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[October 2002]
Firing Up for Mexico
With the first shipment to Mexico now under its belt, Drayton Beaumont Kilns (Trentham, Stoke-on-Trent, England) is planning a major push into the market as the North American pottery and ceramics industry gets back on track.
In July 2001, the company - then known as Jack Beaumont Kilns - made its debut in Mexico with a US$400,000 shipment. The company supplied a tunnel kiln for special advanced ceramics to Cerámicas Carpenter SA de CV, part of the USA's Carpenter Certech International Group, based in San Juan del Rio in the central state of Queretaro.
Now the company is gearing up for a major drive in Mexico. "The ceramics market in Mexico is very buoyant, particularly because of supply to the US," commented Sales Director, Adam Slater. "September 11 did have an impact on the US and Mexican markets, but both are pulling out of that very quickly, and there are a number of American companies looking to have a base in Mexico because labour is cheap and trade barriers have been lifted. The time is right for us to have this big push into Mexico."
In January 2002, the company took part in a Trade Partners UK-supported ceramics mission to Monterrey, capital of the northern state of Nuevo León and home to many major producers of sanitaryware, bricks, pottery and special ceramics.
Mr Slater used the trip to develop business leads and meet with prospective customers and agents. The trip proved extremely worthwhile and bolstered the company's confidence in Mexico.
"It was very promising - we had over £1 million worth of enquiries in Monterrey - and the help we had from the British Consulate there was exceptional," he said. "It's like a snowball effect - when you start to get the work, then the contacts pick up very quickly, and I think word of mouth is as important in Mexico as it is anywhere else. You do one good job and then word spreads.
"There are Mexican, American and Italian competitors, but we feel that British technology is particularly well suited to the Mexican market and subsequently the US. We have been successful by giving British engineering, quality and design. We are flexible in the way we approach customers, we are prepared to supply essential parts and to supervise the building of kilns locally.
"We believe that Mexico holds a lot of potential for us, and over the next two years we'd look to do £1 million worth of business there."
ENDS