’s second largest beef exporter,” says Intergan CEO Reynaldo Tovar Flores.
Exports account for approximately 25% of annual sales –4.5% of Mexico’s total beef exports– and go to markets as diverse as Angola, Canada, Congo, Hong Kong, Japan, Panama, Puerto Rico, Rus-sian Federation, South Korea, the United States, and Vietnam, to mention just a few.
“The most important thing about ex-ports is that there are lots of areas of op-portunity. Each country has its habits and customs, and consumer needs vary accord-
ingly. We send one type of product to one country and a totally different one to an-other. We export to meet demand but our quality standards are the same across the board, both for the international and the Mexican market,” says Tovar.
There can be no denying the success of Intergan’s business model. Initially, the com-pany sold carcass but gradually acquired its own in keeping with its goal to create added value products for each market. Exports have grown as a result, to the extent that they now account for a substantial slice of the country’s foreign currency revenues, ne-cessitating more investment in infrastructure and the creation of more jobs as an offshoot.
“We promote competiveness by of-fering better prices, which leads to a con-siderable reduction in imports and more jobs,” says Tovar.
If there’s one thing Intergan is vigi-lant about it has to be its livestock, which
have afforded it access to some of the world’s most coveted markets. The com-pany’s cattle are fed in compliance with strict, balanced nutritional programs, with a view to obtaining prime beef.
Cuts like sirloin, T-bone and rib-eye are exported to the US, while the ribs (deboned) and tongue go to Japan. South Korea also imports ribs (on the bone) and meat from the animal’s ex-tremities, while the African market pre-fers sweetmeats.
The aforementioned TIF certification, accepted by several countries, and invi-tations extended to customers to inspect the company’s facility in person are two approaches established by Senasica that have facilitated access to those markets.
Another key factor that has helped Intergan consolidate its exports is Mex-ico’s geographical location, which offers easy access to shipping routes in the Pa-
cific and Atlantic, putting it within reach of destinations in both Europe and Asia.
“Mexico has competitively priced la-bor, which has played its part, too, while the fact that we are free of diseases like foot-and-mouth and mad cow indubita-bly gives us an advantage when it comes to getting our foot in the door of other countries,” says Tovar, who is confident Mexico has what it takes to increase ex-ports in the sector.
Federal institutions like ProMéxico, he says, have played an important role in getting Mexican meat products ac-cepted abroad.
By year-end, Intergan will have achieved its objectives for 2014 and will be well on its way to meeting its five-year goal of herding its business in the direc-tion of new pasturelands. N
www.interganlaguna.com.mx
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Special featurephotos courtesy of prinsaSpecial feature
It was the 1970s and a producer of toma-toes in northern Mexico had the idea of taking the business further than just har-vesting to sell to local consumers. Thus Productos Industrializados del Noroeste (Prinsa) was born. Four decades later, the company exports tomato, guava and man-go products, among other foods, to na-tions in North America, Europe and Asia.
The idea of the founder of the com-pany was simple but powerful. The en-trepreneur saw that large amounts of tomato were being wasted and were not
On the national stage, the company is number two in terms of mango products and number one in terms of tomato derivatives (industrial supply). About 45% of its annual production is exported to countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Israel, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and the US.
PRINSa, fRUITS ANd VEGETABLES fROM NORTHERN MExICO fOR THE REST Of THE WORLdWith 40 years of experience, Prinsa specializes in the production of tomatoes, mangos, guavas and other foods; almost half of its products are intended for the international market.
of export quality. He decided to acquire specialized equipment and make use of this food to produce pastes and purees, presented in packages of between 200 grams and three kilograms (kg).
Shortly after it began operations, the company became a leader in the production of tomato-based processed foods. It then decided to go further and incorporate other raw materials like jalapeño peppers, guava and mango, producing concentrates, purees and sauces among other products it now sells on different international markets.
“By 1999 we were exporting mango products to the Netherlands, Israel and the US,” recalls Luis Conde, CEO of Prinsa.
By 2000, the mango became the star product of the company. Five years later, Prinsa decided to innovate in terms of packaging. It dispensed with canned pre-sentations and started releasing its prod-ucts in plastic packaging, which gave it a great advantage over its competitors.
“The success we’ve had is because we have always been up to date, we al-ways go a step further and think a lot
about the customer and what the cus-tomer needs. We have adapted well to the demands. Innovation with the sachet presentation was a hit and so was the mango, we were the first in the region to process that food,” adds Conde.
Prinsa currently has a catalog of in-dustrial products derived from tomato, mango, guava and jalapeño peppers. On the national stage, the company is num-ber two in terms of mango products and number one in terms of tomato derivatives (industrial supply).
About 45% of its annual production is exported to countries such as Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Israel, Thailand, South Korea, Japan and the US.
“What the international market most demands from Prinsa is mango (puree and concentrated), crushed green leaf tomato (tomatillo), and pickled jalapeño peppers. We are not the only country that produc-es mango –there is also India, Peru and Colombia– but mango that is grown in Mexico has a much more appealing taste and that’s what interests firms in the juices, nectars, ice cream and yogurt industries, among others,” Conde explains.
Prinsa offers a wide variety of weights and presentations for all its products, from three kilograms packs to huge 240 kg Bag-in-Drum containers, ideal for canteens, hotels, restaurants and super-markets, among other clients.
Located in the city of Culiacán in the state of Sinaloa, the Prinsa plant covers an area of 40,000 square meters, provides em-ployment to around 340 people (in high sea-son) and has approximately 300 hectares for the cultivation of their raw materials.
Luis Conde outlines several factors that have allowed a company like Prinsa to establish itself on the map of the inter-national market.
The first point is that the location of the plant and the highway infrastructure to which it has access allow Prinsa to quickly connect with the port of Mazatlán, from where it ships almost 80% of its exports.
The labor force in the area was anoth-er key element for the development of the company, which has also taken advantage of Mexican government programs and in-centives to internationalize.
The company’s internationalization strategy has been strengthened by certifi-cations granted by the Mexican authori-ties for safety, hygiene and good produc-tion practices. Currently, Prinsa is in the
process of applying for Safety Quality Food (SQF) certification, which ensures that its processes meet international standards, as well as the kosher certifi-cate from the Israeli authorities.
What’s next for Prinsa? Luis Conde indicates that the next step for the com-pany is relaunching its jalapeño pepper products. “We will resume packaging
and filling operations for pickled jalape-nos. Entering that market is a great op-portunity, especially in the US, which is the main consumer of the product out-side of Mexico. We will also expand our foodservice distribution in the US and Mexico,” he concludes. N
www.prinsa.com.mx
by antonio vázquez
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Special featurephotos courtesy of cafescaSpecial feature
The LaST aND vITaL LINkcafeSca is the first company in Mexico to produce freeze-dried coffee, filling a vital gap in a region whose economy relies heavily on the commodity.
It wasn’t until 2011 that Mexico, one of the world’s main coffee producers and export-ers, had a plant for coffee freeze-drying, a process that adds value to a commodity cen-tral to the economies of 12 Mexican states –Chiapas and Veracruz among them.
The first plant of its kind in the country and in Central America, the project began to take shape in Chiapas in 2009 following negotiations between the federal and state governments and a group of private inves-tors featuring the Swiss-based Ecom Agro-industrial Corporation –through AMSA, its subsidiary in Mexico–, Key Coffee of Japan and Prosol of Spain, among others. That same year, Cafés de Especialidad de Chiapas, S.A.P.I. de C.V. (CAFESCA) was officially incorporated.
The decision to set up a plant for coffee freeze-drying in Chiapas was a strategic one. According to the National Coffee Industry Association (Anacafé), the state accounts for 35% of Mexico’s total coffee production and, due to its geographic location, is a port of entry to Central America’s coffee lands. Chiapas also happens to be a major producer of certified coffee, grown by small planta-tions with unique microclimates.
Over the last two decades, instant cof-fee has increased in popularity compared to other beverages in regions like Eastern Europe and Asia. And “in the instant cof-fee niche, freeze-dried coffee has grown considerably more than other products, which is why we decided to set up this plant, to meet increased demand,” says CAFESCA Director Renan Chueiri.
One reason consumers prefer the freeze-dried variety is because it preserves the bean’s organoleptic properties better. That is because the process is carried out at low temperatures, unlike other methods like atomization in which the extracts are exposed to heat. In freeze drying –a process
invented in the 1960s– the liquid extract is frozen and then the water contained is re-moved in vacuum chambers.
CAFESCA channeled over 40 million USD into its plant, which meets the technical standards required to freeze dry coffee.
“We have one of the most modern plants in the world and work with cut-ting-edge technology. Here we have the two extremes: on the one hand, beans produced using very traditional methods and, on the other, freeze-dried instant coffee produced using hi-tech industrial processes,” says Chueiri.
TrAdITIon And InnovATIonMost of Chiapas’ coffee is grown on small plantations owned by indigenous farmers in El Soconusco, a region on the Mexico-Guatemala border. The beans are sold to Agroindustrias Unidas de México (AMSA)
–a subsidiary of Ecom in Mexico– which, in turn, delivers the product to CAFESCA, whose initial goal was to package 4,000 tons of freeze-dried coffee a year.
The CAFESCA plant, considered the last link needed to add value to Chiapas already consolidated coffee chain, is located in a strategic in-bond facility at Puerto Chiapas, one of 16 ports in Mexico that has recently been promoting itself as an investment desti-nation with a view to intensifying its activi-ties as a shipping logistics center and receiver of international tourism.
CAFESCA’s product portfolio includes Arabica, Robusta and their blends. The plant offers organic Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Kosher certified coffee production. Decaffeinated and special coffees are also produced and sold in bulk –25 kg box– and in retail presentations –glass and PET jar, bag, can and sticks.
Most of the coffee CAFESCA processes is produced in Chiapas, although there have been times when the company has been forced to import beans when plagues have struck the region’s plantations. “When that
happens, it’s bad news for the whole coffee producing chain,” says Chueiri.
As regards global logistics, Chueiri be-lieves there are still windows of opportuni-ty for El Soconusco and Chiapas’ shipping terminal, given their strategic location. CAFESCA currently ships its products to Asia from Veracruz and Puerto Quetzal in Guatemala but Chueiri is confident that will soon change.
“We export a lot to Eastern Europe, to the European Union, Asia, the US, and even Australia, to customers who distrib-ute our products in supermarkets,” says Chueiri, adding that the company’s most important export markets are Eastern Eu-rope and Japan.
According to Pamela Madrigal, CAF-ESCA Sales and Marketing Manager, Pro-México has played a major role in position-ing the company on international markets.
by omar magaña
“ProMéxico has helped by extending us travel grants to visit customers and fa-cilitating our participation in trade fairs. We are currently discussing our presence at the ProMéxico pavilions of several in-ternational fairs,” she says.
One such event includes the PLMA trade show in Chicago in November 2014, at the pavilion ProMéxico has organized for the food and beverage sector.
The domestic market is essential for CAFESCA, since Mexico rates among the world’s largest consumers of instant coffee, demand the company plans to meet with special solutions. “It’s a long-term project because freeze-dried coffee is a new prod-uct, consumers aren’t yet familiar with. I calculate it could take two or three years to consolidate,” concludes Chueiri. N
www.cafesca.com
CAFESCA’s product portfolio includes Arabica, Robusta and their blends. The plant offers organic Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Kosher certified coffee production. Decaffeinated and special coffees are also produced and sold in bulk –25 kg box– and in retail presentations –glass and PET jar, bag, can and sticks.
