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Geographically,
the company’s target market is Latin America. It has a very strong
presence throughout Mexico and many customers in Guatemala, Cuba, Costa
Rica, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Panama.
Effects of NAFTA
Most Americans think
of NAFTA in terms of products being exported from Mexico into the U.S.;
however, Blancos Sampedro is another example of a Mexican company whose
main NAFTA benefits are as an importer and purchaser of American
products.
Among the company’s
best selling product lines are its tablecloths and napkins made of 100%
polyester fabrics supplied by textile and chemical giant Milliken &
Company, located in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The products are popular
because the fabric is durable, colorfast, stain resistant, and wrinkle-free.
Blancos Sampedro invests considerable resources in cooperative advertising
that promotes both their products and the Milliken brand name. Before
NAFTA, high taxes discouraged their purchase of American textiles. Now,
Blancos Sampedro can import these materials without the burden of taxes
or tariffs.
Some other fabrics
(9% - 12% of Blancos Sampedro’s cloth imports) are purchased from
Spain. Exports to the U.S. comprise a very minor percentage of company
sales.
Technology
Blancos Sampedro
is an extremely successful and growing company. In fact, as we were
touring the facilities much construction work was going on to expand
the business. New and improved manufacturing technology is continually
introduced to make the business more efficient, improve quality and
expand capability.
Blancos Sampedro
de Acapulco customizes products and creates unique designs for its corporate
customers. This may be as straightforward as specifically matching a
company’s logo colors or as complicated as designing a series of
prototypes for special uniforms and then producing them in specified
sizes and quantities with logos and even employees’ names embroidered
on them.
Technology facilitates
many of these design and customization processes. The efficient, detailed
work produced using high-tech embroidery equipment fascinated the group.
We were privileged to see a huge, new, computer-controlled quilting
system, imported from Germany, as it was being installed and tested
in a new part of the plant expansion area.
As in any global
business, specialized computer software is used for planning, scheduling,
inventory, purchasing, accounting and other administrative functions.
The company is also very happy with response to its website, www.blancosampedro.com.mx.
The executives of
Blancos Sampedro treated us like honored guests and gave us a very complete
tour of their operations. Observing the design, manufacturing processes,
and specialized technology was a wonderful learning opportunity for
TWU Executive MBA International Study Group.
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