Global Market Leader in Car Audio Technologies

Harman is a consolidated company with a remarkable reputation in Ciudad Juarez. This company specializes in manufacturing audio systems for cars. It also has made remarkable achievements making it stand out from other companies in the region. In an exclusive interview for Mexico Industry, Jesús Villalobos, the company's operations director, shared the details of this industry.

The company has 22 years in Ciudad Juarez. It has 77 thousand sq. ft between plant and warehouse. They also have a distribution center of 80,000 sq. ft located in El Paso, Texas. The company’s main business activity is electronic and manufactures audio system for premium vehicle brands.

According to Jesús Villalobos, the advantages and benefits of the company are, talented workforce, business stability and strategic geographic position for customers in Mexico, the United States and around the world. This plant stands out in it is corporate technology and product innovation. They are within the segment qualified as Premium, so the most prestigious vehicles have some of the best products and brands that the company manufactures.

Regarding the manufacturing process: They use 8 to 15 components. They have a basket that holds the speaker assembly. They use magnets, separators and assemblies. In addition, they have a cone to give the sound and a voice coil. The speakers have a drawer that used to be made of wood, but nowadays it is made of plastic. They put the big speaker and the amplifiers and inserted into the tube. The speakers not only provide the audio function, but are also speakers for safety, intercom and belt use.

"All the sound that the car needs are made with different speakers," explained the operations director. In total, they have 9 production lines for base speakers and 25 final assembly cells. The technology they have to make their products is adhesive application technology, curing ovens, semi-automatic assembly lines, robotics for the application of horn characteristics, audio booths for tests, sound verification chambers for tests that speakers have all the specifications the vehicle needs.

The Juárez plant has 3,000 employees. They also have all the certifications required by the automotive industry:

·        IATF

·        ISO 9000

·        Clean Industry

·        Empresa Socialmente Responsable (ESR), for two years

·        Top 19 nationwide for a business publication

Although their main place of export is Japan, they also export their products to Germany, England, Japan, the United States, Canada and Korea. They export subassemblies to China and India. In Mexico, they sell their products to Toyota, BMW, KIA and GM plants. The inputs that this company requires to make its products, come mainly from the United States and Asia. It is worth mentioning that 20% of these inputs come from Mexico. About the workers, Jesús Villalobos highlighted the following: "The workforce is totally reliable to achieve the orders of its customers at all levels."

Harman is planning on adding new products for all current and future brands, including Cadillac. The values ​​and principles with which the company is managed are integrity, inclusion, teamwork, respect, innovation and excellence. “We have the best 30 clients in the automotive industry worldwide. Our products can be seen in the best vehicles in the world,” he concluded.

More information

Name: Harman

Activity: Automotive

Product: Audio and sound systems

Start of operations: 1997

Number of employees: 3 thousand