World Report

E-Mexico signals a new era of transparency, accessibility and communication at some of the country’s leading firms

ew technology as applied to the construction industry has won Grupo Ken contracts to build premises for dozens of foreign companies locating in Mexico. From massive distribution centres to offices, and from industrial plants to residential buildings, the company has completed an impressive list of projects all over the country. Clients have included Mercedes Benz, FedEx, Kellog’s and Halliburton, among many others.

Gerardo Garcia-Bartning
‘We want government commitment for further development’

Grupo Ken was established more than 11 years ago as a design and construction company in Queretaro City, where it still has its headquarters. Gerardo Garcia-Bartning, the President and Director General, says it moved very rapidly from being a general contractor to a construction firm, providing a wide range of services.

“What has taken us to where we are today has been our application of technology to the construction process, which helped us ensure that we met the standards demanded by our European, American and Oriental clients,” he says. “In their own countries, these companies can use the special services of different designers, builders and contractors, as well as developers and financiers. In Mexico, we had to provide nearly a full in-house package for them.”

Mr Garcia-Bartning emphasises that Grupo Ken was the first construction company in Queretaro to use new technology.
The firm also maintains close contact with different government agencies, and state and municipal authorities, to help clients choose suitable sites for their new premises. “We work from Tijuana to Campeche, which is rather like working across five different countries in Europe, due to the distances involved,” he says.

The company has expanded rapidly and has opened offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. About two-thirds of its clients are foreign companies. But such has been the pace of the country’s development over the past decade, there is also a growing domestic demand for new buildings. “Because big companies in Mexico have been able to grow over the past ten years, we’re now gravitating towards domestic clients,” says Mr Garcia-Bartning.

Grupo Ken has been directly involved in the construction of premises for the many international companies that have located in Mexico

Queretaro itself is an expanding industrial centre, but although Grupo Ken has its headquarters in the city, it has not competed with local construction firms for several years. “But we are coming back,” Mr Garcia-Bartning says. “Queretaro has grown a lot in the industrial and construction markets. Now, we want to see a commitment from the government for further development.

“President Fox has already accomplished one of the biggest achievements in 75 years of Mexico’s history: he came to office peacefully. He’s also a great business promoter. We’re very excited about e-government, for example, the idea that public information will be transparent and accessible. The private sector will always support this type of project.

“But for me, as an entrepreneur, we need two main things: labour and tax reforms. If we don’t make those necessary changes in order to promote and develop the country, we will not achieve our objectives very easily.”
There are only about 50 medium-sized construction companies like Grupo Ken in Mexico. “This is a huge country and the government should give other companies the opportunity to grow,” says Mr Garcia-Bartning.

Raul Muñoz Leos
‘We are concentrating first on internal communications’

Mexico’s largest company, the oil and gas producer Pemex, now in the process of being privatised, is also enthusiastically supporting e-government. Raul Muñoz Leos, General Director, says that his company’s system, e-Pemex, is targeting key areas of communication. “The first objective is effective internal communication. We will be getting all business units in contact with each other, taking decisions more rapidly and saving time and resources.

We also want to provide a lot of information about Pemex to the general public.” Mr Muñoz says that the implementation of the e-Pemex project has been received well within the company. “There is optimism and a desire to go for it,” he adds.

Alfredo Elais Ayub, Director General of CFE, Mexico’s largest electricity company, says that his firm will be playing an important role in the e-Mexico initiative: “We are doing a pilot program to send internet through the electric cables.” CFE is now doing trials on their internet distribution system in collaboration with Spanish electricity company Endesa.

“We cannot design a perfect system the first time round. You have to learn, come back and improve the system. But if we can achieve our aims it will change the world, because any house could then just plug in their computer for internet access.” Mr Ayub says that e-Mexico will have a big effect, particularly on the younger generation. “We have about 2,000 schoolchildren visiting CFE every day and they are given time to use our computer facilities. The younger generation will use the internet more and more as it becomes widespread on a popular, rather than an elite basis. This is what e-Mexico is trying to achieve.”