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Special featurephotos archiveSpecial feature
It was around 17 years ago that he first came into contact with the American Insti-tute of Baking and realized the region’s hotel kitchens could be his proverbial oyster with the backing of that institution. So, after tak-ing several courses at the Tec de Monterrey, he decided to start his own business.
“I started out with a juice and concen-trates business for a large hotel. When the equipment arrived, it came with two ice-cream machines and a powder product. I opted for the ice-cream because no one else was offering hotels in Cancun that type of service at the time. People thought I was crazy but it took off,” recalls Macouzet.
Before long, Cool Flavors was catering to over 70% of the all-inclusive hotel mar-ket in Cancun.
“It’s easy to make ice-cream with our products. You just open the bag of liquid, which doesn’t require refrigeration, turn on the machine, pour in the product and in five minutes you have ice-cream with a fat content of only five percent. Plus, people like to serve their own ice-cream. We’ve been exporting to the Dominican Republic for ten years and not just ice-cream but the cones as well,” says Macouzet.
Cool Flavors has insisted on having its own equipment at each point of sale and offers a full range of services, from the sanitization of the machine to repairs and replacement equipment if required, all of which translates into added value.
Aside from Food Service Management, Kosher and American Institute of Bak-ing certifications for the export of dairy products, Macouzet has entered into an alliance with the 5,000-square-meter fa-cility in Querétaro that manufactures his ice-cream base and has created synergies with government agencies like ProMéxico to promote his products abroad.
“Our plans for the future include Panama, Costa Rica and Cuba. We’re creating synergies with other entrepre-neurs to reach these countries. It might sound crazy but if you work hard and have talent, positive things can happen,” concludes Macouzet. N
www.coolmac.com.mx
Tourists who visit Cancun will come away with memories of beautiful Caribbean beaches, fabulous sunsets and the refresh-ing taste of Cool Flavors’ delicious straw-berry, raspberry and cappuccino-flavored ice-cream.
Based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Cool Flavors produces a soft ice-cream base that can be used to make different flavors of smoothies using special machines. Its product is sold mainly in hotels, restau-rants and shopping malls like Barceló, Riu, Meliá, Iberostar, Sirenis and the Hard Rock Café in the Dominican Republic and Mexico, where the company has over 150 ice-cream machines in operation.
“Every month we export some three containers. Each container holds approxi-mately 1,200 boxes of product, which translates into 4,600 boxes a month. On a yearly basis, we’re talking some 43,000 boxes, each of which contains 18 liters of ice-cream. So we export a total of 777,000 liters of ice-cream, close to the one-million mark. We have a presence mainly in the Dominican Republic but we also have our sights set on Panama and Costa Rica,” says Cool Flavors CEO Luis Macouzet.
Cool Flavors’ products have several advantages over its competitors, like the fact they’re made from ultra-pasteurized milk, which has a longer shelf life, and their packaging, which can resist up to 50 kilos of pressure, meaning it won’t break during handling.
The company’s history reveals the vi-sion of its founder. Macouzet arrived in Cancun almost 30 years ago and took a job at a plague control company, which he rapidly managed to position among the city’s major hotels.
CooL FLavoRS, ICE-CREAM THAT SMACkS Of THE MExICAN CARIBBEANthis Mexican company has been exporting ice-cream to the Dominican republic for a decade now and is about to get other markets hooked on its irresistible strawberry, raspberry and cappuccino flavors.
by antonio vázquez
Cool Flavors’ products have several advantages over its competitors, like the fact they’re made from ultra-pasteurized milk, which has a longer shelf life, and their packaging, which can resist up to 50 kilos of pressure, meaning it won’t break during handling.
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Special featurephotos courtesy of mieles campos azulesSpecial feature
diabetics, provided it is consumed under medical supervision, while fructans are a soluble form of fiber that is beneficial to the digestive system and helps prevent dis-eases like colon cancer.
Mieles Campos Azules’ agave syrup comes in a variety of forms, from a light version to a darker, sweeter amber colored one, strawberry and maple flavored and its fructans come in liquid and powder form.
Every year, the company produces some 1,000 tons of agave fructans, 90% of which is sold to the US, which accounts for the bulk of exports, Australia and some countries in Asia.
Annual production of agave syrup stands at around 8,000 tons, approxi-mately 95% of which ends up in countries
Every year, the company produces some 1,000 tons of agave fructans, 90% of which is sold to the US, which accounts for the bulk of exports, Australia and some countries in Asia.
like the US, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
“Exporting has required enormous in-vestment, financially, time wise and in terms of human capital. Our sales team has done an amazing job; every month they head off to the US and Europe and have participated in various trade missions organized by Pro-México,” says Pérez Ontiveros.
Mieles Campos Azules has also in-vested heavily in R+D and has cooperation agreements in place with several research labs and institutions for the development of new products.
Companies in the sector, among them Mieles Campos Azules, and government agencies, are working on an Official Mexi-can Standard (NOM) to regulate the agave
Mieles Campos Azules makes organic foodstuffs from the agave plant and 90% of its production is earmarked for export, an enviable achievement considering it has been operating for less than a decade.
Propping up the company is Oleo-mex, a business group experienced in the food and personal hygiene sectors. Mieles Campos Azules is a relative newcomer but has turned out to be an adventure that has borne sweet fruit, complementing the group’s 13 other companies that produce everything from cooking oils and fats to cookies and hair products.
MIeLeS CaMPoS azuLeS, MILkING THE AGAVE PLANT fOR MORE THAN TEqUILAthis company produces organic foodstuffs from agave, the same plant used to make that most iconic of Mexican spirits, tequila. In just five years, it has tapped into the uS and european markets.
by antonio vázquez
In 2009, Oleomex acquired a plant in the municipality of Amatitán, Jalisco, with the intention of producing tequila, the Mexican spirit par excellence. But before the project even got off the ground, the investors realized that there was a rapidly growing market for organic health prod-ucts made from agave.
“We’ve found a good market. Af-ter acquiring the tequila plant, when the time came to explore our options, we dis-covered that these types of added value products were gaining ground and that prompted us to take a closer look at the
subject. Finally, we realized there was a po-tential market out there just waiting to be exploited,” says Fernando Pérez Ontiveros, CEO of Mieles Campos Azules.
Five years down the line, Mieles Campos Azules has a 30,000-square-meter facility, 3,000 hectares of agave plants and 350 employees.
The company produces mainly agave syrup and agave-derived fructans, prod-ucts that have been well received by for-eign consumers because of their health benefits. For example, agave syrup is com-monly used as sugar substitute suitable for
syrup industry and provide certainty for foreign markets.
“Over the years, certifications have taken on increasing importance and that is a global trend. We work with foreign customers and suppliers, the majority of whom demand we comply with interna-tional standards,” says Pérez Ontiveros.
Standards like BCS Organic (an in-ternational standard for organic foods), USDA Organic (granted by the US govern-ment), Kosher Certification (for the Jewish market), Halal Certification (for Muslim consumers), JAS Certification (Japan) and FSSC 22000 (food safety standard), all of which Mieles Campos Azules boasts.
The company’s future is looking sweet, with plans to diversify its client portfolio and tap into new markets.
“It’s a tough job, but we want to win over new markets with innovative prod-ucts that strengthen our existing portfo-lio,” concludes Pérez Ontiveros. N
www.camposazules.mx
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Special featurephotos courtesy of comal foodsSpecial feature
At the moment, the company is investing heavily in the acquisition of technologies to guarantee the sterility of its packaging processes, which range from freezing, thermoforming and thermo sealing to controlled atmosphere and vacuum packaging.
a TaSTe oF MexICoON THE WORLd’S TABLESIn the region known as La comarca Lagunera in North Mexico, there is a company whose packaging technologies guarantee that the flavors of Mexico reach the plates of consumers in the uS and asia intact.
by omar magaña
BJ Internacional, a Durango-based group that owns the Comal Foods brand, is sampling new markets in the hope of getting consumers in the US and Asia to acquire a taste for a new generation of prepackaged Mexican foods.
In its incursion into the US market, BJ Internacional has received the sup-port of TechBA, a program created by the US-Mexico Foundation for Science
(FUMEC) and the Mexican Ministry of Economy (SE), to leverage the capacity of technology-based small and medium-sized Mexican companies to compete on global markets. Meanwhile, ProMéxico has been assisting with market research that casts light on the behavior patterns of consumers in Asia, a market whose pantries the company plans to raid in 2015.
Additionally, BJ has participated in the international trade fairs on ProMéxi-co’s calendar and executives at Comal Foods have been coached on the steps to ensure it evolves from a national to a multinational enterprise. The goal is to get the brand’s food products –pork carnitas, beef barbacoa, mole, al pastor-style beef, pork cracklings in green salsa, cochinita pibil and meatballs– out on the shelves.
“We’d never done business in the US before but ProMéxico guided us down the right path,” says Comal Foods Depu-ty Director, Pedro Barboglio Murra.
ProMéxico’s assistance was also vi-tal to getting new customers in Asia, he recalls, adding that “this is very impor-tant to us because it reduces the learning curve and saves us having to learn from our mistakes.”
Thanks to that support and synergies between Comal Foods and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), the Agricultural Trading and Development Services Agency (Aserca), ProMéxico, the National Institute of Entrepreneurs (INADEM), the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT), the State Economic Development Secretary, among many other, the company now exports to the US and South Korea, and has permits to export to Canada, Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
In 2012, Comal Foods opened offices in Texas and in recent months has been negoti-ating with the distributors Sysco and Unified with a view to consolidating its expansion in the US and other parts of the world.
“We didn’t think we’d get where we are this quickly. Our products have been greatly accepted. We work with the two largest distributors,” says Barboglio.
grEAT TASTE wITh AddEd vAluEAt the moment, the company is investing heavily in the acquisition of technologies to guarantee the sterility of its packag-ing processes, which range from freezing, thermoforming and thermo sealing to controlled atmosphere and vacuum pack-aging. Thus, Comal Foods ensures the distinctly Mexican flavor of its preserva-tive-free products remains intact, from the factory to the hotels, restaurants, catering services, penitentiaries, and supermarkets where they are consumed.
BJ Internacional started out in the food processing business in 1980, through its subsidiary Empacadora Frape. At the time, it specialized in aged American prime cuts and was a pioneer in the introduction of marinated flank steak. In 1996, it began producing pre-packaged foods, a sector that it has been focusing on exclusively since 2004.
“We all know meat and vegetables are commodities and that their price fluctuates daily but the development of added-value products offers greater certainty to pri-mary agricultural products, which gives us a competitive advantage over other coun-tries,” says Barboglio.
Comal Foods emerged as a brand in 1998 and has been present in Mexico’s ho-tel and supermarket sectors ever since. “By year-end 2014, over 15 million Mexicans will have consumed at least one of our products.”
In 2009, the brand decided to go in-ternational with the aid of TIF, Distintivo H, HACCP, and Silliker certifications. Plus, its products have been approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to Barboglio, one of the rea-sons for that decision was that “consump-tion of Mexican products is on the rise in the US. Even Anglo-Saxon consumers are looking for Mexican flavors –not Tex-Mex food– and the technology we use to pro-cess our products, such as sterilization, has been well accepted, as have our frozen ready meals.”
As for markets like Japan and South Korea, these are small countries that don’t have the space to raise animals, but that have high purchasing power.
In that context, the challenge will be to continue producing innovative, quality products, while remaining flexible enough to render specialized services.
“For example, in California we face a lot of competition but the quality of our products and the services we offer are points in our favor. There’s less competi-tion in the Asian market, but they have a very different palate and we have to adapt more to their tastes,” says Barboglio.
