Developing Jalisco
Construction sector in Jalisco closed 2021 with 6% growth
The construction sector in Jalisco closed 2021 with 6% growth, according to the president of the Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC), Carlos del Río Madrigal.
“This year in Jalisco we have recovered more than 8,600 formal jobs in our sector, we are still not exactly where we were (prior to the pandemic), (…) but we have practically achieved full recovery in construction jobs,” Del Río Madrigal indicates.
According to statistics from the Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) Guadalajara chapter, real estate sales in the Guadalajara metropolitan area grew 7% in 2021.
Tierra y Armonía (TYA) is a construction company that has been contributing to this sector for more than 40 years. It is currently the leader in the middle-income and residential housing markets, with the highest average sales per development. In the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, it has a 21% market share in this segment, where throughout its history it has sold more than 40 thousand units.
TYA specializes in six areas: Residential, Middle-Income, Metropolitan, Tourist, Corporate Commercial and Industrial, in Jalisco, Nayarit, Nuevo León, Querétaro, and Quintana Roo.
“The idea is that you can live in a house of one to two million MXN and practically have all the services and equipment, as if it were a house of double or triple the value,” says Juan José Errejón Alfaro, TYA's general director.
Furthermore, TYA's DNA includes evolution, continuous innovation and the search for new business models and technologies. For this reason, TYA has created the first Real Estate Tech and Prop Tech accelerator in Latin America, with which it seeks to revolutionize the real estate sector.
In 2021, the Real Estate Developers Association awarded the company first place for its mixed-use project in Guadalajara, Punto Sur Lifestyle Boulevard, recognizing it as one of the best projects throughout the country. It was also recognized as one of the Best Mexican Companies of 202 for the eighth consecutive year. This recognition awards medium-sized private companies around Mexico that stand out for their high level of performance in business management.
During 2022, TYA will initiate its most important project in the Riviera Maya and consolidate its investments in Jalisco and Querétaro, launching more than 10 new real estate projects.
“Industrial real estate activity generates a valuable economic benefit for the state. The warehouses or industrial parks that G Industrial develops, as well as the movement generated during the construction process (…) translate into the creation of jobs,” says Daniel García Suárez, CEO of G Industrial.
Garcia entered the industrial real estate business by accident. He started as a broker 25 years ago, his business evolved, and today he is a developer. At the time, he had the opportunity to serve Flextronics, Jabil and Sanmina, among others.
G Industrial is currently developing a 62-hectare park in El Salto, Jalisco. It signed a 15-hectare transaction for CPA, developers of the Technology Park, where the distribution center of Amazon is under construction. On the other hand, the consortium acquired land for upcoming projects in Ciudad Juárez, Monterrey and Dallas, Texas, cities in which it plans to have five projects per year.
His expectation is to replicate his business in the United States, which consists of developing, renting and selling. García Suárez considers that the profitability offered by the United States is currently important, “and an industrial warehouse is a financial vehicle; in other words, a warehouse is an investment fund.” He adds, “We already have all the equipment and the first land purchased, we are ready to start projects in the
United States.”
KAAB is a company specialized in investment, development, and construction. One of its most recent projects is the Axis Logistics Center, strategically located just 16 km from the Guadalajara International Airport. It also has real estate developments in the most exclusive area of Zapopán: Privé and Élevé.
In Los Cabos, Baja California, they have their emblematic project: Solaria Ocean View Condos. A unique high-end condominium with breathtaking panoramic views of the Arch, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez, designed to make tenants feel like they are living in a hotel.
These projects would not be possible without the quality of construction materials that can be found in Jalisco. Although these products are not visible to the naked eye, they are an important part of creating unique and avant-garde environments in emblematic buildings and constructions.
For more than 50 years, Perdura Adhesivos has positioned itself as the leading brand in flooring and tile adhesives, grouts and stucco.
The first stone of Perdura was laid in Guadalajara in 1967, but over time it has expanded throughout the Mexican Republic through its more than 400 distributors.
For its part, Perdura Stone has extensive experience in the production of decorative stone. It currently exports to around 15 countries, its most significant market being the United States (Texas, California, Colorado, and Arizona). Its handcrafted characteristic distinguishes it from other products in the market, since it is made with specialized craftsman-ship from Jalisco, well known in the construction industry.
