En Englais: Kraiburg forms Mexican company

DULUTH, Ga. — Specialty plastics manufacturer Kraiburg TPE Corp. has formed a new entity in Mexico under the legal name Kraiburg TPE Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V.

As an operating subsidiary of Kraiburg in the U.S., the new company will function primarily to provide commercial and logistical infrastructure support for goods imported into the region. Kraiburg said formation of the Mexican firm will help to accelerate business growth, provide a higher level of localized service and improve turnaround times.

Kraiburg makes products for various sectors that include the automotive manufacturing, consumer and medical industries.

“We've had so much opportunity and business growth over there that we just decided that it was...the right opportunity and the right timing to go ahead and incorporate over there,” said Katherine Olano, distribution and marketing manager of Kraiburg TPE.

About 50 to 60 percent of the company's materials are exported to Mexico and Central America, so it just made sense to create the subsidiary, especially from a customs standpoint, she said.

“Every research paper that you see just talks about the boom over there in Mexico, especially around the automotive industry, the automotive manufacturing industry,” Ms. Olano said.

“And that's one of our biggest focuses and pushes for the coming year.”

The newly formed Mexico division of Kraiburg TPE also will benefit both current and future customers located in Central America. Kraiburg said operating under Kraiburg TPE Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. provides more efficient importation operations, improved logistics management and streamlines the flow of materials. It also reduces the need for administrative support, documentation and invoicing of imported goods.

“We knew that there would be a point in time where this could potentially be something that we would do,” Ms. Olano said.

While Kraiburg did not have a timeline in place, the company did see that over time, the potential was there for growth.

“It was something planned long term. I think with the results and everything that we've seen so far, maybe it was just pushed up just a little bit sooner than maybe was thought or planned out in the long term. But it's definitely something that we saw would happen in the long run,” she added.

Alberto Oba will be the director of the Mexico branch, which will be located in San Pedro Garza Garcia, NL Mexico.

Mr. Oba has been working in the region as business development manager for Kraiburg for about four years prior to his promotion to director of the Mexico brand. In addition, Arturo Lopez was hired to be regional sales manager.

When choosing the San Pedro Garza Garcia location, Ms. Olano said Mr. Oba was a “tremendous resource” because he is living in the area. He knows the markets and the regions and how to strategically position the company so it is close to its customers and its warehouses, she added.

“It was basically his choice in the strategic location,” she said, “because of his insight and his expertise and his experience in the industry, especially over there in Mexico. That's the reason why we decided to move there.”

Currently, Kraiburg does not plan on adding any personnel, but in the upcoming months as the sales office grows, there may be an opportunity for additional positions.

The company is focused “on the actual legalities, paperwork and everything of the actual incorporation of the entity,” Ms. Olano said, as well as, “to make sure the supply chain is not interrupted for our customers. We will be able to locally supply our customers now because we have the warehouses over there.”

Kraiburg's Mexico subsidiary has an official sales office and will be able to have its own warehouses. Before forming the subsidiary, Ms. Olano said the company had to share warehouses, but the new operation expands its options.

“It just adds to the ease of the process of getting material over there to our customers,” she said.

While there is currently no Kraiburg production in Mexico, Ms. Olano said that may happen down the road. The company doesn't want to jump prematurely into production there. “We are just going to wait and see how it all goes and just keep a close eye on it...(to) make the right decision at the right time,” she said.

Kraiburg is a specialty plastics manufacturer based in Germany. It has three production sites in Germany, the U.S. and Malaysia.

Kraiburg has a sales and business office in Brazil that supports all of its South American customers, and it is looking into the potential for warehouses there as well.

The U.S. facility is experiencing growth. In November, Kraiburg broke ground on a 70,000 sq.-ft.-facility in Buford, Ga., in metro Atlanta, scheduled to open in early 2016. The $15 million investment, slated to be completed next year, will serve as the company's U.S. headquarters.

This report originally appeared in Rubber & Plastics News, an Akron-based sister publication of Tire Business. Jennifer Karpus is a reporter for both newspapers.