Manufacturers in San Diego and Tijuana can attend a new international summit that industry leaders are likening to a “speed-dating” event for supply chains.
The Advanced Manufacturing Meetings summit will take place at the Baja California Center near Rosarito on Nov. 2-4. More than 300 companies from across the world are expected to participate.
The summit will link small- and medium-sized suppliers with large companies in the aerospace, medical device, electronics and automotive industries. It’s expected to attract foreign investment to the California and Baja California region.
“We wanted to sell the region of California and Baja California as the best option for manufacturing in North America,” said Roberto Durazo, director of investment promotion for Baja California’s economic development ministry.
The economic slowdown in China and rising labor costs there are increasingly pushing investors to look toward Mexico for manufacturing opportunities, he said.
“All the (international) companies are telling us that Mexico makes perfect sense for them due to the cost of labor in China,” he said. “Now Mexico is a lot more attractive.”
The summit also aims to encourage the region’s manufacturers to source their supplies locally by allowing them to identify new partners here.
Durazo said about 800 foreign companies are doing advanced manufacturing in Baja California. Meanwhile, they’re importing about 90 percent of their raw materials and components from overseas, primarily from China and other parts of Asia.
Purchasing supplies locally will cut costs and boost the economies on both sides of the border, he said.
“We believe that this will help the economic development of the region,” Durazo said.
The summit is expected to take place every two years in Tijuana or San Diego.
More than 300 companies are expected to participate in the three-day event. Large manufacturing companies will submit a list of their needs, and small companies will be able to request meetings with the manufacturers in response. Each company will be able to have 20 meetings during the summit.
Stéphane Pierre Castet, CEO of Advanced Business Events and BCI Aerospace, called it a “match-making program” between buyers and suppliers.
“It’s like speed dating,” he said. “But it’s speed-dating dedicated for the supply chain and really for the industry.”
The Calibaja Bi-National Mega-Region initiative is helping to organize the event in conjunction with Mexico’s Maquiladora and Export Association and other industry groups.
