COMPANY REPORT



Felipe Villareal

CEO | Alian Plastics
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Felipe Villareal

CEO | Alian Plastics
Q: How did Alian Plastics weather the pandemic in 2020?
A: Last year, the world stopped between March and May amid the pandemic. Thanks to our diversification strategy started two years ago, we saw our HVAC and toys segments carry on while automotive was slowing down. After July, the automotive sector came back even stronger. In fact, we gained two new projects during the pandemic, with BMW and Tesla.
Q: What new technologies in the plastic injection sector are helping your business?
A: We recently invested in new machinery related to the recent projects we won. Plastic injection companies use the same brands and technologies; the difference is in the peripheral equipment. A plastic injection machine with an additional robot or robot end-arm can boost productivity levels considerably. Those end-arms are custom-made for specific processes.
Another promising technology is automated storage and supply for the machines, where tubes and automated infrastructure deliver resins to the machines automatically. Today, the process is done manually. That is a technology worth exploring.
More technologies and robots will continue to be incorporated into manufacturing lines. However, those robots and technologies will not displace human capital.
We are all looking forward to increasing profitability but not at the expense of the human element. In plastic injection, the expertise that employees acquire is impressive, from molds to maintenance. If we focus on people, it will eventually lead to profitability. Our motto is that, “We take care of our people, so they take care of their people.”
Q: How has the company used data analytics and new technologies to streamline its processes?
A: We have an Industry 4.0 platform that sends alerts every time a machine stops and provides the reason why, whether it is a matter of quality, production, maintenance or another factor. Those automatic alerts help us to react faster and take action toward our common goal to continue improving as a company.
Every month we analyze all our machines and areas that were affected by stoppages to determine the five most problematic and address them. We have seen major improvement through this process.
We also have a variety of dashboards that were developed internally to process all of our information. Through these dashboards, we can merge all major KPIs into a single scorecard within our quality system, IATF:16949, and visualize the information on a mobile or desktop app.
Q: What are the keys to promoting project ownership and outstanding results?
A: The key is the total involvement of operators since they deal with the process every day and can provide valuable insights. They feel they own the project because they enjoy what they do, the organizational structure and the culture behind it.
We create a healthy working environment that promotes respect, companionship and understanding, where we are all equal and heading toward the same objective, even though we have different positions. This has been the key to our success, as different projects have shown. As with any process, these strategies require a certain period to mature. Three years ago, we were not at the point where we are today, so we continue to nourish the seed we planted, which will later prove fruitful for the company.
At all levels, from executives to operators, we feel empowered by the goals of Alian Plastics. Rather than having employees who just follow instructions, we want them to embrace our goals as their own. Human capital is essential in every organization. This year should be even better than the last in terms of taking care of our human capital.
Q: How can employees better embrace new manufacturing technologies?
A: All changes in the manufacturing sector can be seen through the lean manufacturing method. One of the method’s principles is that change will always meet resistance. Every time we implement a new technology there will be resistance. Someone who is used to taking notes or filling in excel sheets will find it difficult to adapt when a new system is implemented. Making them fall in love with new technologies is a process that is complemented by a robust training program.
The key element is to explain why the new system or technology is important and to help employees understand how it will help with the work they do. The basic principle is that technology will not replace their jobs but reduce the amount of manual labor and add more value to the overall operation.
The clearest example is using masks to prevent COVID-19. Many people avoided using masks until they understood the logic behind them. Explaining the why and the reasoning behind it is really important.
The environment also fosters technical innovation because our customers are constantly requesting increasingly competitive prices, deliveries, and higher quality and we need to continue incorporating new technologies as the automotive sector demands.
Q: What are your near-term priorities?
A: Last year was excellent for us in terms of deliveries and quality from an operational perspective. Our goal for this year is to surpass those results, taking into account both the initial productive capacity reduction and its later growth. We are going to demonstrate the capabilities of our different teams since production volume this year has increased significantly from 2020.

CEO | Alian Plastics
Q: What are the main milestones that Alian Plastics has achieved under your leadership?
A: Alian Plastics started on a market diversification plan just before the pandemic, which was beneficial because the automotive industry was hit hard in 2020 and its recovery has been slow. Another achievement was the development of our team’s organizational culture. Companies are made of people so organizational culture can define the success or failure of any company. Through this culture and market diversification, we have achieved healthy sales levels.