That is a task that behooves Comal Foods’ R+D department, which boasts ex-perts in meat products, vets, and engineers, among other professionals.
ExPAndIng AbroAd, ForTIFyIng AT homESince it entered the export race, Barboglio estimates Comal Foods’ payroll has grown from 350 to 750 employees and the com-pany is currently increasing its production capacity in preparation for the exponential
growth forecast as a result of the agree-ments signed recently with global distribu-tors and its expansion in Mexico.
When Comal Foods began exporting, foreign sales represented only 2% of total production but, according to Barboglio, that figure will have risen to between 20% and 25% by the end of 2014.
“That trend is helping us grow in the Mexican market. Competing on other markets requires substantial investment in technology and plant facilities, which we have used to benefit the products we sell on the domestic market,” he says.
The next step will be to consolidate Comal Foods’ sales team in the US, iden-tify more suitable markets for the brand in Asia and send representatives there, while offering new products in Mexi-co and closing deals that have been in the pipeline since January 2014. In five years’ time, the company aims to have a new plant up and running to meet the projected increase in demand. N
www.comalfoods.com
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MEXICO FEEDS THE WORLDWhat does Mexico mean in the agro-alimentary industry?
YOU MIGHT HAVE A PIECE ON MEXICO ON YOUR TABLE!Worldwide, Mexico is the…
6%Preparations made
from cereals and flour
Mexican exports in this sectorIn 2013 Mexican exports of agro alimentary products surpassed24 billion .
The country is recognized as one of the world’s top five producers and exporters of organic coffee.
Mexico is the 4th exporter worldwide and 1st in Latin America of vegetables, roots and tubers.
Mexico is the 1st producer and exporter of avocado worldwide. In 2013 Mexican exports of avocado reached 1.07 billion .
23%Vegetables
15%Drinks
14%Fruits
9%Sugars and
confectionery
Mexico has been the 2nd largest supplier of food to the US for more than two decades now.
In 2012, tequila was the 8th most exported alcoholic beverage in the world (among spirits).
In 2013, Mexico exported 149 million liters of tequila with a total value of 997 millon .
FDI in 2013 was 734 million in food industry, 14.68 billion in the beverage industry and 70 million in agriculture and livestock.
Mexico exports meat (beef, pork, poultry) to the US, Japan, South Korea, Belgium, Netherlands, Vietnam, and Russia, among other countries.
Mexico is the top exporter of beer worldwide. In 2013, exported more than 2.3 billion liters of the beverage.
Sources: Global Trade Atlas / SAGARPA and Euromonitor International / Official statistics on FDI flowsto Mexico.
* In Latin America.
**In terms of volume.
CookiesPork**Fresh andrefrigerated beef**
Confectionery notcontaining cocoa
Naturalhoney
Onion, shallotand garlic
Freshbluefin tuna
Strawberry
Chewinggum
Prepared orpreserved citrus
Broccoli andcauliflower
ChilliRaspberryEggplantCeleryShelledwalnuts
Lime andlemon
Decaffeinatedcoffee
Cucumber
Avocado Tomato Guava and mango Papaya Salsa* Melon andwatermelon
Asparagus Frozenbluefin tuna
Frozen orange juice
Cocoa powderwith added sugar
3rdexporter
4thexporter
5thexporter
6thexporter
1stexporter
2ndexporter
infographic oldemar Special featureSpecial feature
PRODUCTION BY SECTOR)2102( noitcudorp latot fo erahs rotceS
Sources: Global Trade Atlas / Global Insight / Cuentas Nacionales, INEGI / Ministry of Economy (SE).
Imports from Mexico(million )
Participation ofMexican exports
MAIN MARKETSFor Mexican processed food (2013)
WHO IS INVESTINGIn the Mexican processed food industry? Investment
(2003-2013, million )Share of total FDI in the sector (2003-2013)
The processed food industry accounts for 12% of Mexican manufacturing gross domestic product (GDP) and 4% of the country’s GDP.
Mexican exports of processed food reached a value of 8.44 billion in 2013.
In 2013 FDI in the Mexican processed food industry reached 734 million .
From 2003 to 2013 FDI in the Mexican processed food industry reached 22.24 billion .
In 2013 Mexican production of processed food reached a value of 135.29 billion .
Mexico is the 3rd largest producer of processed food in the Americas and it was ranked 8th globally in terms of sales of processed food.
10.2%Grain and seeds milling and production of oil and fats
7.8%Production of sugars, chocolates and candies
3.7%Canned fruits, vegetables and prepared foods
0.9%Preparation and packaging of seafood
10.5%Manufacturing of dairy products
24.5%Slaughtering, meat processing and packing of livestock, poultry and other edible animals
5.9%Animal food processing
27.2%Bakery and tortilla production
DenmarkColombiaMauritiusArgentinaSpainLuxembourgJapanSwitzerlandUSNetherlands
60%
13,422.9
19%
4,361.1
17%
4,201.6
1.4%
312.8
0.9%
207
0.3%
75.8
0.3%
69
0.3%
66.8
0.3%
64.5
0.2%
55.5
Belgium
0.8%
64
Costa Rica
0.8%
67
Spain
0.8%
69
Colombia
0.9%
73
Hong Kong
1.6%
132
Canada
1.6%
134
Venezuela
1.9%
159
Guatemala
2.1%
179
Japan
6.3%
530
US
69.2%
5,845
PRESERVING MEXICO’S FLAVORSThe processed food industry in Mexico
The Lifestyle
The CompleTe Guide To The mexiCan Way of life
Negocios ProMéxico |
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infographic oldemarSpecial Feature
The Lifestyle Briefs
Fernando Romero:Beauty, Sustainability, and Economic Development
Mexico,a Series of Contemporary Snapshots
Protecting Our Water, Land, and Skies
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RIvIERA NAYARIT,MEXICO’s PACIFIC COAsT
TREAsuRE
nestled between the pacific and the Sierra madre occidental, in the space of just a few years this tropical paradise has become one of the country’s most interesting tourist destinations, whether you want to relax, take up residence, or do business.
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The Lifestyle Briefs
The Maya, Revelations of an Endless Time will be showing at the Musée du quai Bran-ly in Paris, France, until February 8, 2015.
This 400-piece exhibition is the first staged by the Branly on the ancient Maya civilization, which was concentrated main-ly in South Mexico. The hundreds of cit-ies they left behind reveal a culture with a complex social and political organization, one that perfected its own distinctive style of architecture and invented the most com-plex mathematical and iconographical sys-tems in Pre-Columbian America.
Featuring friezes, statues and ceramic and jade artifacts that give us insight into the religious beliefs and rituals of this fascinating people, the exhibition was produced by Mexico’s Anthropol-ogy and History Institute (INAH) and curated by the writer and historian Mer-cedes de la Garza, who also happens to
HISTORY
The MayaTravel to Paris
Mexico City’s Centro Banamex will be transformed into a digital nirvana this November 7 and 8 with the arrival of Tag CDMX. This ambitious festival of the cre-ative arts brings together ideas, inventions and new technologies, plus brilliant minds that have influenced the entertainment in-dustry, like filmmakers Darren Aronofsky and Spike Lee, the producer Roy Conli, the animation artist Zack Parrish and the space technology engineer Kosta Gramma-tis, among others.
Due to its nature, the festival is deemed one of its kind in Latin America, the goal being to “showcase art, culture and science, with a focus on technological breakthroughs, and put young Mexicans in touch with the great talents of the creative industries,” says Tag CDMX Director Tania Esparza.
Tag CDMX, a Creative Arts Extravaganza
The Mexican musician Nahum Mantra was recently awarded the Young Space Leaders Prize by the International Astro-nautical Federation, marking the first time it has ever gone to an artist.
Mantra, who composes music for a va-riety of media and instruments and who has founded musical ensembles like the Orches-tra Elastique, was presented with his prize at the International Astronautical Congress in Toronto, where he was named a world leader in the field of space exploration.
His next stop is Russia, where he plans to conduct artistic experiments on zero gravity parabolic flights.
Roger Malina, whose father, Frank Ma-lina, founded NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labo-ratory, qualified Mantra’s achievement as a landmark in the history of space explora-tion, adding that he “belongs to a new gen-eration of young artists [...] that will influ-ence the ideas of tomorrow and make the future of space exploration possible.”
MUSIC
Mexican WinsYoung Space Leaders Prize
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES
The Young Space Leaders Prize is award-ed to people aged between 21 and 35 who have shown exceptional leadership in the field of astronautics, who have made major contributions to the sector, are involved with the space community and have shared their
According to the festival’s producer, Jorge Párraga, Mexican talent will also be on display at Tag CDMX, whose program features 46 conferences, 44 workshops and a mega concert.
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As of November 8, visitors to the Riviera Maya can see Joyá, the new permanent show by the prestigious circus company Cirque du Soleil that takes its inspiration from Mexican culture.
PERFORMING ARTS
Cirque du Soleil Creates Show Inspired by Mexico
The company’s creative director and author of Joyá, Richard Dagenais, want-ed to pay homage to local landscapes and the age-old Mexican tradition of hand-ing down knowledge from generation to
experiences and know-how. What makes Mantra’s win so special is that this is the first time the work of an artist has been considered an important aspect of the sector’s agenda.
www.iafastro.org
generation: “Mexico has always had a very good relationship with the Cirque. It was only natural we’d do something specifically for the region. Joyá has been at the back of our minds for a long time and Mexico has always been a great source of inspiration.”
The show tells the story of a 15-year-old boy who visits his grandfather, an ec-centric art collector who wants to pass on to him the wisdom inherent in the ob-jects he has been accumulating his whole life. “We know there is a long tradition in Mexico of handing down knowledge from one generation to the next. One example of this is the country’s wonder-ful art, as well as its impressive National Anthropology Museum and the impor-tance of the National Autonomous Uni-versity of Mexico (UNAM). There’s a lot of culture there,” says Dagenais.
www.cirquedusoleil.com
be a researcher emeritus at the UNAM. Visitors to the Branly can also enjoy a se-ries of multidisciplinary activities and a program of colloquiums and conferences by experts and archaeologists.
www.quaibranly.fr
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FERNANDO ROMERO:Beauty, SuStainaBility,
and economic development
Every wall, every brick, every line, ev-ery form, every color, every idea in the cre-ations of Fernando Romero (Mexico City, 1971) is a thesis that showcases the talent of this young Mexican architect.
All his projects combine in-depth re-search and a firm commitment to putting architecture to the service of the urban environment.
The most recent undertaking of the architect of projects like the Soumaya Museum, Casa Portugal, and the PH Museum is the new Mexico City airport, which is set to be the world’s most sustainable building.
by antonio vázquez
One remarkable thing about Romero is his openness to new ideas. He views ar-chitecture as a collective effort that is en-riched by the different points of view of the people on his team.
He himself has said in interview with publications like Quién magazine that “ar-chitecture can be likened more to a platform where a work team has to translate a context
and come up with a solution to a problem; a functional problem with technical impli-cations, one that has to answer socially to something that has the potential to become a functional, habitable, buildable object.”
Romero is no stranger to functional-ity and sustainability: in 2002, the World Economic Forum named him a “Global Leader for Tomorrow.”
Romero’s most recent undertaking is the new Mexico City airport, which he will be plotting in
conjunction with Britain’s Norman Foster. Unique in its genre, the design will exploit natural
resources to the full and aims to take home the title of the world’s most sustainable building.
photos courtesy of fr-ee
And to think he almost opted for a career in communications! But architec-ture runs in Romero’s blood. His great grandfather was Alejandro Romero, who is credited with a large part of the real estate developments undertaken in Mex-ico City between 1920 and 1940, while his grandfather, Romero Erazo, and his father, Raúl Romero Erazo, carried on the legacy. “At a very young age, I was al-ready aware of modernist architecture,” he has been quoted as saying.
