EMSNOW Executive Interview: Ivan Romo, Smartsol Technologies
Smartsol Technologies is a leading provider of solutions for the High Technology Industry, including Electronic Assembly Industry, Automotive Industry, Green Technologies Market and others. Founded in 2012 with the objective to exceed customer expectations with the best in class products and services. EMSNOW caught up with Ivan Romo, General Manager, at the APEX 2024 show in Anaheim this week to discuss the current outlook for Mexico.
EMSNOW: What is the outlook for the electronics industry in Mexico in 2024?
The electronics manufacturing industry in Mexico has experienced significant growth in recent years as a result of nearshoring from China, as well as various economic, political and strategic drivers.
Mexico is currently positioned as a strategic trading partner for all of the Americas. And we must take advantage of this opportunity to position Mexican manufacturing as a reliable and competitive supplier in order to generate confidence in the industrial sector.
EMSNOW: How is your company preparing to meet these new challenges?
For several years we have been working to create solid relationships with our customers in Mexico and thanks to their trust we have positioned ourselves as one of the main suppliers in Mexico, expanding our business to the United States and Central America.
We currently have 12 Demonstration and Distribution Centers strategically located throughout Mexico and the United States: 4 in Guadalajara – Jalisco, 1 in Mesa – Arizona, 1 in Queretaro – Queretaro, 1 Ciudad Juarez – Chihuahua, 1 Tijuana – Baja California, 1 Monterrey – Nuevo Leon, 1 El Paso – Texas and 2 Chihuahua – Chihuahua.
Currently, we have an annual growth rate of 20% and a workforce of 77 employees.
It is important for us to continue investing in infrastructure, technology and training of our team to take advantage of all new opportunities and ensure long-term sustainable development.
EMSNOW: What is your company’s key to having a sustainable business strategy?
In January of this year our company turned 12 years old and in addition to growing our capabilities, an important key has been to reinvent ourselves year after year. The requirements of the industry are constantly changing and it would be a mistake not to adapt to technological development.
We work on the quality and continuous improvement of our processes, which requires constant growth and innovation. We maintain an active search for new trends and technology to provide our customers with the best solutions for the optimization of their processes, allowing us to have one of the most complete and advanced portfolios in the industry.
EMSNOW: What are the new global industry requirements?
Manufacturing levels are on the rise due to increased demand from our customers. Likewise, processes are becoming more complex, stricter and delivery times are reduced.
The optimization of resources is undoubtedly an issue that must be addressed by both customers and suppliers. The revolution and implementation of new technologies on the production floor is a reality. Increasingly, factories are seeking digital transformation and optimizing their processes with the use of automation technologies to enhance human capabilities in conjunction with robots.
As a supplier company, we have added new leading brands in the Industry 4.0 and IioT sector to our portfolio in order to cover each customer’s needs.
EMSNOW: This is APEX week in Anaheim. What are your impressions of the show?
APEX is still the most important show for Smartsol, but this is not the best time for the industry. There is a lot of excess capacity. The upside is that this is a good time to do process improvements and technology integrations. We are helping our customers who are looking for more automation to compensate for the skilled labor shortage and people turnover. So we are very busy doing things that when the business environment improves will pay off significantly.
