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Samsung TV plant braves Tijuana s dangers

Summary: TIJUANA Mexico The changes in the landscape couldn t be more obvious as soon as we passed the border About 30 minutes after we left a hotel in San Diego California we arrived at Tijuana Mexico just over the border Tijuana is one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico but is also one of the most dangerous known for the activities of rival drug cartels as well as human trafficking homicides and car theft Houses were roughly constructed with many of them lacking roofs which our tour guide says is a way to avoid property taxes The streets and roads were relatively empty despite it being a weekday morning The city s reputation for danger didn t really hit home as our bus carrying about 40 Korean journalists was escorted by Mexican police who helped us pass through red lights in an attempt to avoid any dangers lurking Shortly after we safely arrived at our destination Samex short for Samsung Mexicana which is Samsung Electronics manufacturing plant for the North American market Samsung has been the world s biggest TV maker for the past five years straight and Samex is responsible for 20 percent of Samsung s TV sales said Jeong Jae woong a senior manager at Samsung s corporate communications team While the plant also manufacturers Blu ray players home theater equipment and PC monitors more than 90 percent of the products are mid sized TVs 3 D LED LCD and PDP Samex is the outpost for the highly competitive North American market and the smaller Latin American market For that very reason this plant is the largest among Samsung s 14 overseas plants Despite being one of the most dangerous cities in North America Tijuana has advantages in terms of its cheap labor and proximity to the U S market Samex is located within an industrial park El Florido along with other multinational companies including Toyota Hyundai and Coca Cola Measuring 277 686 square meters 68 61 acres Samex is the largest manufacturing plant in Tijuana Samsung says Perfection is quality beyond your imagination reads a big sign in Spanish at the entrance of the plant alongside the blue Samsung logo Built in 1996 the plant has 3 100 workers including 14 Korean managers The 25 production lines at Samex were running nonstop Workers were specialized in different tasks assembling parts moving panels and checking monitors We adopted the cellular production method since 2007 which greatly enhanced productivity said Kim Seog gi the head of the plant Under cellular production there are no assembly lines but instead workstations are grouped together reducing inefficiencies With this method the plant has a maximum production capacity of up to 15 million TV units a year although we expect around 12 million units this years Kim says Out of the plant s total production 83 percent of the TVs go to North America 10 percent to Latin America and 7 percent to Mexico Samsung had 46 percent of the U S market for flat screen televisions that are 40 inches or larger in the first half of 2010 according to the U S based market research firm NPD Samsung said that it plans to stay in Tijuana even though its Japanese rivals are transferring production to China Samsung says the location helps it monitor product quality and keep close tabs on market trends In 2010 Samex produced 10 6 million TV units up from 9 4 million in 2009 and 8 million in 2008 and posted $5 47 billion in sales compared with $5 43 billion in 2009 and $5 13 billion in 2008 Samsung acknowledges risk factors operating in Mexico About 80 to 100 containers carrying finished products cross the border ten times a day For the last two years the company has been seeking help from the Mexican police to guard container transport after one of its containers with $500 000 worth of products was hijacked People in Tijuana want to work here said Hiram Moncivais Pinedo the vice president at Samex The management structure of Samex empowers local managers he said comparing it to Japanese companies where Japanese managers play a bigger role Moncivais Pinedo worked at Japanese companies like Hitachi and Sanyo By Kim Hyung eun hkim joongang co kr Copyrights ⓒ JoongangIlbo Jcube Interactive Inc All rights reserved TIJUANA Mexico The changes in the landscape couldn t be more obvious as soon as we passed the border About 30 minutes after we left a hotel in San Diego California we arrived at Tijuana Mexico just over the border Tijuana is one of the fastest growing cities in Mexico but is also one of the most dangerous known for the activities of rival drug cartels as well as human trafficking homicides and car theft Houses were roughly constructed with many of them lacking roofs which our tour guide says is a way to avoid property taxes The streets and roads were relatively empty despite it being a weekday morning The city s reputation for danger didn t really hit home as our bus carrying about 40 Korean journalists was escorted by Mexican police who helped us pass through red lights in an attempt to avoid any dangers lurking Shortly after we safely arrived at our destination Samex short for Samsung Mexicana which is Samsung Electronics manufacturing plant for the North American market Samsung has been the world s biggest TV maker for the past five years straight and Samex is responsible for 20 percent of Samsung s TV sales said Jeong Jae woong a senior manager at Samsung s corporate communications team While the plant also manufacturers Blu ray players home theater equipment and PC monitors more than 90 percent of the products are mid sized TVs 3 D LED LCD and PDP Samex is the outpost for the highly competitive North American market and the smaller Latin American market For that very reason this plant is the largest among Samsung s 14 overseas plants Despite being one of the most dangerous cities in North America Tijuana has advantages in terms of its cheap labor and proximity to the U S market Samex is located within an industrial park El Florido along with other multinational companies including Toyota Hyundai and Coca Cola Measuring 277 686 square meters 68 61 acres Samex is the largest manufacturing plant in Tijuana Samsung says Perfection is quality beyond your imagination reads a big sign in Spanish at the entrance of the plant alongside the blue Samsung logo Built in 1996 the plant has 3 100 workers including 14 Korean managers The 25 production lines at Samex were running nonstop Workers were specialized in different tasks assembling parts moving panels and checking monitors We adopted the cellular production method since 2007 which greatly enhanced productivity said Kim Seog gi the head of the plant Under cellular production there are no assembly lines but instead workstations are grouped together reducing inefficiencies With this method the plant has a maximum production capacity of up to 15 million TV units a year although we expect around 12 million units this years Kim says Out of the plant s total production 83 percent of the TVs go to North America 10 percent to Latin America and 7 percent to Mexico Samsung had 46 percent of the U S market for flat screen televisions that are 40 inches or larger in the first half of 2010 according to the U S based market research firm NPD Samsung said that it plans to stay in Tijuana even though its Japanese rivals are transferring production to China Samsung says the location helps it monitor product quality and keep close tabs on market trends In 2010 Samex produced 10 6 million TV units up from 9 4 million in 2009 and 8 million in 2008 and posted $5 47 billion in sales compared with $5 43 billion in 2009 and $5 13 billion in 2008 Samsung acknowledges risk factors operating in Mexico About 80 to 100 containers carrying finished products cross the border ten times a day For the last two years the company has been seeking help from the Mexican police to guard container transport after one of its containers with $500 000 worth of products was hijacked People in Tijuana want to work here said Hiram Moncivais Pinedo the vice president at Samex The management structure of Samex empowers local managers he said comparing it to Japanese companies where Japanese managers play a bigger role Moncivais Pinedo worked at Japanese companies like Hitachi and Sanyo By Kim Hyung eun hkim joongang co kr Copyrights ⓒ JoongangIlbo Jcube Interactive Inc All rights reserved

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