Q: How has Alian Plastics’ diversification helped the company during the several production stoppages suffered within the automotive sector?
A: We previously supplied exclusively to automotive companies. While Alian Plastics continues to support premium brands, such as Audi, BMW, Tesla and Fiat Ducato, we have also diversified into the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), toys, gardening and heavy-duty sectors. We are providing quotes to companies in many other industries this year as a result of the nearshoring boom that is benefiting Mexico and the development of local suppliers.
Q: What are the main challenges when diversifying your market?
A: The first challenge is to have the right technical expertise related to this type of industry, which requires the right talent to deliver quality products on time. Then, we must understand the product. The automotive industry is highly demanding in terms of quality and delivery. This has opened doors to other sectors because companies trust our quality. For example, while producing plastic for toys, we must be careful with the materials we inject because children usually place toys in their mouths. We have additional certifications guaranteeing that the products we manufacture are made with the proper materials.
Q: What are the main keys for success for Alian Plastics?
A: It is essential to be open and embrace change. At Alian Plastics, we know that we might have to change procedures from one day to the next. We must adapt to microeconomic, macroeconomic and major industry changes.
While talent and human capital remain important, the operation depends on procedures rather than on the human factor. If people create good procedures for others to follow, the operation can continue with new talent, as long as it is capable and trained.
Q: What are the trends that Alian Plastics has detected within the automotive sector and what are its main challenges in keeping up with production?
A: Changes in the automotive industry have opened up opportunities for Alian Plastics, mainly to serve the EV market. We provide components for Tesla’s Model 3 and we just won a program for the Model Y, which will be manufactured in San Antonio, Texas. EVs, and vehicles in general, are turning to plastics and aluminum as the ideal lightweighting materials.
During the pandemic, there was not enough human capital to produce the raw materials we required, so we ran out of
components for our resin extractors. The plastic injection market is seeing a large boom but resin extractors remain the same and their capacity to produce has decreased. Some days are better than others as suppliers may run out of raw materials at any time. There is constant tension and uncertainty.
Q: What strategies has Alian Plastics implemented to secure supplies in this difficult environment?
A: Internally, we increased our purchase orders to have more inventory available. Previously, the lead time was four to eight weeks depending on the resin but now suppliers are asking for a lead time of 24 to 28 weeks. Most of the components we produce, such as those for Audi, BMW and Tesla, use directed resins. We can find additional suppliers to produce those specific resins.
Diversification remains key, not only regarding different markets and industries but also with suppliers. Doing this can save companies not only in the present situation but also in the future.
Q: How is Alian Plastics investing in new processes, technologies and machinery to improve operations?
A: Quality and timely delivery are at our core. Talent is behind our success in both areas but people require tools to work with. Alian Plastics has invested in measurement tools for its metrology laboratory, 3D arms to scan parts and an Industry 4.0 system that detects problems in real time and sends alerts immediately. Our entire staff is alerted when a machine stops. They immediately know the reason for the stoppage and the person responsible for fixing it. In addition to addressing the problem and allowing operations to continue, the system has inadvertently created a healthy competition within the team. No one wants to receive an alert that a machine has stopped due to lack of maintenance or material. This technological approach has helped us a great deal.
Q: How does Alian Plastics work to make the most of its technological tools?
A: The best result is obtained by taking into account the opinion of the user, whether it is the operator, metrologist, quality manager or maintenance manager. They are the ones who enrich these tools. If we do not listen to their needs as we listen to those of our customers, we cannot get the most from our investment in those tools.
Q: In your last Expert Contributor piece for MBN, you talked about sacrifice as the fourth “S” in the formula for success. How are you working to fulfill all four S’s?
A: Success involves a cultural change within the organization based on self-confidence, speed, simplicity and sacrifice. Self-confidence is crucial to perform well. Speed is also important considering the current environment. Simplicity is essential as it enables fast reactions. Sacrifice is the fourth “S.” Sometimes it involves working twice as hard because a colleague has COVID-19 and you have to support the operation. This double work takes away your personal time. Often.
it is necessary to follow up on a product at 3 a.m. because the entire operation depends on it. With sacrifice as the fourth “S,” companies are ready to succeed.

