Interview of Xavier Conesa: the use of social networking websites

The following article translates the interview published in www.anella.cat, the information portal of Acc10, one of the organisms of Catalonia managing international promotion activities for Catalan companies.

In Tecnomatrix, controlling “measures” is at the core of the business. The company, headquartered at Lliçà de Vall (near Barcelona) , has been producing since 1998 dimensional checking fixtures, that is, tools to check that the parts mounted in cars are neither too small nor too big, and that they are not deformed. A market niche with a potential that made the company grow 30% per year over the past three years. A rythm that Xavier Conesa hopes to keep up with, in spite of the crisis. His secret: “innovating in the process, in the product and never stop”.

Main ideas:

Checking fixtures represent a growing market niche. They are tools enabling car manufacturers to save money by ensuring the dimensions of the parts they have to use. Even more so when the production has to be subcontracted to low cost countries.

TICs are useful to promote your product and improve the communication with your customers. In the automotive sector, some of them even prefer to pay a higher price for the product if it ensures them that they will really get what they are looking for.

In order to cope with the crisis, it is important to “innovate in the process, in the product and never stop”. It is good to be active through Internet but, at the same time, to understand that you cannot expect results on the day after having gotten a contact. To get them, you have to be generous and give before being given.

Key words:

Tecnomatrix, tool, control, quality, automotive, community

How important is the dimensional control in the car manufacturing chain?

In the automotive sector, all parts must be manufactured with some specific dimensions because, if they do not, they cannot be mounted where they should be. The deviation tolerance is getting lower and lower because more elements are to be mounted in the same space, and because the weight of cars has to be reduced. What we do at Tecnomatrix is designing a tool for each part, in order to check if it has been produced correctly. As a matter of fact, the contracts between car manufacturers and parts suppliers specify the maximum number of defects a series of parts can have. If the customer detects a higher number than the one established, costs rocket. The company using checking fixtures saves time and money in the process.

And in which part of the process is it better to put checking fixtures? Who should pay them?

Several years ago, they used to be paid by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), that is, the car manufacturer. Now, most of the time they are paid by the suppliers of sub-assemblies, such as doors. In the sector they are called TIER1. They are also used by TIER2, who only supply the metal or the glass parts of the interior panel of the door. But finally, the OEM ends up paying them in some way, because this cost has an impact on the price of the part. Tecnomatrix can supply as much OEMs as TIER1s and TIER2s. We can do checking fixtures for a single part, or for a gear lever assembly, that has more than 100 assembled elements.

How did Tecnomatrix enter in this market niche after having produced switches and moulds for glass bottles?

Yes, my grandfather used to have his own brand of switches… then we produced moulds for glass bottles and stamping matrixes, and in the last decade, we have specialised in checking fixtures. It is an interesting market niche for us, because even if parts are manufactured in low cost countries, the manufacturers or the companies subcontracting to India or China need to make sure that the parts are correct. What is more, developping checking fixtures there is not cheap in the end.

How did you consider selling on the international market a product that was not profitable when produced in low cost countries?

Actually, this has been one of the obstacles we have had to deal with. We have managed to overcome it thanks to Internet. We have a working method through Internet that simplifies a lot the communication with our customers during the design process, which is the slowest and the most complex. We have a portal, called TecnoNet, that is beginning to be profitable for our customers, whether they are in Russia or in Mexico. We offer them transparency, and they even prefer to pay a little more if it ensures them that will have what they have ordered. We work a lot for Italy, and are opening market in China, Venezuela, Mexico, Russia, Poland, Czech Republich and France… We are also trying to begin to work with South Africa, where there are business opportunities.

Experts say that China will become a powerful competitor, not only because of their prices but also because of their quality…

Yes, they will manage to copy quality. This is why we have to innovate in our manufacturing methods and in our type of product by integrating, for example, artificial vision, that will help having an even more accurate checking process. Our working methods are based on a lot of innovation in the process and the product, and in never stopping.

TICs have helped you a lot to promote your offer… You belong to the Anella Automotive Community. Which advantages does this community have, in your opinion?

Getting to know people is always an advantage, even though orders are beginning to arrive only at the second or third level of your contacts. You have to understand well that before getting anything back, you have to offer something. You have to be very generous, which is very difficult because we all think only about what we want to get, and believe that we will get results on the day after having met a new contact. Annella is an innovative platform. It is positive to have such a tool available, we should take advantage of it.

Taking advantage of Internet is something to work on…

It is a question of culture and predisposition. If you do not understand what Internet is for and the advantages you can have from it, you will not get anything. You have to spend some time for it every day.

Is it the key to your growth in spite of the crisis?

We have had a 30% growth per year for three years, which is a lot. This year, our forecasts indicate a stabilisation. If our sales decrease, it will be of 5% to 10%. In these times of crisis, being able to maintain our level of sales is very positive, considering the structure we have. We are 20 workers. A lot of what we manage to get comes from our internationalization, and of the fact that we are very active on a business point of view. We use a lot online social networks. We study which community is the most popular for each country and try to contact the engineers that interest us in each company. Thanks to this, our number of orders has not decreased. The situation is complicated, but we are optimistic because this crisis, like all the others, will finish, and the companies remaining will be stronger.