ABB Process Automation opened its new North American regional operations center on Jan. 18 in Merida, Yucatan. The new, $1 million, Mexico Technology and Engineering Center (MXTEC) will bring technology expertise closer to customers, build on similar global resources, and let ABB increase its project delivery capacity.
Located in Merida’s modern SkyWork building with other technology and cybersecurity companies, MXTEC will be a resource for ABB’s engineers, covering automation, electrical and software engineering. It’s also expected to increase ABB’s engineering capacity by 25%, with some projects involving commissioning of ABB Ability System 800xA DCSs at user sites. Further competencies for supply chain, project management and sales support may be added in the future.
ABB adds that opening MXTEC comes at a time when industrial companies are addressing their supply chains, and either near-shoring or near-sourcing to ensure secure and reliable operations. It reports that Mexico is establishing itself as an emerging center of excellence for communications, engineering, IT and manufacturing across industries, including automotive, process industries and energy. For ABB, it’s well-placed for growth and will link ongoing operations in North and South America. The new center will initially serve ABB’s orders pipeline from process industries including mining, pulp and paper, battery manufacturing and metals.
MXTEC is also recruiting and employing 30 engineers, mainly from local talent pools, while ABB also establishes connections with Mexican universities. The center’s newest employees were trained at ABB’s Czech Operations Center in Ostrava, and are onboarding using a customized development program.
“Our aims for the MXTEC are to grow our engineering competencies and capacity to deliver projects with local resources in the same time zones as Mexico, U.S. and Canada, but also become part of a technology-focused community in Merida, where people can stay for a long time and grow their careers,” says Michel Blondeau, hub operations manager for North America at ABB. “Its success relies on talents and efforts of our new local team, and we’re pleased to see them successfully onboarded and ready to complement our operations centers in Europe and India.”