CEO | Alian Plastics
he 3 S’s of winning in business are Speed, Simplicity, and Self-confidence.” Jack Welch.
In my last article. I wrote about Simplicity, one of the “S’s” mentioned in the quote from the great Jack Welch.
Today, I am writing regarding another “S,” where he reminds us that Speed coupled with simplicity and confidence are the keys to winning in business.
As Albert Einstein aptly put it, “Nothing happens until something moves.”
And we must move and move fast, at a speed where we can continue to be the best suppliers for our customers and provide benefits to our employees and shareholders.
I had mentioned in my previous article that we are living in such a complex environment, from a health and business perspective, and today in September 2021, I can say that it is even harder and more challenging than it was three months ago.
And as a curious fact for some, but extremely true, our customers today consider speed as a fact, not as an added value, and that is a reality.
If we think about the disaster related to all supply chains today due to multiple commodities being in short supply, the speed with which we analyze, act, and serve customers will be a culture of speed that keeps your business afloat.
And speaking of logistics and supply chains, literally one second can make the difference between receiving or not receiving material in the necessary time.
The maritime ports of China, Europe and America have collapsed, the dispatch times of merchandise are ridiculous if we compare them with the pre-COVID-19 era, but that is the reality and we must learn to manage the new times; the speed with which we act will maintain or take away participation in each client’s portfolio.
As Susan Wojcicki, CEO of YouTube, aptly put it, “Work smart. Get things done. No nonsense. Move fast.”
Just like in any sport, the more you practice speed, the easier it becomes to make it part of any company’s culture, allowing the entrepreneurs, business owners and employees to eventually move at a rapid pace with ease, making it part of the day-to-day routine and the normal way of working.
One recent example: During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, between first, second and third place in marathon swimming, it was a difference of less than 1 minute. Yes, less than one minute! This is the speed I am referring to. Maybe you will never know how fast you think you are swimming until you realize how your competitors are doing.
It is not easy. People in companies are afraid to move quickly sometimes, afraid to have failures in quality, processes, just to mention some. But if you implement control, discipline and speed to procedures and establish a solid method of delivering a quality

product on time, people will keep trying their best to implement a continuous improvement culture with speed, which will be, in the end, an important business distinction to evolve and ensure solid growth. It needs to be all about moving forward, strongly promoting a culture of innovation.
Embrace the technologies that help you to accelerate the decisions for your business because business success is dependent on having the right information at the right time.
The pandemic made us do away with many paradigms that we believed to be accurate. IT speed is also your business speed, along with solid processes established through your Quality, Safety and Environment Systems, and supported by certifications. We discovered that we could work in a different way. We also discovered that the 7.7 billion people who live in this world are facing a common situation and learn to get ahead. The same thing happens in business: we are all living, to a greater or lesser extent, the effects of this health crisis. Given the speed at which industries and markets are reactivating, we must learn to respond at a faster speed.
Think about the glorious ‘80s and ‘90s. Blockbuster was one of the biggest entertainment companies in the world. And, what happened? They could not change with the speed that the world required, and today they are gone. Now, there is a huge entertainment company called Netflix, which replaced Blockbuster, just to mention one.
Act fast and at the speed that you’d like to be served.
In our case, for example, in the plastic injection industry, where tooling designs, development and manufacturing take months, either for mid or large tonnage machines, development of a new project is so critical and precise that all parties need to act with engineering intelligence and speed. A perfectly managed project without speed is useless in today’s environment. Businesses must be fast to maintain relevance.
The world is moving fast, and it will continue moving faster and faster. Acceleration becomes a function of innovation and when you innovate you provide tools and strength to your team to move faster at a speed that industries and markets are requesting.
Until the next time. Keep Safe!

CEO | Alian Plastics
he 3 S’s of winning in business are Speed, Simplicity, and Self-confidence.” Jack Welch.
In my last two articles, I wrote about two “Winning S’s:” Speed and Simplicity. In this article I am focusing on the third: Self-confidence
As the Dalai Lama aptly put it, “With realization of one’s own potential and self-confidence in one’s ability, one can build a better world.”
