After more than 35 years of being based out of Asia and manufacturing in China, in 2019, the company WKK became interested in setting up business in Mexico. The company was established as a trading and distribution division in 1975 by Mr. Senta Wong. Since then it has supplied capital equipment, materials, and services to the printed circuit board industry throughout Asia. Today, WKK is a rapidly expanding public company listed on the Hong Kong stock market with clients and operations worldwide.

With the goal of better serving its growing client base in Mexico and the neighboring United States, WKK’s leadership, headed by Mr. Bruce Bacon, President of WKK America Inc., began to research what setting up business in Mexico would entail. Bruce and his team made several trips to different areas and cities to start the process of site selection in Mexico. They quickly realized they were finding many more questions than answers about the process. In speaking to different real estate brokers, one recommended American Industries Group (AI) as a provider of shelter services in Mexico.

Though they spoke to other shelter companies (some of which offered lower costs than AI), WKK chose AI because of the confidence their team inspired. With so much on the line for WKK, and having the extra challenge of the cultural differences involved after having operated mainly in Asia since its founding, the most critical factor was to find a partner they knew would be there to answer questions and look out for their best interests in a timely manner.

Choosing AI gave WKK the peace of mind of knowing that there wouldn’t be any “short circuits” in their start-up process and freed up their time and energy to focus on what they do best. Upon signing the shelter contract, AI immediately set to work to ensure WKK could begin manufacturing in Mexico as quickly as possible. They located the ideal site in Queretaro, took care of importing all the necessary equipment from China, and handled the hiring process for personnel (including key specialized workers), and all the legal, permitting, and administrative tasks required to ensure everything would go smoothly.

In addition to these challenges, another challenge that no one could have predicted came up at just the time when WKK was ready to start up operations—a global pandemic. Though this could have caused a significant setback for WKK in its plans for consolidating and expanding in North America, AI was there to support them in implementing the necessary health measures so that operations could resume as quickly as possible and ensure the health of its workers.

Having overcome these challenges with AI’s support at every step of the way, WKK is now operating at full capacity at its plant in Queretaro, has received excellent feedback from its existing customers, and has gained more clients in North America. This expansion is the result of the outstanding quality of its products and the additional benefit of communicating in real-time, compared to the delay in China due to time differences. AI’s support has also been a key factor in helping them succeed, dealing with some unexpected and uncommon issues that have arisen and helping them to recruit and develop their world-class workforce.

By Gustavo Guerrero | Queretaro Account Executive | American Industries Group®

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