His talent became obvious when he enrolled at the Iberoamericana University and was invited to work with Rem Kool-has (Pritzker Prize, 2000) at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in the Netherlands between 1995 and 2000.
Upon his return to Mexico at the turn of the century, he founded his own studio, FR-EE. In 2010, he opened an office in New York City.
Romero and his team somehow man-age to strike the perfect balance between architecture, sustainability, and economic development in every project entrusted to them but it is Mexico City that has been the canvas on which Romero has made his mark with projects like the Soumaya Museum, an ultra-modern, sculptural, hi-tech building in Plaza Carso, owned by the
Mexican magnate Carlos Slim. This mega-project was also designed by Romero and features a mix of commercial, cultural, and entertainment areas.
Casa Portugal, in the city of Silves, Portugal, was assigned to Romero’s stu-dio by the Lisbon Architecture Triennial. This three-story building takes the shape of flower petals tilted at varying degrees to create microclimates suited to the various activities that take place inside.
Another FR-EE project is the PH Mu-seum in the Middle East, with its distinctive
circular shape that resembles a camera lens.Romero’s most recent undertaking is
the new Mexico City airport, which he will be plotting in conjunction with Brit-ain’s Norman Foster. Unique in its genre, the design will exploit natural resources to the full and aims to take home the title of the world’s most sustainable building.
The new airport will remain functional for a decade and will have the capacity to handle up to 50 million passengers a year during an initial phase, increasing to 120 million during a second phase. N
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the MoNtiel KliNt BRotheRs
Fernando and Gerardo Montiel Klint have very different styles and employ techniques that range from the traditional to the ex-perimental. But each has made his unique mark on the world of Mexican contempo-rary photography.
Fernando’s subjects find themselves in scenarios whose surroundings he either uses to his advantage or manipulates to skew our perception of reality, while Ge-rardo creates a dialectic based on the un-conscious and a sense of duality.
Aside from their work in advertis-ing, the Montiel Klints have won prizes at photography biennials in Mexico and abroad and have shared their vision of the world with a dozen or so galleries all over the globe.
Photography took off in Mexico in the early 1840s with the arrival of the first daguerreo-type equipment. A newly independent Mexi-can government had established an amicable relationship with Europe and in less than a year after Louis Jacques Daguerre invented his process, it touched Mexican soil for the first time, finally making it possible to com-pile a visual record of the country’s history.
MExICO, A SERIES OF CONTEMPORARY SNAPSHOTS
It didn’t take Daguerre’s invention long to reach Mexican soil. Since then, the masters of the lens have been capturing the country’s private and public life for posterity. Originality is the hallmark of Mexico’s most acclaimed contemporary photographers.
by rogelio villareal
yolaNda aNdRade
Andrade began dabbling in photography in 1997 and gradually perfected her mas-tery of light and shade as she immortalized life around her in black and white.
In 2003, she ventured into the world of digital photography and started ex-perimenting with color. Not only did she rediscover the landscapes of her own day to day but also was inspired to portray the colors of Mexico’s streets, its popular culture and traditions, and those of other parts of the world, which she explores not just through her lens but from the per-spective of other visual art forms, such as the plastic arts and film, too.
daNte Busquets
Many contemporary photographers con-tinue to portray Mexico and what they consider “Mexican” from a traditional an-gle. Not Dante Busquets, whose leitmotiv is Mexico’s middle class.
Busquets isn’t interested in depicting the overexploited worker or the dispos-sessed but those closest to him, his peers, who struggle to understand themselves as they subsist between the corporate cro-nies who provide them with a paycheck and the factory workers and farmhands who fill their bellies.
GaBRiel fiGueRoa floRes
Architecture, the buildings that are a physical reminder of a place’s history, is Gabriel Figueroa Flores’ subject of choice. Nomad and adventurer, he has turned the bricks and mortar he actively seeks out or comes across on his travels into the foun-dations of a visual narrative told from be-hind the camera lens.
So, too, did the history of this fledgling art form begin to take shape on silver plates. From the reign of Emperor Maximilian and his wife Charlotte (1864-1867) up until the administration of President Porfirio Díaz and the Mexican Revolution of 1910, new techniques were developed and existing ones honed. Popular subjects were the bourgeoisie of Independent Mexico, the camp followers
and guerrillas of the Revolution, indigenous peoples and peasants, the country’s mag-nificent landscapes, and its Pre-Columbian, colonial and contemporary architecture. In time, different schools emerged whose names and influences are too numerous to list here. Instead, we have chosen to focus on a few whose work has revealed lesser known facets of Mexico to curious onlookers.
In most of his photos, the background is transformed, more into an element of the building that substantiates the photo than to complement or serve as a basis for its frame and composition. On observing it closely, the spectator can find connections between what appears to be the central focus of the photograph and the nature of the site, whose distinguishing features have been hewn from the evolution of mankind and society.
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RuBéN oRtiz
Rubén Ortiz Torres’ experience as a plastic artist has pushed him to cross traditional lines in terms of both the composition of his photographs and the materials he uses. Not content with merely capturing an im-age or creating something and then photo-graphing it, he intervenes the photograph itself to create an object of visual art or compose a new one using the same pro-cess. His vision encompasses general topics we can all identify with and matters closer to his heart, like the relationship between Mexico and the US and the identities cre-ated by states on either side of the border. It is in that cultural syncretism that tran-scends its countries of origin that Ortiz Torres finds inspiration.
livia coRoNa
Some looks are capable of opening doors. Livia Corona’s not only opens them but goes through them and transforms what is behind them. This photographer has earned greater recognition since she crossed the threshold of Mexican homes; not the traditional family abode, but the ever-expanding mass of housing estates that is altering the urban environment and the people who live in them.
Aware that the architecture of the physical space we inhabit influences our social and interpersonal relationships, Co-rona demolishes walls with her camera so we can glimpse at the stories, dreams, frus-trations, expectations, plans and emotions that hide behind them.lution of mankind and society.
GeRaRdo suteR
More than images, Gerardo Suter creates spaces, bodies and figures that will later assume their place in the final photograph. There is a three-dimensional quality about his work, created by the object being pho-tographed, its intervention and the final product.
Versed in the techniques of traditional photography, Suter’s hands-on experience gave him the tools to start composing his own chiaroscuros. Architecture is a re-curring theme in his work, not only as a subject but also as a medium, opening up possibilities for large-format photography, while leaving him more room for experi-mentation.
PedRo MeyeR
No list of contemporary Mexican pho-tographers would be complete without a mention of the name Pedro Meyer. His has been a lengthy career, during which he has immortalized decades of Mexican history, depicted a society, a country and its con-trasts with other parts of the world.
Describing his work is almost impos-sible because of the sheer variety of topics that have caught his keen, observant eye, turning everyday scenes and objects into works of art with a story to tell and in-tervening others. An artistic legacy, shored up by more than 200 exhibitions at galler-ies and museums in America, Europe and Asia.
Meyer’s personal journey has taken him from analog to digital and contrib-uted to the development of photographic concepts and processes. But he has taken time out to join forces with cultural insti-tutions and pass on his knowledge to bud-ding young Mexican photographers and encourage them to experiment.
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Nuevo vallaRta
The gateway to the Riviera Nayarit, Nuevo Vallarta is in the center of the Bay of Ban-deras, just 30 minutes from Puerto Val-larta. Over the last 15 years, it has become famous for its luxury hotels. In fact, it is ranked Mexico’s second most important destination in terms of the number of ho-tel rooms it offers. Ideal for taking a break with family, friends, business, or love part-ners, it is surrounded by natural estuaries and five kilometers of gold sand beaches, so you can get back to basics without sacrific-ing the conveniences of modern day living.
As far as infrastructure goes, Nuevo Vallarta boasts championship golf courses, luxury condos, Five Diamond hotels, ex-clusive restaurants, and two of the coun-try’s largest marinas: Marina Nuevo Val-larta and Marina Paradise Village, with docking capacity for 500 vessels.
Along with Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta hosts the International Gourmet Festival every November, when acclaimed Mexican and foreign chefs invade the ar-ea’s hotels and restaurants and come up with a medley of Mediterranean, Oriental, and Mexican inspired dishes.
RIVIERA NAYARIT,mexico’S pacific coaSt treaSure
Close your eyes and feel the warm, salt-scented breeze. Dig your feet into the soft sand. Listen to the murmur of the waves. On the horizon, the sun is sinking into the deep blue of the Pacific between emerald green mountains, against a sky tinged red and purple. This picture-perfect scene re-peats itself along the Riviera Nayarit’s 307 kilometers of coastline. One of the most in-teresting tourist destinations on Mexico’s west coast, this tropical paradise is the per-fect place to wind down, do business, or even take up permanent residence.
Nestled between the Pacific and the Sierra Madre Occidental, in the space of just a few years this tropical paradise has become one of the country’s most interesting tourist destinations, whether you want to relax, take up residence, or do business.
by pola sáenz The Riviera Nayarit covers the mu-nicipalities of Bahía de Banderas, Com-postela, San Blas, Santiago, and Tecuala. And because it is on the same latitude as Hawaii, it enjoys warm, semi-humid weather, with an average year-round tem-perature of 25° C.
Hemmed in by the Pacific and pro-tected by the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range, this tourism corridor is a kaleidoscope of possibilities. For a taste of supreme luxury, check into one of its five star or special category hotels like the Four Seasons, Grand Velas, or St. Regis; tee off at one of its fabulous golf courses designed
by celebrity golfers like Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and Robert Von Hagge; treat yourself to a day at the spa, or in-dulge in some gourmet cuisine.
What better way to familiarize your-self with Mexican culture than in unpar-alleled natural surroundings where you can swim with dolphins and sea lions, practice water sports or sport fishing, go horse riding along the seashore, or scuba dive in crystal clear waters? That is just a small sampling of what the so-called “Treasure of Mexico’s Pacific Coast” has to offer. As its slogan goes, you have to “Live it to believe it!”
Piaf, the Grand Velas Hotel’s signature French restaurant, deserves a special men-tion. The house specialties of this AAA Four Diamond award-winning establish-
ment include oysters in champagne sa-bayon, roast sea bass in black butter, duck confit in wine sauce, and its famous onion soup topped with a gruyere gratin.
sayulita
As the sun dips, the dark silhouettes of surfers can be seen bobbing up and down on the waves. In Sayulita, surfing is a re-ligion and it’s no coincidence this beach hosts one of the country’s most prestigious surfing tournaments every year.
Often referred to as the “Crown Jewel” of the Riviera Nayarit, Sayulita combines its small-town charm with an interesting and cosmopolitan selection of art galleries, Mexi-can craftwork, boutiques, and small bistros from which the irresistible smell of freshly baked bread wafts, not to mention a fine choice of cultural and ecotourism activities.
Fashionistas will simply adore the chic black pearl necklaces and Sixties’ rocker style leather bags at Les Gazelles, a bou-tique that has been the subject of writeups in several specialized publications.
As popular among lovebirds looking to tie the knot in an alternative setting as it is among surfers, in Sayulita all it takes is something as simple as a yoga class or a horse ride to remember that life is beautiful!ph
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The Lifestyle The Lifestyle
PuNta Mita
Looking out at the Pacific from the edge of Punta Mita is like staring into infinity, where the line of the horizon becomes blurred somewhere between the blue hues of the ocean and sky. One of Mexico’s classiest beach destinations, Punta Mita is frequented by the national and international Jet Set, come to refuel on silky sand and relax in the embrace of tranquil waters.
