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Welding: 'That's awesome!'

I"m writing this from WeldMex, a welding tradeshow in Mexico City. We"re trying to promote The FABRICATOR en Español to Mexican metal fabricators.



All in all, there"s some interesting things that I"ve learned about the Mexican market:

  • Welding technology companies are positive about the Mexican market because the country"s new presidential administration has enacted legislation that makes any capital equipment purchase made in 2008 completely tax-deductible.

  • The automotive market is sluggish as it is everywhere, but opportunity exists elsewhere in Mexico. One exhibitor mentioned the recent relocation of three medium-sized shipbuilding companies to Mexico.

  • While automation is of interest to many shops in the U.S. because they can"t find the right personnel to fit their needs, the same is not yet true to the same degree in the Mexican market. Because welding technology companies rely on a distributor base in Mexico, many of them don"t have the service personnel in this country that would be necessary to guide welding shops down the automation path.

  • The metal fabricating market around Mexico City is not unlike the U.S. A lot of small shops are doing a lot of metal bending, cutting, and joining. The large manufacturing operations, connected to U.S. and other multinational companies, are mostly found in northern Mexico.


But that"s not the big news. Having drinks at a nearby hotel, I met members of the Saintsations, the New Orleans Saints cheerleading team.



Chatted with Britney and Ashley for a while. The team was in Mexico City to promote the Super Bowl for the National Football League. They had a schedule of appearances in the city, as they worked to publicize football norte americano.



All is well with family and friends back in New Orleans, as the region continues its recovery from Katrina. They have to take a test that challenges their football knowledge before they can become members of the team. And they can"t date any of the players.



Oh, one more thing. When Britney asked what I did for a living, I told her I worked in the publications department for the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, and we covered areas such as welding.



That"s awesome, she replied.



I"m not going to argue with her. So cheers to the welding community from an admiring fan.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Dan Davis

Editor-in-Chief

2135 Point Blvd.

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8281

Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.