Yanfeng Querétaro seeks allied suppliers in Mexico to innovate

2022 will be a year of transition towards new technologies and product launches for Yanfeng Querétaro Plant , an automotive interior division. These changes will allow the manufacturer to satisfy the trends of the global mobility market, anticipated Víctor Guerrero Estrada , manager of the Queretaro location. 

“Basically it is to increase the product portfolio with existing customers, they are the same products, but with innovations in terms of interior technology . Most of the launches that we are adding to our portfolio are for hybrid or electric platforms , which is the trend that we already have with vehicle manufacturers ”. 

In Querétaro , the Tier 1 company manufactures products for automobile interiors, including instrument panels, door panels, floor consoles, and plastic parts that integrate various components, such as A, B and C pillars . They also have processes of cutting, sewing and lining of pieces .  

Most of the production made in this plant stays in Mexico ; the rest is exported mainly to the US and Canada. 

To manufacture this wide range of products, the company employs 980 people , 725 of whom are on the production floor. The plant, located in the O'Donnell Airport Industrial Park , is deployed on a 49,000-square-meter site. 

An expansion is planned for 2023, which will allow to expand the storage capacity of this site. And it is that the expected growth in this location will force Yanfeng not only to manufacture new products and adapt its production processes, it will also lead them to relocate suppliers and, in the future, strengthen talent recruitment strategies. 

SUPPLY

Currently, most of the supply that Yanfeng's Queretaro plant requires for its production comes from the US ; 25% is acquired in Mexico ; 22% is imported from Europe and Asia ; and only 1% is bought in Querétaro .

However, these percentages could change in the short term, as the company has plans to strengthen the supply chain in the country, which would allow it to have greater control of its supplies and make its deliveries more efficient, Guerrero Estrada said .

"We have, within our five-year plan, the goal of developing national supply , so that this can yield us a much more efficient operation and also collaborate with the Mexican market in the creation of new jobs," he stressed.

In this regard, he said that among the current requirements of this production center is the relocation of a supply of finishing processes for plastic parts, such as those specialized in painting and chrome plating .

“We also use material for lining, which is vinyl, we have some types that we are importing. One of our objectives is to be able to establish a relationship with a national supplier with whom we can obtain this type of product in Mexico . […] We have already identified suppliers in the country, the challenge we have is to coordinate, together with our clients, the certification and authorization of these suppliers to be able to work with them ”.

The plant manager acknowledged that the inclusion of new suppliers is not easy, since they must comply with the standards of the automotive industry , as well as those of the company's commercial partners, vehicle manufacturers to whom the Queretaro plant supplies directly. 

However, the strengthening of local supply chains is a priority for Yanfeng , the shortage of materials and saturation in customs are factors that contribute to the relocation of supplies to the interior of the country. 

Likewise, the plant manager spoke of other areas of opportunity that are seen in the short term, such as the growth of the electric car market , which is leading the industry to develop and adopt new technologies, as well as to innovate in different areas, including the materials.

“There are two strategies in particular in the company. The first is to work on the integration of electrical and electronic elements ; the second has to do with obtaining solutions and products that can offer less weight , that make fuel efficiency more efficient ”.

Among the innovations are the exploration of pieces made from recycled resins and the increase of this type of materials in its products.

QUALITY

All the exposed changes must respond to the high quality standards with which Yanfeng works and which are backed by various certifications.

These standards have been recognized by the customers of the manufacturer of automotive interior products. An example of this is the Supplier Quality Excellence Award given to Yanfeng by General Motors  for the second consecutive year .

For this car assembly plant, the plant produces armrests for central consoles of various vehicles, these parts are sent to four OEM plants , three of them located in the US and one in Mexico .

“We have an initiative that played and plays an important role in achieving this award, which is the formation of our high-performance teams. As a plant, we have a whole methodology for the implementation of high performance teams, which is made up of three levels: managerial, support teams and operational level .

"Our goal is to bring these high-performance teams to our operational staff, so that they are able to make decisions about their production lines, this has given us great success, since it allows us to count on the talent of our operational staff to to be able to resolve issues that come up in our operation, such as quality issues, delivery issues… Instead of having 80 engineers solving problems, we now have 725 operators also collaborating in solving them ”, the manager highlighted. 

COMPANY

Yanfeng has more than 110 locations in 20 countries around the world , spanning and serving the Americas, Europe, South Africa and Asia Pacific regions .

In Mexico , in addition to the Queretaro location, the company has three locations in Coahuila and another in Nuevo León .