Ionbond Mexico joins Mexican Association of Surface Finishers (AMAS)

Francisco Granados, Country Manager for Mexico, joined Ionbond at the start of 2023. One of his first decisions was for Ionbond Mexico to join AMAS. “I’ve been in the industry for more than 35 years,” says Francisco, “and I’ve had great experiences with AMAS. It will help us find growth opportunities in Mexico. AMAS exposes the company to the Mexican market, helps us find new customers and allows us to build great, cooperative relationships with other companies in the surface coating industry.”

Having Ionbond as a member of AMAS also helps to open new opportunities for the market, for the country and to develop business in Mexico as a settlement country for foreign companies. “I was aware of some opportunities for PVD at my previous enterprises, which I had to decline,” says Francisco. “Some of these companies ended up not settling in Mexico. Now, we’re part of this large network that helps raise the quality of Mexican industry.”

The biggest activity of AMAS is training, some online and in mostly person. With the support of sponsors and members, AMAS also hosts technical conferences in different cities, asking participants of the network to share cases, showcase opportunities and provide other learning opportunities. Ionbond was the focus of the 27th AMAS  Technical Sessions, which was a wonderful opportunity and a great success. Francisco: “We needed more time than was scheduled, because people kept asking questions. I feel we entered with a big splash, as the first PVD company represented.” Ruth agrees: “People were very interested, because it’s a new process within AMAS. It shows that we, as a country, have opportunities for companies to settle and start big projects.” It was also a big new exposure for buyers in Mexico. They can feel confident that AMAS group are the leaders in specialized finishing and coatings.

The other big activity of AMAS is sharing business opportunities. The AMAS website gets 2-3 projects daily from buyers interested in finding service providers. Ruth: “We have an automated tool on the website that’s easy to use. They fill out a form in less than 3 minutes, we help filter the request into the relevant buckets, and we publish the request to our members. Now we have Ionbond, we can add international PVD to our tool. That will be a great benefit.”

“AMAS helps make the connection between buyers who may not exactly know what they need and service providers who may not know that these projects exist,” says Francisco. “They’re very effective that way. We’re convinced that working with AMAS will help us serve more customers and expand the industry in Mexico. And we’re looking forward to it.”