Latin America
by Charles W. Thurston
Latin America Correspondent
thurstoncw@rodmanmedia.com
Mexico’s demand for powder coatings is on a constant up- ward incline thanks to strong
domestic demand fueled by a growing
population with rising per capita income.
Mexico’s demand is also growing because
the country’s hard goods manufacturing
base has become a major contender for
supplying the rest of Latin America, if not
the world.
Mexico’s manufacturing sector is a
well-oiled machine. Manufacturing production in Mexico increased 3. 37 percent in July 2014 over the same month
in the prior year, and it has averaged 2.52
percent over the past decade, according
to the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y
Geografía (INEGI).
A good portion of the manufacturing growth is dedicated to white goods,
and particularly to appliances, with production led by Mabe, based in Mexico
City. Globally, appliances represent some
13 percent of the powder coatings market, according to a study by the Paint
Research Association.
Mexico’s demand for white goods
is driven by the expanding population,
which at some 123 million, ranks 11th in
global population rankings, behind Japan
and ahead of Canada. Thanks to the success of the North American Free Trade
Agreement, Mexico’s GDP per capita was
close to $8,500 in 2013, compared with
China at $3,600 and Brazil at $5,900,
according to Trading Economics, using
World Bank data.
In September, AB Electrolux agreed to
acquire the appliances business of General
Electric for $3.3 billion, including a 48. 4
percent share in privately-held Mabe. GE
Appliances and Mabe have had a joint ven-
ture for three decades and a large portion
of the GE product line sold in North
America was manufactured by Mabe, GE
notes. Mabe had 2013 sales of estimate $4
billion and has 21,000 employees.
GE also noted that “By the mid ‘90s, more
than two-thirds of all gas ranges and refrig-
erators imported into the U.S. were designed
and manufactured by Mabe in Mexico, while
95 percent of those sold under the General
Electric names were designed in Mabe’s San
Luis Potosi plant.” Mabe has 15 manufactur-
ing facilities and Whirlpool is now its greatest
competitor in Mexico.
As such, Mabe is “the appliance leader
in Latin America, it also sells its products
in about 70 countries,” Mabe indicated.
Mabe’s market share in Mexico is estimat-
ed at 47 percent, is 43 percent in Colombia,
60 percent in Venezuela, and 26 percent in
Canada, the company indicates.
Among powder coatings suppli-
ers to Mexico, Axalta Coating Systems,
based in Philadelphia, in August an-
nounced plans to invest $10.5 million in
Tlalnepantla, Mexico, to expand capacity
to produce resins used in the manufacture
of transportation coatings. “We export
from Mexico and Colombia to custom-
ers in Central America and the rest of
South America, respectively. Specifically,
we operate in El Salvador, Guatemala
and Honduras where we are focused on
generating product and brand awareness
and are operating with one of the most
important distributors of the region,”
said Alfredo Villalobos, the company in-
dustrial director for Latin America.
Axalta is also targeting the architec-
tural construction sector. “For the archi-
tectural segment, we have developed a line
of powder coatings based on a sublimation
printing process to produce aluminum ar-
chitectural pieces with unique and attractive
finishes and that offer superior performance
along with a low cost product portfolio that
we believe will also grow in the segment,”
he added.
Among other powder coat suppliers
to Mexico is TCI of Ellaville, GA, which
recently expanded its technical service
support in Mexico, with plans to service
Latin America in part from there. CW
Powder Coatings Rise Steadily in Mexico
