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1. B Y S T E V E M I N T E R
LEADERSHIP
&STRATECY
Respect Underpins Success of Mexican Plant
Plantronics' happy marriage of competition and caring even includes family weddings.
Bustamante:
"We are
focused on
being leaders
ot each one of
the things we
do, whether it is
monufacturing»
logistics,
development
of techttology
or technical
assittance."
W
hen Alejandro Busta-
mante took over as
president of Plantron-
ics' Tijuana, Mexico, manufactur-
ing facility 16 years ago, he met
the first day with his staff and said
he would promise them only one
thing—respect. For Bustamante,
respect meant investing in the
development of his people, not
only as employees but as fam-
ily members and members of the
community. Do that, he believes,
and you develop people who can
contribute more to the company.
Today, Bustamante speaks with
ohvious pride about bow that
philosophy has helped build a
world-class facility, encompassing
four buildings and 2,200 employ-
ees, that produces approximately
70% of the wireless headsets and
other communications equipment
manufactured by Santa Cruz,
Calif.-based Plantronics. Unlike
typical maquiladora facilities in
the area, the Plantronics Mexico
plant, known as Plamex, boasts a
science center with more than 100
engineers, a logistics center and a
customer service center.
Bustamante says the facility's
operating philosophy starts with
clearly communicating to associ-
ates their roles and responsibilities,
and what performance expecta-
tions are for them. Plamex operates
through a series of self-directed
teams. Teams are responsible for
conducting operations and meeting
company goals. Cross-functional
teams are created "wbenever we
need to improve something,"
Bustamante notes. Six Sigma teams
are employed for more complex
problems. This emphasis on teams,
Bustamante says, creates an "army"
of associates who understand the
challenges in their operating areas
and have a clear mechanism for
improving them.
Plamex puts a premium on lead-
ership and competitiveness. A lead-
ership development program spells
out a career path for every associate.
"If you are a production supervi-
sor and want to become an inter-
national buyer, we will help with
that," says Bustamante. Plamex
works with local schools and uni-
versities to provide programs rang-
ing from helping employees finish
high school to attaining graduate
degrees in engineering.
Every Plamex employee is
given business cards. Maggi Phil-
lips, a business professor at Pep-
perdine University, notes that
most workers at Plamex are not
locals. When they visit home,
handing out their business card
impresses family and friends
and serves as a great recruitment
device. Tbese kinds of practices.
she says, build mutual respect and
keep turnover rates low.
Bustamante has made a practice
of benchmarking other facilities
and bringing best practices back
to Plamex. The plant employs
just-in-time and other lean manu-
facturing practices. Highly fiexible
production lines can handle up to
30 different models a day. That's
important given that the facility
must be capable of producing up
to 6,000 final SKUs. Bustamante
notes that the plant fills 93% of its
orders within 48 hours.
Open communications are
encouraged. The minutes from
Bustamante's weekly staff meeting
are posted at noon each Monday,
an hour after the meeting ends.
Meeting notes also are posted from
the weekly operations meeting.
Bustamante has introduced a
raft of benefits to employees over
the years, including on-site health-
care, family programs on parenting
and drug prevention, and, perhaps
most famously, weddings. In the
past 10 years, 540 employees have
been married at tbe facility. With
employees donating their help
and the plant's buying power put
to work for items such as fiowers,
Bustamante says the average wed-
ding costs $350.
The Plamex facility hosts about
6,000 visitors a year. Kenn Mor-
ris, president of the Crossborder
Group, says Plamex belps dispel
the idea that the maquiladora
plants are "akin to slave labor."
Instead, he says, visitors come
away with a new-found respect for
a manufacturing facility that could
easily compete with top plants in
the United States or Europe. H<
14 IW SEPTEMBER 201 I I WWW.INDUSTRYWEEK.COM

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