Developing countries are faced with the challenge of developing self-sufficiency without the infrastructure necessary to support the types of operations necessary to produce the products which are imported into the marketplace. The demand for automobiles, televisions, appliances, etc. have simulated the growth of assembly plants to produce products demanded by consumers. The assembly plant approach has allowed major companies to penetrate these markets while supporting their own operations overseas. They simply replicated a portion of their normal assembly operation. They exported the equipment necessary to assemble their various products, as well as the technical expertise to assure the production of a product, which in most cares did not meet the quality standards of their other operations. They soon found that practically all of the spare parts required to assure continuous operation had to be imported at an extremely high cost, the infra-structure was not developed to the point where it could supply industrial equipment and supply needs. This is particularly true for capital intensive production operations.
On the other hand, we find that these same manufacturers are shifting most of their labor-intensive operations to developing countries with low labor rates. These facilities are producing high quality parts and products which are shipped back to the developed market. Major manufacturers have successfully transferred these operations, but in most case have failed to understand that many of their automated operations can be redesigned to be more labor intensive, and hence more appropriate for developing markets.
Our focus is twofold, (1) to help provide the infra-structure necessary to support an existing and growing base of manufacturing operations, and (2) to help provide manufacturing facilities producing products currently being imported into the marketplace. These objectives imply a thorough understanding and sensitivity of local market conditions. Each project is unique, and we are not striving to simply replicate our past projects. As such, a successful approach is predicated by the requirement for local support and expertise. To these end we are always seeking local partners who are well versed in local market conditions, and share our desire to implement appropriate strategies for the development of manufacturing facilities.