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8/4/2019 ProMexico: Negocios Magazine: Mind Over Matter
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mind overmatter
38 Negocios Photoscourtesy of honeywell
H
oneywell has its head in the
clouds and its feet in Mexico.
Founded in 1904 by a young
engineer by the name of Mark
Honeywell, the company
now has 122,000 employees worldwide.That includes 19,000-plus engineers and
scientists whose task is to invent, design and
manufacture products that respond to global
trends in safety and energy efficiency.
Part of that design effort and intellectual
capacity is located in North Mexico, in
facilities that develop aerospace projects for
commercial airlines and the military.
The Mexicali Research & Technology
Center in Baja California is one of a kind. This
35-million-dollar system integration lab has
Founded in 1904, Honeywell has a 30-year presence in Mexico,where it develops aerospace systems. Its goal is to apply
Mexican talent to compete not only in manufacturing but also in project design and management.
by gUstavo aréchiga
8/4/2019 ProMexico: Negocios Magazine: Mind Over Matter
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mexicO’S ParTner honeywell
been in operation since 2007 and employs 400
people engaged in the design engineering and
testing of components for aircraft systems.
Also on the border, Honeywell Chihuahua
Manufacturing Operations is a manufacturing
center that produces mechanical enginecomponents. These facilities in Chihuahua
have been recognized as a Center of
Excellence in advanced precision mechanics
for commercial and military aircraft engines.
Honeywell is also present in Monterrey,
Nuevo León, where it has a center that serves
suppliers and supports the manufacture of
commercial vehicles and jets.
In 1986, Honeywell significantly enhanced
its position in the aerospace industry with
the acquisition of Sperry Aerospace, which
contributed flight controls, space vehicles and
the first FAA-certified wind shear warning
system, making Honeywell the world’s leading
integrator of avionics systems.
It was around that time that the company
realized Mexico had the potential to becompetitive in the aerospace industry and
began hiring engineering graduates and
professionals with six or seven years of
engineering experience.
According to Alfredo Cárdenas Roldán,
director of the Mexicali Research & Technology
Center, Honeywell has invested in Mexico for
strategic reasons because its proximity to the
US and South America facilitates product
transportation and because it has a steady
supply of skilled labor, with 90,000 engineers
graduating each year from reputab
universities like the Tec de Monterrey, the
National Polytechnic Institute and research
centers funded by the National Science and
Technology Council (CONACYT).
“You find cosmopolitan people educatedat good schools and who like aerospace
engineering. The company realized there’s a lot
of talent in Mexico in the field of engineering.
That’s why the design groups have grown so
much. We’re asserting ourselves in the design
of the products Mexico makes. We’re starting
with simple products but the long term goal is
for all manufactured goods in Mexico to also be
designed here; to do away with all the coming
and going whereby products are designed and
approved in the US and then manufactured
honeywell’s research & technology center in mexicali, BaJa california is one of a kind. this 35-
million-dollar system integration laB has Been in operation since 2007 and employs 400 people,
engaged in the design engineering and testing of components for aircraft systems.
8/4/2019 ProMexico: Negocios Magazine: Mind Over Matter
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/promexico-negocios-magazine-mind-over-matter 3/3
40 Negocios Photoscourtesy of honeywell
in Mexico. The idea is to position Mexico as
a leader in the technology that develops the
products designed here,” says Cárdenas.
On the commercial end, Honeywell has
also found an ally in Mexico. The company
has teams providing assistance for corporate
jet and commercial airline markets, while
Mexico leads in customer services for Latin
America.
Honeywell has employees in Baja California
and Monterrey who handle corporate projects
and programs, take care of the finances and
engineering design, draw up contracts, deliver
products and provide after-sales support.
Cárdenas believes “Mexico has an
enormous advantage in its manufacturing costs
which are extremely competitive, sometimes
lower even than in Asian markets. Mexico
also has great potential on the operatingside of things. But it’s the engineering aspect
that’s really taking off. Thanks to Honeywell,
other companies in Mexicali are bringing in
engineering teams for their own projects.”
On the supply front, Honeywell has a chain
of direct and indirect suppliers who have
buoyed its success in Mexico for many years.
The challenge here is that the aerospace
industry demands certified products, which
implies costs too expensive for many small-
scale manufacturers to absorb. Honeywell
is trying to surmount these obstacles so the
products manufactured at its facilities can also
be designed by Mexican minds.
But it’s not all business. Since 2008,
Honeywell has been organizing university
programs to support and promote science and
math in Monterrey, Chihuahua and Mexicali.
For example, the Rocket Club is an educational
physics project where kids can learn about the
concepts of gravity and mass by building their
own rockets.
In the mid-term, the company plans
to expand its global Honeywell Turbo
Technologies program and set up a world
class testing center in Mexicali. The MultiAir
gasoline engine Fiat automobiles are equipped
with is an example of that technology, which
offers 10% more power and a 15% improvement
in fuel economy compared to conventionalengines, resulting in reduced emissions of CO
2
and polluting particles.
Mexico’s aerospace sector has experienced
exponential growth over the last decade, to
the point where it is now the sixth largest
worldwide. Exports have also grown in the
last five years, touching 3.13 billion usd in 2008.
Clearly the sector is in good health and has a lot
more than hot air propelling it.n
www.honeywell.com
on the commercial end, honeywell has also foUnd an ally in mexico. the company
has teams providing assistance for corporate Jet and commercial airline markets,
while mexico leads in cUstomer services for latin america.
green aPPrOacH
This summer, the Mexican airline
Interjet made its first round-trip pas-
senger flight using Honeywell Green
Jet Fuel, a biofuel produced from
Jatropha curcas. Flight 2605 departed
from Mexico City and landed safely in
Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas.
The fuel used to power the Airbus
A320-214 was produced using a pro-
cess technology developed by Honey-
well UOP, which turns the natural oils and fats in the Jatropha into a biofuel
that is then blended with petroleum-
based jet fuel.
The use of this biofuel can reduce a
flight’s carbon footprint by as much as
80% compared to conventional jet fuel.
a gianT Of THe air
wiTH a mexican flair
System integration testing for the
Airbus A350 and the design of the
HTF 7500 engine for Embraer are the
main aerospace engineering projects
Honeywell is focused on in Mexico.
The Airbus A350 competes directly with the Boeing 787 and is indubitably
Honeywell’s priority program here.
The craft’s rear engine, cockpit system,
engine system, control electronics, fans
and valves are being designed in Mexi-
cali, Baja California, while state-of-the-
art aerodynamics are being employed
to reduce wind resistance and improve
speed and fuel economy.