Mexico is a world power in the export of household appliances and goods such as refrigerators and washing machines, as well as air conditioners and vacuum cleaners. There is a state, Nuevo Leon, which alone is home to 40% of the strategic supply of the sector, being the number one in the manufacturer of refrigerators and air conditioners in the country. This provides about 33,000 direct jobs in the state alone, but everything suggests that this figure may increase in view of the investments that large companies are making in Mexican lands.
The pandemic caused a large number of people around the world to spend more time in their homes and less time in offices and production plants, making the refurbishment of their new places for the home office a priority: the house has to function optimally if people spend more hours in it.
Minor appliances need more attention
But these two aspects are not the only reasons to expect a boom in the sector. Another, is that there is growing interest from companies from different geographies in Mexico being the place where not only large household appliances are manufactured, but also that it is possible to build here minor household appliances such as coffee makers, blenders, mixers, irons or hair straighteners, air fryers, extractors and juicers; this pushed demand upwards, which according to statistics and forecasts implies a great opportunity for factories that are able to offer the services and components to provide and develop these lines of business.
"We have received calls from Canadian and South American companies, companies looking for minor household appliances that used to be imported from Asia, but due to the pandemic and the reduction of capacity in the ports, which in that region work at a third of their capacity, it is very difficult to obtain them," reveals the director of the Clúster de Electrodomésticos de Nuevo León (Nuevo Leon Appliance Cluster, CLELAC), Yoelli Rojas.
"There is a shortage in accessing containers, whose prices are very high, so this opportunity opens up for Mexico to be able to assemble these minor appliances," adds the CLELAC director.
These events made it possible for this sector, in Nuevo León alone, to close 2021 with a growth of between 15 and 20%, including exports and sales in the domestic market. The year 2022 looks even better due to sustained demand.
Opportunity for Metal Mechanics
Yoelli Rojas insists that a sector as noble and constant as household appliances and minor appliances deserves sustained attention from the supply chain. It is not for nothing that this industrial branch was the first to enter the maquiladora program when Mexico opened up as a world manufacturing center.
For this reason, CLELAC raises its hand in the voice of its director: "The most common metal-mechanical processes that our industry consumes the most are machining, stamping, bending and welding, but it happens that we do not buy the large volumes that, for example, the automotive industry does. We need to have these metal-mechanic suppliers developed in the country, so that they turn to us because when there is a crisis in the automotive sector and their sales drop, these suppliers automatically come back to us, and we welcome them with open arms".
Through the Cluster it is possible to support these suppliers to obtain the certifications of home appliances and thus be able to sell as Tier 1 and Tier 2 to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). CLELAC already has 76 associates, among them there are OMS but also micro, small and medium-sized companies that have been invited to develop their quality levels due to the level of their processes.
CLELAC has programs available that promote the growth and quality of these MSMEs as well as an annual business meeting that helps identify suppliers from all over Mexico. Added to this is its presence at FABTECH Mexico, where it will be able to channel much of the interest and possibilities in this sector for a large number of suppliers.
"It is important that they approach us because we are the only cluster of its kind in the country, we know the needs and best practices and the more we are the more we can share and the value chain can continue to grow," says Rojas, who emphasizes the fact that this industry has the support of the triple helix –industry, government and academia–, which strengthens the competitiveness of the sector in Mexico.