Wikipedia also provides an interesting description: “Confidence is a state of being clear-headed either that a hypothesis or prediction is correct or that a chosen course of action is the best or most effective. Confidence comes from a Latin word, ‘fidere,’ which means ‘to trust;’ therefore, having self-confidence is having trust in one’s self.”
I mentioned in my previous articles that we are living in a complex environment, from a health and business perspective, and today, in November 2021, I can say that it is even harder and more challenging than before to prepare business plans and strategies considering what the business world is facing: very complex supply chains, price increases in different materials and commodities, multiple shortages in the automotive industry, and another 1,000 etceteras. There are so many variables that disturb our brains and sometimes leave us believing that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, that we must step back, breathe and believe in ourselves, really care about our potential and have a positive belief in our skills and attitude. At the end of the day, this is what selfconfidence is.
With our current political, macroeconomic business and health environments, to mention some, it is not easy to be confident in yourself, and even harder if you are self-critical or if other people put you down or don´t believe in your vision and strategies. Trusting in your own judgment, capacities and abilities, valuing yourself and feeling worthy, regardless of any imperfections or what others may believe about you, is what self-confidence means.
Self-confident people demonstrate attractive characteristics: they inspire, trust, and build confidence in others.
As Mark Twain aptly put it, “A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”
People who lack self-confidence are less likely to achieve the success that could give them more confidence. We weren’t born to be persons who don’t approve of ourselves; we were born to be successful leaders, successful parents, successful human beings. Confidence can make you more motivated and ambitious, less anxious and stressed and it is more likely to drive performance, career growth and work relationships.
And you may wonder, how do I assure I am a successful human at work, at home, in life? In my opinion, it is simple, or sounds simple: Have the confidence to leave behind what makes you comfortable to try new challenges, while always doing the right thing despite what others might think of
you; focus on your strengths and learn from your mistakes, It’s difficult to accept failure, but failure can influence how you apply your skills in future trials, while on the other hand, focusing on your strengths can help you boost your confidence, as it requires you to measure your success and abilities.
Think about the characteristics you see in a person who you may think is very self-confident, such as the way they interact, the way they speak and the level of energy they transmit to you. What do you not have that those people do, and would you likely be willing to start working on yourself to gain some of those characteristics? And even more interesting, how can you even improve those characteristics and behaviors of others in yourself?
Finding business success is dependent on having selfconfidence. Imagine yourself speaking to a potential, big customer and trying to get them to know your company without showing enthusiasm or energy, and without knowing your own stuff, products, or markets. I might say that would be the last time you talk to that person. You can show selfconfidence in your behavior, your body language, and in what you say and how you say it.
Opportunities occur maybe just once in a lifetime and there is a right way to take advantage. But you need to feel selfconfident to make it a success.
Do self-confident people feel fear? Of course! The difference is how this fear is managed and how it gets evaluated in the situation to find the best way to tackle it.
Self-confident people also don’t necessarily have broad knowledge of every single subject. Instead, self-confident people learn about the subject they need to handle or work on, and in doing this they become self-confident. Remember that one good method of learning is to ask questions, analyze the answers, then ask questions again. Ask, ask and ask.
No matter how challenging the situation becomes, a project can be successfully developed its leader has enough selfconfidence.
It would not be wrong to say that self-confidence comes with experience. With time, self-confidence develops because you must deal with different problematic circumstances over time.
For example, in our case, developing a new project in the plastic injection industry, where tooling designs, development and manufacturing take months, whether for mid or large tonnage machines. Development of a new project is so critical and precise that the entire time and all parties need to act with engineering intelligence and speed, and there is always a need for a person with enormous self-confidence, who knows what needs to be done to get things done on time and at the best quality and cost.
The world is changing every day, and it will continue moving faster and faster. Put your self-confident hat on. Put the selfconfidence hat on your team, and as Jack Welch aptly put it, “Change before you have to.”

Achieving ‘Success’ With the ‘4S’s’
CEO | Alian Plastics
iven the challenges companies worldwide are facing today, where the only certainty we have is that nothing is certain, the “S” formula is more important than ever to remain profitable.
As Jack Welch aptly put it, “The three 3S’s of winning in business are Speed, Simplicity, and Self-confidence.”