Real estate sales in the Guadalajara metropolitan area grew 7% in 2021
Another innovative project led by Gerardo Sánchez, CEO of Perdura Adhesivos and Perdura Stone, is AbadiEco. This company manufactures compostable, degradable and environmentally-friendly bags, which are certified as a totally plastic-free product.
Its immediate goal is to promote its 100% compostable, single-use bag in Mexico, the United States and Latin America, which, given the critical situation in the world due to plastic pollution, will help the environment.
Perdura Stone's expectation is to grow and become a leading brand, especially in the southern part of the United States, by using Jalisco's excellent labor force, the innovative products they manufacture, and the support the state government provides to talented companies to become exporters.
Sánchez says he is proud to generate ideas and give them shape, to serve through people: “We really trust our (800) collaborators. We have the obligation to continue generating ideas, jobs and new businesses. Obviously the economic part is fundamental, but also the social part: the fact that our people are always well off and have the possibility to excel.”
However, Del Río Madrigal warns that 2022 is perceived as a complicated year for builders in Jalisco due to increases in their basic supply costs due to inflation. “During 2021 the most important cost increases have been in the materials derived from steel, for example the structure, plate, beam and RTP had an increase of 103%, (…) corrugated rebar increased by 68%, steel sheet increased 79%.” indicates Del Río Madrigal.
Regarding the steel industry, Emilio Corona Macías, CEO of Grupo Comercial Tajsa, notes there are currently shortages and that prices are high, which generates a lot of uncertainty in the company's management. He continues, “The irregular situation of the industry due to the atypical moment of the pandemic has caused bad months and good months.”
For the time being, their expectations go hand in hand with the stabilization of the steel industry.
Grupo Comercial Tajsa is a company with 48 years of experience in the commercialization of carbon steel pipe. The pipe covers different uses and applications such as conduction, construction, deep wells, metallic structures and billboards, among others.
Among the projects that feature Tajsa's products are the Guadalajara Airport, the Matute Remus Bridge, the Telmex Auditorium and the new Tec de Monterrey buildings. “It fills us with pride to know that we participated in such emblematic structures for the economy, culture and education,” says Emilio. As for their experience abroad, they had the opportunity to work in Chile thanks to their good relationship with Chilean construction companies, of which Tajsa is an exclusive supplier.
The group also had the opportunity to reach the United States with certain projects, in which its Mexican clients already identified the projects and Grupo Comercial Tajsa was invited to participate.
Grupo Comercial Tajsa is currently working on several additional projects, including Vidanta's Cirque du Soleil in Puerto Vallarta, the new Lienzo Charro in Aguascalientes, and the Macrobús Periférico stations in Guadalajara, just to name a few.
Meanwhile, Letsa has maintained its exponential growth year after year, increasing its installed capacity by more than 200%.
For this Mexican company, positioning itself in the national and international market has meant overcoming great challenges. However, Letsa's positioning also represents its greatest achievement. It competes with large companies worldwide to build meaningful projects, which has motivated them to improve continuously.
Letsa became one of the first companies to produce translucent laminates on a continuous basis. Alejandro Huerta Leal implements a business model inherited from his father, Mr. José de Jesús Huerta García, which has led the business to be a quality, highly productive and efficient company with its customers.
Letsa is currently present throughout Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and part of South America. Huerta Ramos, current CEO, explains that they are seeking to project the company into new horizons, with a great inclination towards the United States. The company currently participates in the U.S. market with specialized parts for the petrochemical industry and is expecting to serve the commercial and industrial markets, too.
On the other hand, Grupo Urrea's Tools and Locksmith Division is a 100% Mexican company with a global presence. It is the largest manufacturer of forged tools in Latin America.
Alfonso Urrea Martín, CEO of the company, also shares through talks and a book he authored called Vivir, trabajar y crecer en familia (Living, working, and growing as a family), how they have managed to maintain a family business for more than 114 years.
Currently, the division headed by Urrea Martin has two priority distribution centers outside Mexico: one in Texas, from which it covers North America, and another in Colombia, which, in addition to serving the entire country, allows them to prepare for future expansion to other regions of Latin America. In Mexico, they are starting the construction of their fourth factory. In the next decade, Urrea Martin plans to offer 30 thousand specialized products.