Cornelius, a company specialized in food continues to grow in Tamaulipas

The Cornelius company , the world's leading supplier of beverage dispensing and cooling equipment, inaugurated a second operating plant in Reynosa, Tamaulipas; at the same time, the company celebrated the 20th anniversary of its presence in this city.

With the inauguration of the second plant, the company will generate, in a first stage, more than 300 direct jobs and will allow the production of various models of beverage vending machines that are distributed in various countries around the world. 

Cornelius has an infrastructure of more than 450,000 square feet in total in the locality. By 2023, executives are contemplating bringing other operating plants to the city, for which they are already analyzing the ideal location. There will be an additional 250,000 square feet to formalize the integration within the plant and they are still in negotiations with some industrial parks.

In the US - in the border cities with Reynosa - Cornelius has a presence with 46,000 square feet in Pharr, Texas, and 130,000 square feet in McAllen. These are warehouses for export products that are sent to countries such as Australia, Russia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, part of Africa, India, the United States and Europe.

“In 2021 we had a huge projection, this, despite the fact that, in 2020, with the problem of the Covid-19 pandemic, we lowered production by up to 60%, currently we are close to 160% above what we did previously, ”said Humberto Martínez Cantú, Cornelius vice president of operations.

He added that this is the result of the industry's own needs at a global level, since all are requiring its components to be able to meet customers, while the customers themselves are protecting themselves to be able to supply consumer companies.

He explained that this is the problem currently being experienced with the inconveniences at the ports of entry in California, Manzanillo or Altamira, which are saturated. This has led companies like Cornelius to bring the components by air freight - which increased costs - in order to continue the work.

YOUR PRESENCE IN REYNOSA

In Reynosa, the company was established since 2001 and currently employs about 1,000 people at both plants.

It is in this city that Cornelius produces 12 models of beverage vending machines for soft drinks, juices, coffee and dairy. The machines are distributed to transnational firms in the restaurant and hotel industries in dozens of countries around the world; making it a product that most people have used at some point.

Regarding why they continue to expand in Reynosa, Silvia Villarreal, Plant II manager, commented that it is mainly because of the high quality, the workforce that is more competitive, in addition to the presence of national suppliers, with which the company seeks to have variety .

For his part, Mauro González, manufacturing manager, mentioned that Cornelius stands out for the culture of the people in Mexico.

"As Mexicans we always seek that the lines do not stop, that creativity and ingenuity that our people have characterizes us to have the boom that we have had and the growth that we have sustained as a company," he explained.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTS

At Cornelius they manufacture many types of beverage dispensers, mainly soft drinks such as Pepsi, Coca Cola, juices and even milk. The products that are manufactured in the Reynosa plant, and that are assembled with Tamaulipas hands, are installed in various hotels, also in cinemas such as Cinemax or chains in the United States, such as Stripes, even in educational institutions in the neighboring country.

"Currently, we have a program for 39,000 McDonald's restaurants for which we are working to supply them with cold drink dispensing machines known as ICEE," explained Humberto Martínez. Also in Starbucks chains and other companies you can find coffee vending machines made by Cornelius.

FLOOR II

“We handle countless models of machines, but in plant II, which just opened, in 2021 new products are manufactured. This plant is made up of 250 employees; these, in a first stage, since we contemplate more contracts ”, mentioned Humberto Martínez, adding that they are still transferring production lines from the plants that closed in Minnesota and Illinois, in the United States.

Mauro González, manufacturing manager at Cornelius-Silver King Reynosa, explained that the area called 'Majestic' is where they make three different models of milk dispensing machines. Per day, he commented that they manufacture up to 12 machines, this, depending on the type of model that has been required. What makes the difference between one machine and another is the number of valves, since there are one, two or three dispensing valves.

As mentioned above, these machines are purchased primarily by schools in the US; however, as their use is general, they are also found in hotels and restaurants.

SUPPLY

Humberto Martínez Cantú, in addition to being the vice president of the Cornelius company, collaborates as president at index Reynosa, and one of his objectives in this association is to bring suppliers to Mexico and improve the supply in this border city.

“In particular, Cornelius negotiated with seven companies from China, which are already here. They are companies that we asked to settle in this city, for example, we have several entrepreneurs in 3PL who are dedicated to that and who are supplying us with materials or components that they have stored, "he explained.

Cornelius feeds on the supplier plants with which they negotiated to establish themselves in this city. By 2022 they are in talks with companies that work with laser to cut metal and bend it. It is already negotiating with an industrial park so that this company invests here and in this way supplies the company.

He added that they are getting suppliers in Mexico; There are many Mexican investors, especially from Monterrey, Nuevo León, who are betting and supporting various companies.

Finally, Mauro González, added that some metal parts are manufactured in plant I, and the rest of the products used come from countries such as the US, India, and China.