The sensation here is akin to that of living on an island. The peninsula stretches for 10 kilometers of virgin, white-sand beaches that contrast with the vibrant green of the surrounding mountains. On the beaches Coral del Risco and El An-clote, you can find luxury hotels and re-sorts, like the Four Seasons Resort and the St. Regis Resort, whose world class ameni-ties are guaranteed to exceed the expecta-tions of even the most seasoned of travel-ers. A holiday dream-come-true!
WetlandsNorth of Nayarit is part of the Marismas Nacionales Biosphere Reserve, an area of coastal wetlands that is home to some 20% of Mexico’s mangrove swamps and a great diversity of fauna, such as migratory birds and crocodiles.
Sierra de Vallejo State Biosphere ReserveThis inland reserve is the natural habitat of jaguars, wild boars, exotic birds, and trees like the Elephant Ear, Amate, and mahogany.
saN PaNcho
The hospitality of San Pancho can be sensed in its very name. Known as the “Cultural Capital” of the state of Nayarit, this town of picturesque facades has a strong local com-munity that works together on cultural, edu-cational, artistic, and environmental projects.
Its sun-kissed beaches, also popular among surfers, are perfect for watching the beautiful sunsets of the Nayarit coast, curling up on a blanket with a good book
or taking a well-deserved nap, while its streets are lined with small restaurants, traditional bakeries, inviting cafés and interesting galleries like Haus der Kunst, which is curated by Helmut Kohl and has a catalogue of pieces by established Mexi-can artists. If you’re a horse person, La Patrona polo club organizes national and international tournaments, as well as con-certs, art exhibitions, and private events.
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GolfiNG aGaiNst the Blue of the Pacific
aNd the GReeN of the sieRRa MadRe
The Riviera Nayarit has some of the most spectacular championship golf courses in Mexico.
Flamingos GolfThis par 72, 6,853-yard course offers roll-ing greens and fairways covered in Ber-muda grass, nine water obstacles, 43 sand traps, and a 230-yard practice range.
El TigreRated one of the most difficult in Mexico, this 18-hole, par 72 course opened in 2002 and was designed by America’s Robert Von Hagge. Nine artificial lakes and 144 sand traps over 7,329 yards –a challenge if ever there was one!
Club de Golf Nayar Located on the Gran Mayan complex, this nine hole, 6,936-yard course was designed by Jack Nicklaus and boasts magnificent views of the beach and the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains.
Campo Punta Mita PacíficoAnother Jack Nicklaus design, this course opened in 1999 and is famous for its tricky 3B “Tail of the Whale” hole, which just happens to be on a natural island 199 yards from tee off –the only green of its kind in the world!
Sierra de San Juan State Biosphere ReserveA woodland area that stretches to the foot-hills of the San Juan and Sangangüey vol-canoes.
Marina Riviera Nayarit at La Cruz de HuanacaxtleThis is one of the country’s largest ma-rinas, boasting 351 docks with state of the art facilities and a development that includes several condo towers, business premises and the Signature Tower, built on an artificial island near the yacht club.
NatuRal tReasuRes
Whale watching. Year-in, year-out, the humpback whale makes the journey to the Bay of Banderas to give birth. A natural spectacle not to be missed!
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The Lifestyle The Lifestylephoto hiroyuki takeda
GaMMaKatBlaCk GOld
We throw them out. Discard them without a second thought. Metals, glass, PET, Tet-rapack, and other solids. But when mixed with oils and blended at 200 revolutions a minute, they produce a biomass that can be turned into diesel.
It may sound like something out of a science fiction movie but Gammakat is a Mexican company that turns the solid waste produced by our cities into syn-thetic diesel of a quality that exceeds Eu-ropean standards and that can be used to fuel any type of motorized vehicle with-out the need to modify it. And because it’s free of sulfur and sulfates, it’s cleaner and more efficient than ordinary diesel and can extend the life of a vehicle’s en-gine by a third.
Synthetic diesel has similar properties to a light oil, but without the minerals, and is extracted using a technique known as “molecular rupturing,” which simulates the natural processes by which oil is pro-duced but at a faster rate.
MovaGRoIMPROvING the PROPeRtIeS OF that vItal lIqUId
In Northern Mexico, water has been dubbed that “vital liquid” and those who live there know that it’s no exaggeration. Moisés Vázquez López was born in this arid environment, in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. A lover of the great outdoors, he became an agronomist, until one day his work in the fields gave him an idea that later mushroomed into a company.
Vázquez invented a device that uses mag-netic fields to reorder the molecules in water
BasuRaMaeveRythING that’S thROwN OUt, COMeS BaCk
Garbage can form mountains literally over-night. Practically every type of waste can be found in Mexico’s landfills, especially plas-tics that will take decades if not centuries to degrade unless they are treated.
Concerned about the environmental impact of how we manage our waste, a group of young entrepreneurs got together to found Basurama, a company that or-ganizes campaigns for the separation of waste into recyclables and non-recyclables, collects it door to door, and measures the resulting positive environmental impact.
Technological innovation and the sep-aration and treatment of waste are Basura-ma’s priorities, while companies that apply its methods can obtain certification.
The future may not be so murky after all: just two years since it started out, seven of Basurama’s environmental projects have received support and are at the develop-mental phase.
www.basurama.com.mx
PROTECTING OUR WATER,
LAND, AND SkIESNegocios brings you eight of the hundreds of Mexican companies that are convinced
economic development doesn’t have to come at a price to the environment.
Mexico is becoming greener by the day. Driven by a sense of social commitment, creativity, teamwork, and a calling to serve others, these fledgling enterprises have suc-cessfully married the unlikely bed partners of economic development and environ-mental conservation.
These are small, new companies with innovative ideas on how to combat or re-verse environmental damage and global warming without sacrificing customer sat-isfaction or their bottom line.
Whether it’s eco-friendly manufactur-ing processes, practices, technology, prod-ucts, services, or logistics, they’re all work-ing to bring about positive change in their local communities and cities and are just a small sampling of what our very much greener future holds.
by patricia peña
agriculture sector, although farmers were initially loath to use them, afraid of los-ing their crops. But the results spoke for themselves and it wasn’t long before country clubs with golf courses and in-dustries that require large amounts of wa-ter were using the technology.
In less than a decade, the company has designed its fifth generation of pat-ented devices that can be used to treat household, institutional, and industrial water systems.
www.movagro.com
and restore them to their natural structure, so the water can be used more efficiently.
His company, Movagro, installs these “less salt” magnetic hydrodynamic devic-es in water systems to maximize cellular hydration, thereby allowing organisms to absorb all the nutrients in the water, while increasing the water retention of soil so it remains moist for longer and requires less watering and improving the solubility of salts in the water, which pre-vents minerals from becoming incrusted inside pipes and damaging them.
Due to the company’s location, Mova-gro’s devices were first adopted by the
Gammakat has chosen Mérida, Yu-catán, one of Mexico’s greenest cities, to build a plant with the capacity to trans-form 800 tons of garbage into 3.5 million liters of synthetic diesel.
www.gammakat.com
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80 November 2014
COREDOMa modern-day Vampire hunT
They may seem harmless when they’re turned off, but electrical appliances con-tinue to consume energy when they’re on standby. This “vampire draw” affects thousands of homes and businesses across the country, resulting in million-peso loss-es, especially for large companies.
In a bid to drive a stake through the heart of this stealthy killer, a group of young visionaries came up with a project for the installation of smart outlets, the monitoring of electricity consumption and technology that allows users to control their energy systems remotely via the In-ternet or their mobile phones.
Coredom began as a university project in Ensenada, Baja California, and with the help of an incubator for new companies made the transition to a company whose technology is fighting power phantoms in the hotel, residential, community, and in-dustrial sectors.
www.coredom.mx
WBPSTiCky BuSineSS
Most adhesives contain toxins and cor-rosive chemicals and tend to be highly flammable. Not so WBP’s water-based ad-hesives, 98% of which are toxin free and have a wide range of applications, from furniture, mattresses, footwear, and ther-moformed plastics to office and household use. In short, they’ll work on practically any surface you want to stick.
Boasting the same staying power as other adhesives, the advantage of WBP’s products is that they are made with re-newable resources that don’t pose a hu-man health or environmental threat. That translates into excellent cost-benefit ratios in the workplace, allowing companies to reduce costs in areas such as employee safety and hazards.
But when it comes to looking after the customer, WBP has gone one step further: its research team is devoted to coming up with product solutions for users.
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Negocios ProMéxico
Para ExPorTadorES
rEFLExioNES EN TorNo a la sustentabilidad energética en México
El aprovechamiento de las fuentes renovables de energía no es un tema novedoso. Distintos países alrededor del mundo se han preocupado por desarrollar tecnologías que puedan satisfacer la
demanda energética para depender menos de los combustibles fósiles y la energía nuclear. En la actualidad, se han propuesto metas a largo plazo en donde se define el porcentaje de energía que
se desea cubrir de la demanda total de cada país.
aPuNTES y rEFLExioNES Para concretar negocios
en el Mercado Peruano
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ENcuENTro 1:1,creatividad de sur a norte
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rEToS Para La iNTErNacioNaLizacióN
de las PyMes Mexicanas
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La iNTErNacioNaLizacióN dE SErvicioS:
exPeriencias del turisMo de reuniones en Francia
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Para Exportadores
deproméxico.
México es uno de los desti-nos más atractivos para las inversiones productivas. Más allá de sus ventajas competi-tivas basadas en su talento,
incentivos, posición geográfica, estabilidad y ambiente macroeconómico –por mencio-nar solo algunas–, el país ofrece un pano-rama propicio, impulsado por una serie de reformas estructurales que impactan a la industria nacional. Estas medidas incenti-van el establecimiento de nuevos negocios y apuntalan la competitividad del país.
La modernización de la industria ener-gética nacional incide en la explotación de hidrocarburos y en la generación de elec-tricidad; sin embargo, estos cambios tam-bién repercuten en el desarrollo de proyec-tos basados en energías renovables, por lo que se avecinan nuevos modelos de nego-cio e iniciativas verdes en el país.
México ha definido metas muy claras para mitigar los efectos adversos del cambio climático y la emisión de gases de efecto in-vernadero, por lo que la generación de elec-tricidad basada en fuentes limpias también es un componente muy importante. Las em-presas encargadas de proveer productos y servicios para este sector se beneficiarán en el corto y mediano plazos, por lo que el futu-ro de grandes empresas multinacionales, así como de las pymes mexicanas que participen en cadenas de valor será sumamente promi-sorio. En esta edición se incluye una reflexión
en torno a este tema, destacando algunas de las oportunidades que ofrece el país para el desarrollo de energías sustentables.
Aunado a ello, se publican colaboracio-nes relacionadas con la internacionaliza-ción de servicios. En concreto, se desglosa el caso de una empresa que ha podido in-cursionar con éxito en el mercado francés –y europeo en general–, a través de servicios relacionados con el turismo de reuniones.
También se incluye un texto que ofrece diversas sugerencias útiles dirigidas a las pymes mexicanas que desean acceder a nuevos mercados. Se enlistan varios pasos esenciales para el desarrollo adecuado de operaciones empresariales en el exterior.
Como parte de la estrategia de posicio-namiento y diversificación de mercados, se publica en esta edición un breve aná-lisis sobre las oportunidades que ofrece el mercado peruano para las inversiones provenientes de México. Los negocios existentes con este país deben explotarse al máximo. El impacto que han tenido los encuentros de ambos países en el marco de la Alianza del Pacífico han sido muy positivos para la relación bilateral. Auna-do a ello, ambas naciones tienen grandes complementariedades económicas y cul-turales que sin duda deben aprovecharse para incentivar los nexos comerciales en-tre ambas economías.
