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Herrmann Ultrasonics optimistic about growth in Mexico

Peregi

Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. President Uwe Peregi remains optimistic about business growth in Mexico despite doubts about the continued viability of long-existing free trade agreements between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

"We definitely can see challenges [but] more for our customers. I know the Mexican market will grow," he told Plastics News March 14.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 25 percent tariff on many products imported from Mexico on April 2.

The U.S., Canada and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1992 and renegotiated it in 2018. The latest deal is referred as USMCA in the U.S. and Canada and TMEC in Mexico.

Herrmann's business in Mexico has grown in the past three or four years, said Peregi, adding that the company has more than 1,000 machines installed in the country.

Many of its customers are Tier 1 suppliers in fields such as automotive, medical, human and animal food, and hygiene.

Herrmann is scheduled to open its second tech center and laboratory in Latin America in Monterrey, northern Mexico, on April 24.

It has signed an agreement to lease the new 1,615-squar-foot facility for up to five years, Peregi said.

The facility will provide access to the latest ultrasonic welding machines, such as the HiQ series, according to a Herrmann news release.

"Hands-on sessions to educate clients on the latest ultrasonic welding technologies and best practices, ensuring optimal utilization of equipment and processes," will also be among the services available, it added.

Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. is headquartered in Bartlett, Ill. Herrmann opened its first tech center in Latin America in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. It decided to follow suit in Mexico three years ago, said Peregi.

The company has 42 ultrasonic laboratories in 20 countries.

Chuck Hannah, the company's business unit director of plastics and metals for North America, said Herrmann has four or five serious competitors in Mexico, which Peregi said is one third the size of the U.S. market.

The tech center employs five people and five more will be added shortly. "We have fantastic people in Mexico. Their level of competence is great," Hannah said.

Herrmann decided to put the facility in Monterrey to be close to its customers, both Peregi and Hannah said. Another factor was the availability in Monterrey of young people with a superior level of technological skills over those in other Mexican manufacturing hubs, such as Querétaro in central Mexico.

Ultrasonic welding pioneer Walter Herrmann founded Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH KG with his wife Ingeborg in Karlsbad, Germany, in 1961. Their initial capital was 3,000 DM.

The company employs 520 across the world today and its global headquarters remains in Karlsbad. Herrmann Ultrasonics Inc. was founded in 1990.

* Source : https://www.plasticsnews.com/news/herrmann-ultrasonics-optimistic-about-business-growth-mexico

* Edit : HANDLER