Scale with Sergio: Opening a New Manufacturing Facility Isn’t Easy
No matter how much experience or expertise a manufacturing company has, expanding operations is never easy. Even if they’ve done it before. Javier Gallegos, General Manager for Trans-Matic Precision Metal, shared the company’s journey in opening a new facility in Monterrey, Mexico.
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Trans-Matic specialized metal stamping capabilities required additional support. They had previously opened a factory in Suzhou, China, but working in Mexico was different. Gallegos said, “I started the planning and process in 2014, and we opened two years later. Change was necessary and hard.”
Employees were initially concerned about losing their job, but Gallegos said the company approached the change with transparency. “We were open and transparent with employees. We let them know we were keeping everyone on board and presented them the new capabilities and business drivers for why we were opening a new facility,” he shared.
That facility boasts 55,000 square of space and has 23 stamping presses. From the location, employees manufacture, develop tools, prototype, and more.
In the process of launching a new location, Gallegos provided some key insights. He stated, “Be clear with intentions. Plan for what you need throughout the process.”
Since the successful opening of the factor, Gallegos has also established innovative ways to track and monitor production. He added, “We focus on several metrics. Safety and quality dashboards are included as well as metrics on production and how they connect to goals.”
For any company, taking on such a massive project can be daunting. With the right leadership, approach, and strategy, companies can find success no matter how they expand.
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