Construction remains stable
HAVING OVERCOME THE 1995 CRISIS IN THE SECTOR, MEXICO'S CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES ARE CURRENTLY TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE COUNTRY'S LATEST BUILDING BOOM

BERNARDO QUINTANA Chairman and CEO of Grupo ICA

Mexico’s infrastructure needs have sparked a huge boom in the country’s construction industry, and the rush to build better homes and highways for an increasingly demanding populace is expected to continue for years. This positive trend has allowed the main players in the sector to get over the devastating crisis of 1995 that left most Mexican construction companies in ruins.
This is especially true for Grupo ICA, Mexico’s largest construction firm and the first to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Grupo ICA was one of the few to survive the 1995 building bust, and according to the company’s chairman and CEO, Bernardo Quintana, the firm’s strategy of forging a strong international presence and partnerships with companies in countries like the United States, Canada, Spain, France and Italy kept it afloat during the lean years.
“Joint ventures are very important for ICA. We have had many good partners in all the principal countries of the world and feel that it is to our advantage to always be open to these possibilities where we can share our strengths and risks,” Mr. Quintana says, while noting that his group’s partnership with the U.S. firm Flour has been particularly beneficial for both companies.

GUILLERMO ALVAREZ CUEVAS CUEVAS Director General of Cementos Cruz Azul

The daunting task of feeding the construction boom in Mexico and abroad eventually depends on the ability to supply the builders with the raw materials. Mexican cement manufacturers are perhaps the most well known in the world, with the country being home to such industry giants as Cemex and the private 121-year-old cement manufacturer Cooperativa Cruz Azul, Mexico’s third largest.
Cruz Azul, which analysts say is currently poised to grab a bigger share of the global market, is by far the most innovative of the Mexican cement producers. Its recent investment of $180 million in an ultra-modern cement plant in Aguascalientes is just one example of the company’s pledge to be the sector’s leader in production efficiency, notes Cooperativa Cruz Azul director general Guillermo Alvarez Cuevas.

STRENGTH IN DEPTH A willingness to forge partnerships with foreign players has strengthened Mexico’s construction firms.

“The Aguascalientes plant is one of the most modern in the world, and not just because it was only recently inaugurated and thus has the most technologically advanced equipment available,” Mr. Alvarez points out, “but also because we are always optimizing our production process whether it be with the use of modern machinery or improving on the utilization of electrical power. And that goes for all of our plants.”
Cruz Azul’s total annual production at its three plants is about 6.5 million tons and word is that the company is being wined and dined by several international players in the cement industry who are seeking strategic alliances with efficient firms in Mexico.
But there is much more to Cruz Azul than manufacturing cement. More than 5,000 families depend on the cooperative, whose stated mission is to strive for both industrial and social development in Mexico. “We aim to share our progress with the communities in which we are present, not only by providing jobs, but by improving the overall quality of life in these areas through health, culture and sports programs,” Mr. Alvarez explains.