Esperamos que los contenidos de esta sección sean de su interés.
¡Bienvenidos a Negocios ProMéxico!
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BrEvEs
ProMéxico Global es uno de los eventos de promoción del comercio y la inversión más importantes de México. Consiste en una serie de conferencias magistrales, encuentros de negocios, paneles y talle-res que tienen el propósito de impulsar y facilitar la exportación, la internacionali-zación de empresas mexicanas y la atrac-ción de inversión extranjera directa. En ProMéxico Global concurren los esfuer-zos de distintas dependencias de gobier-no, cámaras empresariales, organismos internacionales y universidades.
Las actividades de ProMéxico Global giran en torno a cinco ejes temáticos:1. Exportación: Exponer la situación ac-
tual de las exportaciones y los retos que enfrentan las empresas mexicanas.
2. Internacionalización: presentar casos de éxito de internacionalización de empresas.
3. Inversión Extranjera: espacio para compartir casos de éxito en sectores estratégicos con expertos de empresas transnacionales.
COMERCIO EXTERIOR
Nestlé México inauguró la primera fá-brica cero agua del mundo. Con una inversión de más de 200 millones de pe-sos, la compañía disminuirá en 15% su consumo anual del líquido y reducirá a cero el consumo de agua de su fábrica de Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco –esto signifi-ca dejar de utilizar 1.6 millones de litros de agua diarios, extraídos del sistema de aguas del municipio.
La planta solo consumirá el agua obte-nida del proceso de producción de la leche en polvo. El líquido extraído de la leche fresca durante el proceso de evaporado se filtra y purifica, para obtener agua potable que se utiliza en los procesos de produc-ción y después se trata nuevamente para el riego de jardines y limpieza.
www.nestle.com.mx
SUSTENTABILIDAD
iNNovacióN a favor dEl amBiENtE
4. Creado en México: para lograr que la marca “Hecho en México” se convier-ta progresivamente en “diseñado, in-ventado y manufacturado en México”.
5. Prospectiva de México: presentar una visión interna, a través de indicadores macroeconómicos, y una visión externa de la situación actual y futura del país.
Durante 2014, ProMéxico Global se habrá llevado a cabo en ocho ciudades del país. Sus próximas sedes son Tijuana, Baja California, el 10 y 11 de noviem-bre, y Guadalajara, Jalisco, el 2 y 3 de diciembre.
www.promexicoglobal.com
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ProChile y dicenJalisco han unido esfuerzos para la realización de un encuentro entre empresarios creativos cuyo objetivo es construir puentes de colaboración productiva.
Compañías vinculadas a la generación de ideas y a la transformación de las mismas en productos tangibles y susceptibles de comercialización –por ejemplo, un objeto de diseño, una película animada o un tema musical– impulsan el intercambio entre naciones a fin de encontrar nuevas audien-cias y trascender el propio territorio.
El Encuentro 1:1 de industrias crea-tivas, organizado por el Consejo Promo-tor de Innovación y Diseño (dicenJalis-co) en colaboración con las oficinas de representación diplomática y comercial de diferentes países con actividades e interés en México, es un espacio de reunión que responde a la necesidad de los empresarios creativos de vincularse, aliarse y coproducir entre homólogos, así como de contar con una plataforma de encuentro con clientes potenciales –empresas productoras de bienes y ser-vicios que están en busca de identidad, publicidad o experiencias interactivas ad hoc con sus productos.
ENcuENtro 1:1,creatividad de sur a norte
por OMAR MAgAñA
En 2014, la oficina comercial en Gua-dalajara de la institución de promoción de exportaciones del Ministerio de Rela-ciones Exteriores del Gobierno de Chile, (ProChile) se suma al Encuentro 1:1. La entidad chilena convocó a empresarios de cuatro subsectores de las industrias creativas del país andino –diseño, anima-ción, videojuegos y música– interesados en viajar a Guadalajara para compartir experiencias e iniciar alianzas produc-tivas, ya sea con personas relacionadas con su misma disciplina o de forma cru-zada, con gente de otros ramos.
ProChile conformó una delegación de 18 empresarios que participarán en mesas de negocios donde se realizarán encuentros uno a uno, el 11 de noviembre de 2014.
En la comitiva chilena se encuentran Christian Erdmann, fundador de la tien-da de diseño Cómodo y miembro del gre-mio Chile Diseño; Oliver Knust, director del sello Discos Río Bueno y presidente fundador de la asociación gremial Indus-
tria Musical Independiente (IMI Chile); Marcelo Serres, confundador de la casa de videojuegos Bekho Team y represen-tante de la directiva de la Asociación Gre-mial Chilena de Empresas Desarrollado-ras de Videojuegos (VG Chile), y María Graciela Severino, CEO de la compañía de animación Gong! y vicepresidente de Animachi. Ellos dirigirán talleres relacio-nados con sus ámbitos profesionales que estarán abiertos a estudiantes mexicanos el 12 de noviembre de 2014.
Por parte de México, dos empresarios hablarán, ese mismo día, sobre el estado de las industrias creativas en el país. Uno de estos expositores es Mario Retana, di-rector de Administrarte, una consultora en temas legales y financieros especializada en empresas del sector, y ponente de The Dark Side of Creative Business y The Creative Mind Makes Business Decisions. Retana hará un recorrido por los momentos de-cisivos en los que un creativo que decidió convertirse en empresario, debe enfrentar-se a los formatos propios del aguerrido mundo de los negocios.
Por parte de Chile participarán las em-presas de videojuegos AHB Games, ePig Games y Amnesia Games; de animación Carburadores, Fábula, Pájaro, A tiempo y Spondylus; de diseño Dios Las Cría, Tacoalto, Alter Studio, Diseñadores Aso-ciados (DA) y Baobab, y de música Discos Río Bueno, Precordillera, Portaldisc, Que-ma su Cabeza y Eroica Producciones.
Los representantes de estas empresas buscarán establecer acuerdos comerciales beneficiosos para ellos y sus contrapar-tes mexicanas. Los chilenos reconocen el potencial de México como productor y exportador de contenidos creativos y ven condiciones propicias para la con-formación de sociedades productivas que permitan, a las compañías mexicanas y chilenas, explotar al máximo las capaci-dades desarrolladas hasta ahora en una industria de alto valor agregado.
dicenJalisco, por su parte, ha con-vocado a empresas mexicanas para que se sumen a este esfuerzo y encuentren, a través de sus homólogos chilenos, opor-tunidades para internarse en el mercado de habla hispana al sur del continente. El Encuentro 1:1 está dominado por un espíritu de reciprocidad, necesario para la conformación de alianzas de las que todos resulten ganadores.
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Como resultado del diálogo entre el sec-tor empresarial y el gobierno federal, el Consejo Coordinador Empresarial (CCE) suscribió en junio de 2014 un convenio de colaboración con la Comisión Federal para la Protección de Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) para facilitar la exportación de productos mexicanos.
La Estrategia de Promoción a la Expor-tación de COFEPRIS reducirá costos admi-nistrativos por casi 2,000 millones de pesos y apoyará a empresas exportadoras de alimen-tos, bebidas, tabaco, productos para el aseo, perfumería y belleza, entre otras.
A través de nuevos esquemas para redu-cir trámites, una guía para el exportador y la operación de una ventanilla de atención especializada, más empresas mexicanas –en especial pymes– participarán en las cadenas globales de valor e incidirán en el fomento al consumo y la generación de más y mejo-res empleos, además de impulsar la atrac-ción de inversiones productivas.
COMERCIO EXTERIOR
La empresa mexicana Eat Limmo, ubi-cada en Monterrey, Nuevo León, fue se-leccionada por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) como una de las 16 startups o compañías pioneras más inno-vadoras de América Latina.
Reagletech desarrolla un proceso para aprovechar partes nutritivas de las frutas que normalmente se desperdician, como cáscaras y semillas, y convertirlas en ingredientes para la industria de ali-mentos procesados.
Mediante este proceso, la empresa ha logrado reducir 40% el uso de huevo y grasas en la industria de panificación, sin cambiar el sabor ni el olor del pan, y mejorando su textura y tiempo de vida en anaquel.
www.eatlimmo.com
ALIMENTOS
uNa mExicaNa ENtrE las más iNNovadoras
colaBoracióN Para PromovEr ExPortacioNEs
Al cierre de septiembre de 2014 se ha-bían otorgado casi 4,000 certificados para la exportación de libre venta con una vi-gencia de cinco años (antes solo eran por
un año). También se extendió su validez a todos los países del orbe.
www.cce.org.mx
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Para Exportadores Para Exportadoresfotos archivo
Desde 2008, Strategy & Events MICE, S.A. de C.V. organiza eventos corporativos. Es una pyme que pertenece a la industria del turismo de reuniones –o a la industria MICE (referente a reuniones, incentivos, convencio-nes, congresos, exposiciones y ferias), como se conoce en el mercado internacional.
Strategy & Events MICE ofrece sus servicios a empresas multinacionales esta-blecidas en México y en otros países. Tiene alianzas estratégicas con organismos pú-blicos, privados y mixtos, además de múl-tiples certificaciones. Desde un inicio ha participado en programas y asesorías para elaborar sus planes de negocio, así como en congresos nacionales relacionados con el turismo de reuniones que ofrece la Se-cretaría de Turismo (Sectur) para identifi-car destinos competitivos.
la iNtErNacioNalizacióN dE sErvicios: experiencias del turismo de reuniones en Francia
La internacionalización de empresas que ofrecen servicios
turísticos y de convenciones no es sencilla. La experiencia local, la obtención de certificaciones y la
profesionalización permanente son algunos factores representativos.
Su participación en nuevos mercados está determinada por las sinergias institucionales, así como por la experiencia y conocimiento
de las necesidades puntuales de los compradores, además de la consolidación de un mercado
local, entre otros factores.
por LIzBETh zAMUDIO*
tiene un gran potencial para la industria MICE establecida en el extranjero con destinos representativos en Baja Califor-nia Sur (Los Cabos), Ciudad de México, Guanajuato (León), Jalisco (Guadalajara y Puerto Vallarta), Nayarit, Nuevo León (Monterrey), Oaxaca, Querétaro, Quinta-na Roo, Yucatán y Zacatecas.
La competencia en eL exteriorLa participación en ferias y exposiciones internacionales ha sido fundamental para el crecimiento de Strategy & Events MICE. Destacan EIBTM en Barcelona, IFTM Top Resa de París y varios eventos locales en Estados Unidos en los que la empresa ha comercializado sus servicios.
Sin embargo, asegurar un espacio en los eventos internacionales no es suficien-te. Cada mercado es distinto. Por ejemplo, en Estados Unidos hay diferencias con-tundentes dependiendo del comprador –hispanos, afroamericanos, asiáticos y anglosajones–, pero por lo general, inde-pendientemente del mercado, los eventos y convenciones se realizan dentro del país, lo que contrasta con la mayoría de los países europeos; generalmente, en Europa las convenciones y eventos empresariales se organizan fuera de la región –en par-ticular en Asia y en el sur de África, y en pocos destinos en América Latina, entre los que destacan Brasil y Colombia.
Debido a lo anterior, Strategy & Events MICE decidió impulsar su proyecto de inter-nacionalización dentro del mercado europeo, y para ello emprendió las siguientes tareas: • Deteccióndeprogramasdeapoyogu-
bernamental para la exportación e in-ternacionalización de pymes mexicanas.