In my last three articles, I wrote about how I see these three S’s in today’s business environment. I will add another “S” now: Sacrifices, which must be made in today’s reality to take your company to the next level. If you add this fourth “S,” you then get a fifth “S:”
Speed + Simplicity + Self-Confidence + Sacrifices = Success
This is the formula of the four “S’s” that give us as a result the fifth “S” that all look for in business.
As you read these lines, I think you would agree with me that most of us began this year on a positive note, thinking that the 3S’s would be ready and easy to apply in our entrepreneurial and day-to-day business environment. We thought that after going through the tough COVID-19 pandemic and disrupted supply chains in 2021, all seemed to be looking better for 2022. But it has not turned out as we expected. We are still living in such a complex environment, from a health and business perspective. To this, we can also now add an unfortunate war between two nations.
Given the many variables that are disturbing our business focus, we must step back and remember that how you respond to our current problems will determine your business’s success or failure.
Each type of business faces its own unique challenges and knowing that other companies are going through the same thing can make it easier to deal with. To face the business requirements in today’s environment means going the extra mile and making sacrifices. In our case, the resins from all over the world that are necessary for the manufacturing of plastic injection are hard to get and also expensive to transport from other continents. And that is if you are lucky enough to find the ships for transport because the ports are congested to the point of being stopped and it is hard to get these ships out to the ocean.
I bet that those who work in supply chain and logistics would agree 100 percent on what the feeling is now. Here is a first example of sacrifice. These people do make a sacrifice. How? For one, they are tracking shipments at maybe 1 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m. or maybe 24 hours a day. They do sacrifice personal time, family time and sleep. Without these sacrifices, companies wouldn’t get the raw material needed to produce the components that make up a car, an air conditioner, or a toy (that will make a child happy), just to mention a few.
The fun doesn’t end here. Once we get the raw material, the production guys face their own challenges, such as having enough labor to operate, which is another sacrifice:
employees having to work overtime to cover absenteeism or turnover. Then, the industrial engineering and lean manufacturing team are working to simplify processes and make everything easier.
Then, there is a problem with a machine and the maintenance guys need to put in an extra effort to solve it, also sacrificing their days and nights.
Then, a quality problem arises and a quality team fast tracks an investigation into the root cause to keep production running and ship inventory to customers.
Then, the product is ready but there is no container ship available to ship and here come the shipping guys, finding transportation 24/7.
Then an incident occurs and here comes HR and EHS to take care of our employees.
Then, there are the invoices on hold and the finances needed to solve the issue of receiving payments from our customers, so we can pay our suppliers and our employees.
Then, customers need to move production from somewhere else to Mexico and the sales team needs to fast track the delivery RFQs so they are on time, day or night.
As a result, nearshoring is stronger than ever. I am seeing its impact on different countries, including Spain, Israel, Turkey, China, the US and Germany. We need to take advantage of these new business opportunities and if necessary, sacrifice our personal time and deliver as fast as possible.
Then there is the head of the organization receiving input from all areas and ensuring speed, simplicity and selfconfidence to help the team make decisions at any time of the week and on weekends.
Does any of this sound familiar? Anyone?
The message I am sending here is that we need to work with a high level of urgency, putting Speed in our communications and deliverables to our customers, finding Simplicity in our processes, having a high level of Self-confidence, giving the extra mile and making Sacrifices. The result will be Success for our customers, our suppliers, and our organizations, marking a differentiation in the market.
In our case at Alian Plastics, when developing a new project for the plastic injection industry, tooling design, development and its manufacture take months, either for medium or large tonnage machines. Development of a new project is so critical and precise that for the entire duration, all parties need to act with engineering intelligence and speed and there is always the need for a person with enormous capacity to think in terms of simplicity and with self-confidence, knowing that sacrifices will be needed to get things done on time and at the best quality and cost.
With our current political and macroeconomic landscape, including the business and health environments, it is not easy

to combine all these “S’s” but with a focus on teamwork, walking toward the same common goal, and having proper communication can solve any problem.
I can tell you those who combine the four “S’s” to obtain the fifth demonstrate attractive characteristics: they are able to inspire and build trust and confidence in others. These types of people in business have a great imagination.
