02/26/2015

Expansion in Mexico

Schuler expands Mexican subsidiary in Puebla

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Schuler has celebrated the expansion of its location in Puebla, Mexico, to the traditional sounds of mariachi group.

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Schuler CEO Stefan Klebert (center) and Mexico's managing director Stefan Antel (2nd from right) at the opening ceremony.

Schuler has expanded its facility in the heart of Mexico’s automotive industry. The German press manufacturer’s sales and service company in Puebla has moved into new leased property with 3,000 square meters of floor space, which also houses a production plant and a training center. Schuler invested around 1.6 million US dollars (around 1.4 million euros) in new plant and machinery for die repairs and service.

“The Mexican economy has grown strongly in recent years and we have been able to participate in this growth,” stated Schuler’s CEO Stefan Klebert at the official opening in front of invited customers and representatives from business and politics. Schuler received numerous major orders from Mexico in 2014. In addition to servo presses and blanking lines for the automotive industry, these included a spiral pipe plant for a Latin American steel pipe manufacturer.

However, Schuler not only exports presses to Mexico but also Germany’s dual education system in the form of the Cedual vocational training center (Centro de Especialización Dual). Although Mexico’s economy is booming, its industry is suffering from a serious lack of skilled labor. This led Schuler to set up its own training center in Puebla in 2012, where young Mexicans can learn their profession.

Mexico does not have an organized vocational training system like Germany’s. Young staff are simply taught on the job. At the same time, youth unemployment is a massive problem for Mexican society. “We are always on the lookout for skilled workers who can service our presses at the customer’s facility. Often in vain though,” says Stefan Antel, CEO of Schuler’s subsidiary in Mexico. As he did not regard staff and service personnel on assignment from Europe or America as a sustainable solution, he decided to set up a dual education system for engineering professions in Mexico based on the German model.

For almost three years now, 90 young Mexicans have been learning their trade at Cedual’s drilling, turning, milling and grinding machines, as well as at work benches and in classrooms – making them fit for the future. On completing their three-year course, the future skilled workers are awarded a certificate from the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This is equivalent to the qualification received at Germany’s vocational schools. In addition to Schuler, the companies Audi, Allgaier, Embraco, Gestamp, Lego, Luk, Metalsa, PWO, ThyssenKrupp Presta and ThyssenKrupp also use the facility to train their young staff. After successfully completing the course, all apprentices can look forward to a safe job.

And there is another reason why 2015 is an important year for Schuler Mexico: the subsidiary is celebrating its tenth anniversary. It all began in 2005 with a service contract for a large-scale press and four employees. Today, the sales and service company employs around 120 people at its main base in Puebla and in Saltillo, in the north-east of the country.