• Generacióndeunplandemercadotec-nia enfocado al mercado europeo.
• Cambiode imagen corporativa (logo,página en Internet, presencia de marca y herramientas de venta).
• Identificaciónde feriasyexposicionesen Europa, así como de medios de pu-blicidad en Francia.
• Selección de tres destinos enMéxicopara promover sus servicios.
• Detección de eventos para establecercontactos en México y enfatizar su presencia.
• Contratación de personal de origeneuropeo.
• Contacto con organismos francesesvinculados con el sector de la empre-sa y alianzas estratégicas en México y Francia.
cada mercado es distinto. Por ejemplo, en Estados unidos hay diferencias contundentes dependiendo del comprador –hispanos, afroamericanos, asiáticos y anglosajones–, pero por lo general, independientemente del mercado, los eventos y convenciones se realizan dentro del país, lo que contrasta con la mayoría de los países europeos; generalmente, en Europa las convenciones y eventos empresariales se organizan fuera de la región.
• Apertura de una oficina comercial enParís, Francia.En una primera etapa, fue determi-
nante afiliarse con las cámaras de comer-cio de países europeos establecidas en México (como la Cámara Franco-Mexi-cana de Comercio e Industria y Empre-Bask, entre otras).
Después, la empresa participó en mi-siones comerciales a Europa con apoyos ofrecidos por la Secretaría de Economía, el programa AL-Invest IV de Eurocentro (Comisión Europea), el Consejo de Pro-moción Turística de México (CPTM) y la Cámara Franco Mexicana de Comercio e Industria. Se hicieron contactos, com-paraciones y estudios para identificar el mercado y conocer sus expectativas, y se detectó lo siguiente:• Económicamente hablando, la región
Île de France –en la que París es sede– es la quinta región más rica del mundo.
• Entre sus clústeres destacan la indus-tria aeroespacial, automotriz, logística, tecnologías de la información, moda y diseño, entre otras.
• Hay más de 400 empresas francesasque han invertido en México.
La afiliación con asociaciones inter-nacionales como Meeting Professionals International (MPI) e International As-sociation of Hispanic Meeting Profes-sionals (IAHMP), entre otras, ha sido un factor importante para potenciar el des-empeño de Strategy & Events MICE en el exterior. Las sinergias con la IAHMP en Estados Unidos han servido para co-nocer a detalle las reuniones que se rea-lizan en Albuquerque, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas y San Diego por mencionar algunos destinos y se logró atraer con éxito a grupos de expertos y periodistas extranjeros a Guadalajara y Zacatecas.
La organización de eventos corpora-tivos, de congresos, convenciones y expo-siciones a nivel nacional e internacional ha sido permanente. Y es que México
• Franciatieneunavastaexperienciaenel mercado MICE y es una excelente puerta de entrada a Europa.
• Existengrandes expectativaspara lle-var grupos, congresos, convenciones y ferias al exterior. El proyecto de internacionalización
de Strategy & Events MICE concluyó en octubre de 2013. Uno de sus principales retos en el exterior ha sido el poco o nulo conocimiento de empresas exportadoras de este tipo de servicios. Sin embargo, es imperativo realizar un plan de negocios que esté definido estratégicamente.
Con el apoyo de ProMéxico, durante 2014 Strategy & Events MICE participó en las ferias Meedex International y IFTM Top Resa realizadas en París, Francia. También recibió asesoría y acompañamiento con ac-tores importantes de la industria en ese país. El CPTM facilitó la participación de la em-presa en ambos eventos, además de EIBTM en Barcelona donde impulsará la comercia-lización de sus servicios. Con apoyo de Pro-México, la empresa abrirá sus oficinas en París, Francia en marzo de 2015. N
*Directora General de Strategy & Events MICE.
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La Agencia Internacional de Energía (AIE) establece que la energía renovable provie-ne de los procesos naturales que se repo-nen a un ritmo mayor que su consumo y emanan de fuentes hidráulicas, geotérmi-cas, solares, eólicas y oceánicas, así como de combustibles y residuos.
Según Renewables 2014 Global Status Report, el consumo de energía renovable ha ido aumentando poco a poco, hasta alcanzar una tasa anual de 2.9%. Países como Alemania, Brasil, Dinamarca, Espa-ña, Canadá y Reino Unido han desarro-llado tecnologías que les han permitido utilizar diversas fuentes renovables, funda-mentalmente para la generación de energía eléctrica y aunque su participación en la producción mundial aún es menor, estas energías representan una opción para el suministro eléctrico, alcanzando a cubrir en 2013 aproximadamente 22% de la de-manda de energía mundial.
De cauerdo con información del Pro-grama de las Naciones Unidas para el Medio Ambiente (PNUMA), en 2012 Mé-xico invirtió 2,500 millones de dólares en energías renovables –equivalente a 1% de la inversión mundial total. En Méxi-co existen grandes oportunidades para la generación de energía utilizando fuentes renovables. El país tiene un potencial de 70% en el nivel de insolación, alta inten-sidad de vientos, capacidad para instalar plantas mini-hidráulicas –instalaciones con una potencia menor o igual a 10 me-gawatts (MW)–, y actualmente ocupa el cuarto lugar a nivel internacional en ge-neración de energía geotérmica.
Los recursos naturales de México son enormes. Pero además de esto, el costo de manufactura en el país es uno de los más
rEflExioNEs EN torNo a la sustentabilidad energética en méxico
por jESúS CORTéS*
El aprovechamiento de las fuentes renovables de energía no es un tema novedoso. Distintos países alrededor del mundo se han preocupado por desarrollar tecnologías que puedan satisfacer la demanda energética para depender menos de los combustibles fósiles y la energía nuclear. En la actualidad, se han propuesto metas a largo plazo en las que se define el porcentaje de energía que se desea cubrir de la demanda total de cada país.
competitivos a nivel mundial, 21% menor que en Estados Unidos y 11% más bajo que en China. De acuerdo con cifras de la Secretaría de Economía (SE), Méxi-co ofrece 12.9% de ahorro en costos de manufactura para la industria de baterías avanzadas en el sector de energías verdes, en comparación con Estados Unidos.
México cuenta con 14,891 MW de ca-pacidad instalada de generación eléctrica basada en energías renovables, incluyendo grandes hidroeléctricas, lo que representa casi 25% de la capacidad total de genera-ción eléctrica del país.
Actualmente, tanto en el sector pú-blico como en el privado, se busca fo-mentar la implementación de tecnologías que impulsen el crecimiento gradual de energías verdes, con el fin de reducir los impactos ambientales por la quema de combustibles fósiles y consolidar a Mé-xico como un país sustentable en temas de energía en el mediano plazo.
en busca de La sustentabiLidad energéticaLas alianzas entre empresas y universidades son fundamentales. Un número considerable de investigaciones en tecnología necesitan apoyo económico para conseguir su viabi-lidad e incluso para su comercialización. En 2010 la UNESCO reportó que en Mé-xico hay 18% más graduados en ingeniería, manufactura y construcción per cápita que en Estados Unidos, lo que se traduce en un área de oportunidad importante para los es-tudiantes y las instituciones académicas, así como para las empresas.
La Secretaría de Energía (SENER), el Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) y la Secretaría de Educación
Pública (SEP), pusieron en marcha en sep-tiembre de 2014, el Programa Estratégico de Formación en Recursos Humanos en Ma-teria Energética, con el propósito de apro-vechar y potenciar el talento que impulse el crecimiento, desarrollo y dinamismo del sector energético, atendiendo la demanda de mayor complejidad tecnológica en la indus-tria de los hidrocarburos y en la transforma-ción a energías limpias y renovables.
De acuerdo con el CONACYT, se asignó una inversión inicial de más de 1,627 millones de pesos a través del Fondo Sectorial de Sustentabilidad Ener-gética para la creación de tres Centros Mexicanos de Innovación en Energías Renovables, que agrupan a institucio-nes académicas, empresas nacionales y
extranjeras. Con esta iniciativa, se apro-vecharán las energías renovables con el fin de alcanzar la meta propuesta para el año 2035: que 40% del consumo en el país provenga de fuentes renovables.
Una de las organizaciones empresa-riales más preocupadas por el uso ade-cuado de la energía renovable en Méxi-co es American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico (AMCHAM). A través de su Comité de Desarrollo Sustentable, AM-CHAM promueve acciones y proyectos viables que ayudan a las empresas a res-ponder a las exigencias actuales en los ámbitos ambiental y económico, propor-cionando información y herramientas úti-les con el fin de que sus actividades cum-plan con los retos que imperan en materia
de desarrollo sustentable, revitalizando el crecimiento económico y haciendo uso eficiente de los recursos naturales.
Como parte de su compromiso para ayudar a transitar hacia una economía verde, desde 2011 AMCHAM ha sido so-cio estratégico del Acuerdo por un México Sostenible, documento creado y elabo-rado por Negocios Verdes, una iniciativa del Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM), a través del Instituto Global para la Soste-nibilidad, que busca comprometer al go-bierno de México a diseñar e instrumentar políticas públicas encaminadas a lograr un desarrollo sostenible en el país.
Uno de los puntos esenciales de este documento es la promoción de las fuen-tes renovables de energía como base de la
revolución verde, a través de acciones que prioricen la eficiencia energética, apoyen el desarrollo de energías renovables y el uso de materiales sostenibles en maquinaria e infraestructura, entre otros.
El fomento de las fuentes de energía renovable conlleva múltiples beneficios. Por un lado, mitiga los efectos negativos en el medio ambiente; por otro , contribu-ye a la diversificación de energía eléctrica con un impacto positivo en la seguridad energética, aprovechando el amplio y va-lioso potencial en recursos naturales que nos brinda nuestro país. N
*Director General de Kabyax y Líder de
Políticas Públicas del Comité de Desarrollo
Sustentable de AMCHAM, México.
actualmente, tanto en el sector público como en el privado, se busca fomentar la implementación de tecnologías que impulsen el crecimiento gradual de energías verdes, con el fin de reducir los impactos ambientales por la quema de combustibles fósiles y consolidar a méxico como un país sustentable en temas de energía en el mediano plazo.
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aPuNtEs y rEflExioNEs para concretar negocios en el mercado peruano
La comunidad empresarial establecida en México y Perú debe explorar las ventajas de la complementariedad comercial entre ambos países. Existen múltiples factores que inciden en la internacionalización exitosa de empresas mexicanas en el mercado peruano. Sin embargo, es urgente cambiar la percepción que se tiene sobre ese país y destacar que existen excelentes oportunidades, sobre todo para las pymes mexicanas.
por LUIS MARTíN RODRígUEz SILvA*
que sean culturalmente afines, donde el producto o servicio sea reconocido y se tenga un buen posicionamiento de marca, además de la existencia de un ambiente fa-vorable para los negocios.
En este contexto, dada su extensiva co-munidad hispana (y mexicana), además de su cercanía geográfica, para la empresas mexicanas parece ser menos arriesgado con-centrarse en Estados Unidos. También puede pensarse en Europa por su entorno multicul-tural y por su respeto a la diversidad, además de factores como el poder adquisitivo de su población, lo cual sin duda facilitaría el em-prendimiento de una iniciativa comercial.
Sin embargo, México debe reforzar sus vínculos comerciales con América Latina, sobre todo porque los productos y servicios mexicanos son admirados y muy bien recibi-dos en los países de la región. Entre los países de América Latina hay algunos con los que se puede tener un vínculo más estrecho, pero que han sido desatendidos históricamente.