I began my professional career at General Electric, which is a great company that allowed me to work in different environments and cultures in Mexico, the US and Puerto Rico. It introduced me to a quote that I use with my team on a daily basis: “Imagination at Work.”
As Albert Einstein aptly put it, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
People who have a high sense of imagination at work are very likely to work with these four “S’s” in every possible moment. We spend so much time working and making an effort to make things happen and to do that well, that I truly believe being able to have fun and deliver the best of yourself through these four “S’s” will give you a huge sense of satisfaction.
I invite you to emphasize the “S” formula with a definite determination. As Tony Robbins said: “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”

CEO | Alian Plastics
As Benjamin Franklin aptly put it “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.”
In my last four articles I wrote about how I see the “5Ss” to win in today´s business environment: Speed + Simplicity + Self-Confidence + Sacrifices = Success
This is the formula of 4 “Ss” that give us as a result the fifth “S” that all look for in business.
This fifth “S” is Success and should and must be translated to growth. This is the real meaning of working with all these Ss. Where are you driving your team and your business is where the word Growth comes in and where it takes its meaning.
During your work journey, learning should remain active and unique on a daily basis. As you keep learning in an everyday business environment, you continue to reinforce your mind and guide the efforts toward fantastic growth.
In our case, in the manufacturing environment of plastic injection, the expertise and knowledge that each team member needs in order to offer absolutely outstanding quality and on-time deliveries to customers is one of the basics for ensuring an excellent performance and, due to this performance, their current customers keep believing in them and give them the honor and opportunity to create new production programs. And yes, this is business growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought too much suffering for many people. There were many losses of loved ones. There was the time lost to be together with family and friends. We learned from it.
Personally, it reminded me how vulnerable we are.
Why am I talking about the pandemic and feelings regarding it? Because we learned from it and learning gives us the strength to be passionate about what we do. It reinforces in us the meaning of serving, of helping our people, our employees, our suppliers, our customers; a strong chain will soon convert into business growth. And not only growth in business. It will also lead to your own growth.
Importantly, along the learning path, you must also learn from your mistakes.
Driving a business strategy and performance is not always a linear, straightforward and happy journey, as you might know. Remember the chorus from the Alanis Morissette song, You Learn?
“You live, you learn
You love, you learn
You cry, you learn
You lose, you learn
You bleed, you learn
You scream, you learn”
Yes, you live, you learn. You might set a strategy and make things happen only to see that it actually doesn’t come out too well. Learn from it and move on to the next step, the next strategy. Learn from your experience and improve it.
Several data points can be highlighted to show a company is growing. Among these are sales, profits, revenue and company value. To increase sales, profits, revenues and company value, the business needs us; the business needs people to make it happen.
The most important factor is having people who are intent on growing at the head of the business. One of our roles as leaders of an organization is to empower our people to serve our customers in a way that these customers continue to trust our companies, our teams. This also leads to us gaining new projects with existing and also new customers.
But a strong strategic plan needs to be in place. Every company needs a strategic plan to know where it’s headed, to get ready for change and build a strong, aligned team. Focusing on growth,the strategic plan will lead to concrete actions to achieve your goals.
Process control and discipline in manufacturing and infrastructure are also required to facilitate growth, along with enough funding to make the above possible.
I highly recommend certifications to ensure proper procedures, control and discipline.
Certifications can also provide you with even more potential to grow. For example, to gain projects in the automotive business, you must have IATF-16940 certification. ISO 90012015 is needed in some other industries.
There are several avenues of growth that can create potential for each business.
Mergers, partnerships, acquisitions, and/or strategic, internal or organic growth are six possible ways to move to the next level and drive your business along the growth path.
How can you grow your business in one, five or 10 years? It all depends on your vision and passion and where you see your company’s name over those periods of time. You also need to set goals for each. How can I achieve growth in one year? Being more realistic, how can I achieve it in five to 10 years? Plan and work for it.
As Ernest Hemingway aptly put it: “Never mistake motion for action.” Growth will happen with action and execution. If you move, it doesn’t mean that you are taking action to make things happen. Growth needs action and execution.
I invite you to take on the heat of “Growth Business Determination.” As Tony Robbins said: “The path to success is to take massive, determined action.”