By Carola Rico and Adriana Casas
San Miguel de Allende is steadily growing, not only in terms of population, but industry as well. This expansion is generating more employment opportunities in SMA and the surrounding areas.
The National Chamber of Transformative Industry (La Cámara Nacional de la Industria de la Transformación, or CANACINTRA) supports the growth of different industries by creating strategic planning models, identifying regions with potential, and representing its members before the government, unions, and other institutions.
The Chamber works in 13 industrial sectors: food and beverage; automotive; paper, cardboard, and packaging; capital goods; construction manufacturing; technical processes; metal-mechanical; furniture; medical; chemical; information technology and knowledge economy; green economy; and miscellaneous industries.
CANACINTRA San Miguel serves the area that includes Doctor Mora, San Luis de la Paz, San José Iturbide, Dolores Hidalgo, and Victoria. These municipalities recently became part of the San Miguel regional office, and will work with the national organization. They are expected to grow, according to the CANACINTRA director.
Director of Economic and Industrial Development for San José Iturbide Luis Leura Matamoros was previously president of CANACINTRA San Miguel de Allende region. In an interview, he explained that the Chamber was established in SMA due to the city’s growth over the last six years. Further, its strategic location allows for the Chamber to expand its presence to the northeastern area of Guanajuato.
Until 2015, San Miguel’s economy was dependent on tourism. With the construction of its first industrial park in 2015, however, new sources of employment were created. Over the last six years, more than 30 global industries have arrived in San Miguel, including European-based companies such as Stant, Rafi, Estamp, Hischmann Automotive, Penn Engineering, Thyssenkrupp, Dräxlmaier, Rieke, and developers Vynmsa and Vesta.
The Parque Industrial Opción, located in San José Iturbide, is home to 33 companies, including Flex-n-Gate, HellaElectronics, Multimatic (Magna), Wiesauplast, Catalina Precision, and BulkTank International. In addition to the automotive industry, the park complex is home to pharmaceutical, plastic, metal-mechanic, and ceramic companies.
Matamoros stressed that these companies generate a sizeable number of jobs for municipalities that previously depended on tourism. Companies recruit workers through the Economic Development Department’s job bank. During visits to different communities, recruiters explained the jobs to job applicants, as well as the benefits, including punctuality bonuses, additional non-mandatory benefits, opportunities for growth, and above-average salaries. Matamoros explained that the job fairs organized by municipal governments are also very effective. A fair with 500 vacancies was recently held in San José Iturbide, and in just one day 400 positions were filled. The industrial sector offers greater security to workers than the tourism industry because it is a source of steady income with benefits. By contrast, many jobs in the tourism sector are more informal, with no social security, contract, or fixed salary.
Matamoros shared some thoughts on the pandemic and its impact on the industrial sector. The period from March to May 2020 was the most difficult. The federal government did not provide the legal means to shut down the automotive industry, and many workers quit. Fortunately, global companies stepped in to avoid plant closures. As of June 2020, the industry was declared indispensable and was able to continue operating. In spite of personnel turnover, production was higher than planned. It was quite an achievement that San Miguel’s companies ended December 2020 with an inventory surplus despite attrition and turnover. The largest shortfall was due to input shortages due to manufacture issues, which meant necessary materials did not arrive on time.
Matamoros said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might have an impact on the sale of natural gas in the medium term. According to his forecast, the impact will be greatest on global agricultural production due to the lack of fertilizer. He also shared that in two or three years, around 1,000 Asian companies are expected by Matamoros to arrive in the Bajío region. Finally, Matamoros emphasized that the Bajío region is the most dynamic industrial area in the country. CANACINTRA is active throughout the State of Guanajuato, attracting foreign investment, human capital, suppliers, and industrial facilities. Thanks to this, more industries are expected by the state government to arrive.
