Mexico is called "El Dorado" for Italian packaging machinery
"When we landed in Mexico City in 1997, we were the only ones producing bottle caps. About 50 million dollars a year. At that time, cola and beer, which were produced by multinationals that had relocated years before, were produced with the help of SMEs already in Mexico. The final product cost less, approximately half the price of mineral water, strictly imported products. Today, however, the market is changing, we need more and more intelligent and flexible solutions, which many of our SMEs often have. The problem is getting them here."
According to what Richard Lesce, the General Manager of the "Closure Division" and packaging of Sacmi Imola (1.3 million dollars of turnover, of which more than 300 million dollars are only food packaging and 4 thousand the number of employees) mentions, the Italian industry of machinery for the packaging of food, beverages, detergents, pharmaceuticals and perfumes for years found its "El Dorado in Mexico". A sector that knows no crisis, exports 90% of production and still has great potential for growth, as confirmed by a study of the Mexican market for the packaging segment recently published by ICE.
In 2014, the global market for the sector's industry is projected to reach US$35.9 billion and Chinese industries should account for around 42% of the additional demand for technology and equipment.
In Mexico alone, large industries purchase close to US$500 million worth of packaging and bottling machinery each year. The industry will continue to grow by 5% per year and Italy is a leading supplier with a 30% market share, higher than the 22.8% of the U.S. and 16% of Germany.
why Mexico? A happy combination. A country that is the sum of the areas of Spain, France, Germany, UK and Italy, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, cereals and pulses, which has always boosted the presence of local SMEs in processing and packaging. They have been joined in recent decades by the presence of large food and beverage multinationals that have established themselves here and then re-import products back into the United States. Today, however, with 113 million consumers, the return of the middle class and annual growth rates of 6%, multinationals and SMEs are beginning to compete for the local market. This is also because Mexican states are granting authorizations for new shopping centers/hypermarkets (often controlled by Wal-Mart, Costco, Pricemart, 7-Eleven) in exchange for better access for SMEs to the shelves of the large retail outlet.
As a result, a significant number of SMEs in food and beverage, with regionally popular brands, are forced to quickly acquire the standards required by large retailers in order not to jeopardize their local market share. To support competition and massive investments in technology, in 2011 alone there were 900 strategic alliances and acquisitions.
Also because thanks to NAFTA, Mexican companies can rely on the "extended" domestic market, which is made up of more than 440 million consumers (including the United States and Canada). Finally, there are local tastes and record consumption records for vegetables, beans, tortillas, bakery products, fruit juices and beer. Mexico ranks first in the world in annual per capita consumption of carbonated soft drinks (about 163 liters per person).
"Sacmi has decided not to produce on site, but to invest in a strong commercial and after-sales branch - said Lesce - to be credible, we must provide equipment that can respond quickly to changing needs in packaging, in the integrity of organic products and protect the environment. Often, many of our SMEs have their own answers to specific needs for a production line, but alone cannot internationalize. If they could alleviate or overcome the size problem, they could take advantage of many opportunities.
The Italian category association, UCIMA, for its part, is committed to supporting companies at Expo Pack Mexico (the main local trade fair in the sector), to be a liaison point for the instances of operators in Mexico, including the organization of B2B meetings.
"Multinationals," explains Riccardo Cavanna, representative of Cavanna Spa ($60 million in turnover and 320 employees), "are demanding. Instead of producing in the country, it works more like a commercial branch and after-sales support service open 365 days a year." Cavanna is a flow pack specialist (e.g. lunch, snacks). In just three years, 2008-2011, in bakery, Mexican consumption increased by 10 percent. "We have a factory in the United States. - cavanna concluded - but the only country in Latin America where we produce machinery is Brazil, to avoid the problem of import taxes".