Kimball Electronics increases capacity of its plant in Tamaulipas

The construction of the second Kimball Electronics plant in Reynosa generated an investment of about 30 million dollars

In order to continue supporting its clients in the long term and to add capacity for the growth of new businesses, the company Kimball Electronics México , SA de CV, expanded its operations in Reynosa, Tamaulipas.

It was the excellent user support and the performance of the manufacturing teams at the facilities located in this city that made it necessary to expand the plant.

The expansion consists of a new operations plant located in a location close to the current facilities, which will double the capacity. The two factories will function as one and will have shared leadership in key positions that will oversee both buildings.

Currently, Kimball Electronics México, SA de CV has an area of ​​227,000 square feet, of which 147,000 are dedicated to manufacturing . With the expansion, 240,000 square feet were added to the presence in this city.

"Our Mexico plant is one of the largest we operate and we have been there for close to five decades. It is a preferred and popular plant for our customers," said Don Charron, president and CEO of Kimball Electronics.

"We have opportunities in our new business portfolio that are very close to being awarded and scheduled to be manufactured there in the future," he said.

With the expansion of this new plant, not only are growth opportunities created for the business itself, but it also generates 500 direct jobs for the community in the short term and 1,500 in the medium term, as well as an economic benefit from the investment. of about 30 million dollars. 

Although the plan was to start operations at the new plant by June 2022, the construction process has been agile and has allowed times to shorten. It is contemplated that in March 2022 they will be able to enter the new building and begin with the installation of the production lines.

WHY EXPAND? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW?

Company executives saw a lot of attraction in the Mexico plant to give it greater growth, in addition, it was verified that there is human talent with the necessary skills and knowledge.

“We have had a lot of business attraction in recent years and we needed to increase the capacity of the plant facilities. This gave us the opportunity to build a second building that will allow us to continue growing ”, mentioned the RR manager. H H.

He added that one of the reasons for continuing to grow in Mexico is because this country is one of the most attractive to invest of the corporate sector; however, this company is also working on expanding its plant in Thailand.

"Even so, there are many products that have been transferred to Mexico due to their location, proximity to the United States, the ease of shipping and everything that involves reaching our customers quickly and at a lower cost," he added.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Kimball Electronics México, SA de CV, began operations in October 1972 in Reynosa, Tamaulipas; At that time it was known as Kimco and they were dedicated to making grand pianos.

At the beginning of the 80's, electronics began to have more presence in the market, so the Kimball production moved, and from manufacturing pianos they began to produce electronic harnesses for this instrument. 

In addition, with the arrival of electronics, they directed the business towards the automotive sector and the piano was only part of the history of the company.

The Reynosa plant is the largest and is the one with the longest presence in the city. Globally, Kimball has a presence in Asia, Europe and North America. There are three plants in the US; one in Jasper, where the corporate is located; another in Indianapolis, the capital of Indiana; and one more in Tampa, Florida.

In Asia, Kimball Electronics has a presence in China and Thailand. Two plants are located in Europe, in Poland and Romania.

ELECTRONICS IN VARIOUS SEGMENTS

Today, Kimball Electronics México is dedicated to the manufacture of electronic assemblies for four segments: automotive, medical, industrial and public safety. Products range from electronic tablets for use in vehicles, to chargers for communication, medical and industrial radios.

"All the products use electronic boards, which is the manufacturing part that is located in this plant and they are known as SMT lines (Surface Mountain Technology - Surface Mounting Technology)", explained the RR manager. H H.

For the automotive segment, Kimball Electronics produces the board that controls the lights on the vehicle dash: "Here we only make the board and send it to be assembled."

For the industrial segment, it makes the controls for industrial refrigeration equipment.

In the medical segment, Kimball Electronics manufactures the smart board for respirators, a product in high demand during 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

All the products that are manufactured in this plant are exported to its main client, the United States, the country from which its supplies come, as well as to Asia and a little to Canada.

NATIONAL SUPPLY

The national supplier has a presence in the company; Between 10% and 20% are companies from Mexico, the main inputs that they acquire in the country are labels and glues. Meanwhile, around 80% of the inputs are imported.

Some requirements that Kimball currently has are on products such as tablets and electronic components.

Kimball has two supplier development areas, one in the materials area and the other in quality, both of which carry out work for the approval of suppliers.

“In fact we had a company that only had ISO 9000 and what they were going to produce was for an automotive product, so they needed to be certified in IATF 16949, just like the Kimball company is. They had to develop in the IATF 16949 automotive product certification system; in this way, the Kimball company gave support for the supplier to be certified and also helped them in the audits so that they finally had the approval ”, explained the HR manager. H H.

THE PRIORITY IS YOUR PEOPLE

For Kimball, the most important part is the people and as a consequence this is reflected in the work environment, in the seniority of its staff. Employee satisfaction is measured each year and obtained an average of 8.6 in 2021.

"Kimball is attractive because there are always opportunities for many, so when we have a vacancy, we first look at the internal talent," he mentioned.

An added value offered by the company is the program for the development of graduates, with which they have made agreements with various universities and technical schools; This has allowed them to welcome young people who have just completed their professional studies and who can start a career of professional growth within a company.

“In the last 14 years this plant has grown approximately 300 percent. I arrived in 2007 and we were a little more than 500 employees. Today we are 2,100 employees ”, said the HR manager. H H.

Why should people be a part of Kimball? Because in this company they find growth opportunities, programs for recent technical and professional graduates; In addition, the plus that distinguishes Kimball is stability and being an inclusive company, providing excellent quality in the treatment of employees and customers. 

"Kimball is a great company because of the principles that guide us, its people, our clients and the community," said the human resources manager at the end.