El mercado latinoamericano es suma-mente diverso y tiene sus peculiaridades. Casi todos los países de la región han cre-cido de forma modesta durante los últimos años; sin embargo, algunos se han posi-cionado ante la comunidad internacional como economías sólidas y de rápido creci-miento. Tal es el caso de Perú. Este país ha registrado tasas de crecimiento por encima de 6% anual y ha explotado su imagen en el exterior de forma sumamente positiva. Se espera que esta tendencia de crecimien-to se mantenga, aunque probablemente de forma menos acelerada, debido a la aper-
Tanto México como Perú tienen co-nexión directa por el Océano Pacífico. Dada la complicada geografía peruana es más difícil introducir productos desde paí-ses vecinos como Argentina y Brasil que desde otras latitudes. Hay empresas mexi-canas que han podido desplazar la pro-veeduría de empresas instaladas en Brasil, Estados Unidos y Corea del Sur dado que su abastecimiento era mucho más conve-niente y rápido si provenía de México.
En cuanto al marco regulatorio aplica-ble a la relación bilateral, el reciente Acuer-do de Integración Comercial entre México y Perú permite la libre circulación de más de 12,000 productos. Además, los nexos comerciales entre ambos países se han po-tenciado con la Alianza del Pacífico.
México tiene una vasta oferta exporta-ble, respaldada por una planta productiva competitiva a nivel global. Sus organismos reguladores y medidas de control son acep-tados y reconocidos en América Latina.
México y Perú tienen múltiples simi-litudes culturales, además de que el país andino lleva años creciendo por enci-ma de la media regional y mundial, por lo que requiere seguir impulsando sus vínculos comerciales y de negocios con otras regiones.
Este es el momento perfecto para in-cursionar en el mercado peruano y dejar de subestimarlo. Uno de los mayores im-pedimentos para acceder a este mercado es que la mayor parte de las empresas mexicanas exportadoras –o con vocación exportadora– siguen desinformadas y consideran que esta economía es inferior o poco productiva. Esta perspectiva debe modificarse con el propósito de detectar y explotar las oportunidades de negocio existentes en ambas naciones. N
*Gerente de Nuevos Negocios, Grupo
Empresarial EISEI, Perú.
Perú ha registrado tasas de crecimiento por encima de 6% anual y ha explotado su imagen en el exterior de forma sumamente positiva. se espera que esta tendencia de crecimiento se mantenga, aunque probablemente de forma menos acelerada, debido a la apertura comercial del país, al fortalecimiento de su planta productiva, así como a las crecientes necesidades de la población que incentivan el mercado interno.
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Para que una empresa traslade sus procesos productivos a otro país o abra una oficina comercial en el extranjero para diversificar sus mercados, se requiere mucha dedicación. A menos que se trate de una compañía re-conocida a nivel internacional –como las grandes firmas cementeras, panificadoras o de servicios telefónicos de México–, la incur-sión en nuevos mercados implica práctica-mente comenzar desde cero.
Al buscar nuevos mercados en el exte-rior, va implícito el enfrentamiento a nue-vas culturas, a formas distintas de negociar e incluso la necesidad de romper paradig-mas con el fin de ganarse la confianza del mercado meta. Por ello, cuando se comien-za con la internacionalización de una com-pañía, se sugiere incursionar en mercados
tura comercial del país, al fortalecimiento de su planta productiva, así como a las crecientes necesidades de la población que incentivan el mercado interno.
¿Por qué Perú y no Argentina, Brasil o Colombia? Históricamente, estos tres últi-mos países han tenido mayor resonancia y dinamismo internacional, además que también tienen mayor población e ingreso per cápita que Perú. Sin embargo, las eco-nomías de Brasil y Argentina han tenido coyunturas económicas poco favorables desde hace un par de años; son mercados aún renuentes a la apertura, que han mos-trado un alto grado de proteccionismo e incluso, por orden explícita de sus gobier-nos, han dejado de cumplir con varios acuerdos comerciales.
Entre 2001 y 2013, el comercio entre México y Perú ha crecido casi seis veces. En 2001 ascendía a 314 millones de dólares mientras que para el cierre de 2013 registra-ba montos cercanos a 1,818 millones de dó-lares. En el intercambio entre ambos países, México tuvo un superávit de más de 1,300 millones de dólares –lo cual puede ser una muestra de cuán receptivo es el mercado pe-ruano hacia los bienes y servicios mexicanos.
Perú es un destino próspero. Existe un gran optimismo en su población, así como en los tomadores de decisiones, quienes re-conocen el buen momento que atraviesa la economía del país. El aprovisionamiento es limitado en algunas sectores económicos e industrias como la minera, agrícola, hotele-ra, de la construcción, automotriz, farmacéu-tica, textil e incluso tecnologías de la infor-mación, aún requieren de la importación de insumos clave para cubrir sus necesidades.
De este modo, el mercado peruano repre-senta una gran oportunidad para la industria mexicana, sobre todo para empresas que co-mienzan con su actividad exportadora. Las pymes mexicanas encontrarán en Perú un mercado óptimo para apuntalar sus negocios.
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rEtos Para la iNtErNacioNalizacióN de las pymes mexicanas
Para incursionar con éxito en los mercados internacionales es de suma relevancia conocer minuciosamente cuáles son los requisitos para comercializar un producto. Los trámites aduaneros no son el único factor representativo. Las pymes mexicanas deben desarrollar estrategias integrales que consideren múltiples factores antes de incursionar en nuevos mercados.
por LAURA pATRICIA vALDéS NAvA*
En México, las pequeñas y medianas em-presas (pymes) son agentes productivos clave para el crecimiento y desarrollo económico. Más de 50% del producto interno bruto (PIB) nacional se consti-tuye por lo que estas empresas generan. Las pymes son un eslabón fundamental en la economía nacional. Según cifras del Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) casi siete de cada 10 empresas exportadoras en México son pymes; sin embargo, solo uno de cada 10 dólares exportados corresponde a las pymes.
Las pymes requieren apoyos guber-namentales, asesorías especializadas y orientación sobre los programas de fi-nanciamiento y los servicios que estén di-rigidos al exportador, sobre todo cuando tienen un proyecto consolidado y están preparadas para internacionalizarse.
Antes de incursionar en nuevos mer-cados, las empresas deben identificar cuáles son las características y el núme-ro de contrincantes o competidores en el mercado objetivo. Las reglas del juego son distintas en cada país y en el terreno de la comercialización sucede lo mismo.
Primero, debe saberse qué elementos tiene la empresa, es decir, cuáles son las características del producto o servicio, qué volumen de producción se tendrá para exportar (en su caso), además de cumplir con los requisitos o certificacio-nes de calidad e innovación necesarios.
Los tratos comerciales deben ser con-fiables. No deben exagerarse montos o comprometerse volúmenes que no po-drán entregarse en tiempo y forma. De cualquier forma, la empresa interesada en adquirir el producto ofertado sabrá si la empresa cumplirá o no con los mon-tos de producción acordados, así como con la calidad del producto. Para evitar confrontaciones legales (y económicas) innecesarias siempre es válido negarse, aclarando los alcances reales de la em-presa, en lugar de comprometer imposi-bles, lo cual a su vez traería resultados desastrosos.
En general, al evaluar el desempeño de las pymes, es muy común identificar la existencia de una enorme ventana de oportunidad en el ámbito de la merca-dotecnia. No solo se trata del embalaje de productos o de su presentación ade-cuada. En algunos casos se carece de una estrategia de mercadeo integral, lo cual limita su participación en el exterior.
3. Identificar el mercado objetivo para que las estrategias de la empresa sean integrales y se encaminen a satisfa-cer las expectativas de los clientes. La suma de múltiples factores hará que la estrategia sea verdaderamente competitiva.
4. La estructura organizacional de la empresa debe estar determinada en función de la atención al cliente. El funcionamiento de una estructura empresarial a nivel local es distinto al de una empresa que opera en el exte-rior o que tiene actividades comercia-les en otras latitudes.
5. Además de identificar la oferta y de-manda aplicable para el producto o servicio, debe conocerse cuál es el marco legal aplicable con el propósi-to de agilizar su comercialización en otros mercados.
6. Promover una estrategia comercial para que la empresa sea líder en el mer-cado y se perciba como una pyme de clase mundial. No debe descuidarse la imagen y promoción, a pesar de que se trate de un mercado tradicional.
Las pymes deben canalizar esfuerzos para desarrollar una estrategia compe-titiva integral que abarque aspectos re-levantes de la comercialización y que se acompañe del conocimiento de las for-talezas y debilidades de la empresa, así como de sus competidores.
El diagnóstico empresarial al interior y exterior de las empresas se convierte en un eslabón clave para el impulso de las organizaciones.
Aunado a lo anterior, las pymes deben considerar factores clave como: • ¿Cuáleslademandaesperadadelpro-
ducto?• ¿Quéposicióncompetitivatienelaem-
presa en ese mercado?• ¿Eslaempresasustentableoresponsa-
ble con el medio ambiente?• ¿Ofreceproductosdebuenacalidado
podrían ser desplazados fácilmente?• ¿Secumplentodaslasespecificaciones
y/o certificaciones necesarias?• ¿Ofrece ventajas competitivas en
relación con la calidad o precio de otros productos encontrados en el mismo mercado?
• ¿Tienelaempresaunaestructuraor-ganizacional adecuada para atender las exigencias de los clientes en otros mercados? A continuación se enlistan algunos
temas que deben considerarse antes de tratar de posicionar un producto o servi-cio en el exterior. 1. Cumplir con las obligaciones tribu-
tarias dependiendo de las actividades contempladas en el Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC). Este docu-mento brinda presencia en el territo-rio local, nacional e internacional.
2. Revisar con detenimiento cuáles son todos los apoyos y servicios que se han destinado para facilitar el co-mercio exterior. Solicitar asesoría de ProMéxico –hay 30 oficinas en el país con representantes y personal dis-puestos a atender dudas– y participar en las actividades del Instituto Nacio-nal del Emprendedor (INADEM). Si el proyecto necesita financiamiento, acudir con representantes de la ban-ca de desarrollo (Bancomext o Nafin) para recibir orientación.
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7. Definir el agente o apoderado adua-nal con quien se trabajará cotidiana-mente. El Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) tiene un padrón de personas físicas autorizadas por la Secretaria de Hacienda y Crédito Pú-blico (SHCP) para promover el des-pacho de las mercancías de acuerdo con los diferentes regímenes aduane-ros existentes.
8. Conocer los mecanismos logísticos más adecuados para exportar pro-ductos, considerando tiempo, trámi-tes y permisos, requisitos de entrada, entre otros factores. La logística es un componente crucial que debe afi-narse constantemente.
antes de incursionar en nuevos mercados, las empresas deben identificar cuáles son las características y el número de contrincantes o competidores en el mercado
objetivo. Las reglas del juego son distintas en cada país y en el terreno de la comercialización sucede lo mismo. Primero, debe saberse qué elementos tiene la empresa, es decir, cuáles son las características del producto o servicio, qué
volumen de producción se tendrá para exportar (en su caso), además de cumplir con los requisitos o certificaciones de calidad e innovación necesarios.
9. Elegir la vía de transporte más conve-niente de acuerdo con las necesidades del producto, sin olvidar los requisi-tos solicitados por el cliente.
10. Comunicarse permanentemente con el comprador. Debe darse seguimien-to puntual a cada pedimento. Los envíos deben complementarse con in-formación clara para el cliente. Nun-ca debe perderse comunicación entre ambas partes. N
*Internacionalista egresada del Campus
Universitario Siglo XXI (incorporado a
la Universidad Autónoma del Estado de
México).
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