There is no better proof of the strength of an international group that the teamwork achieved by its people. Especially if that work aims putting in place a new technology in a particular market. That is what happed at Gestamp with the implementation in Mexico of the productive process of hydroforming.
Over the last few years, Mexico has been turning into one of the most relevant automotive production hubs in the world. In 2018, it ranked for the first time as the sixth largest manufacturer in the world, with 3.9 million vehicles produced. These are unprecedented figures for Mexico, a market in which the largest manufacturers worldwide, Gestamp’s clients, operate.
In this context, in which the components industry also gains weight, Gestamp wagers for the introduction of its hydroforming technology, one of the
key technologies of the group, in its new plant in San Luis Potosi, opened last March. With this new facility, Gestamp has seven production plants in Mexico, offering its clients a complete portfolio of technologies. Hydroforming allows producing complex shaped components using mainly the strength of water.
An example of cooperation within the company
For the implementation of this new technology in Mexico, Gestamp wagered for the in-house training of the workers who would be responsible for starting the first hydroforming line in Mexico. To do so, a team composed by 9 Gestamp San Luis Potosi workers traveled to the plant that is a worldwide leader in this technology, Gestamp Navarra, that currently has six hydroforming lines.
In an example of good flow of knowledge and cooperation within the plants of the group, a team composed by engineers, toolmakers, maintenance managers and operators traveled from San Luis Potosi to Navarra. The trip lasted for up to three months, aiming to learn this new technology and later on be the team responsible for the training of its co-workers in the plant.
“The project had been challenging as we had a tight deadline of three months to train our colleagues form Mexico in hydroforming. It is indeed rewarding to know that our colleagues from San Luis Potosi have already achieved such a high level and that they got so close to us that we feel them as one more of the staff”, explained Sara González, responsible for hydroforming at Gestamp Navarra.
Jesús Baliño, hydroforming Project leader in San Luis Potosi, underlines that “together with them, in parallel to their production, we were being trained and this is the most essential part, as we could learn what kind of problems they had and how to overcome them. The fact that the line is in place and working is very rewarding”.
With no doubt, this is a clear signal of cooperation stories happening at Gestamp across the globe, a project that has strengthened team spirit and that made the opening of Gestamp Mexican hydroforming line a huge success.