BUILD-TO-SUIT DEVELOPERS
Construction companies and developers credit their success to a client-centric model focused on service above all else.


How has your client profile developed?
ENRIQUE MARTÍNEZ Over the last 20 years, the construction industry has undergone several changes that have seen clients become increasingly demanding when it comes to quality and delivery. Industrial construction projects are vital to companies, since they house their machinery and production. This makes it even more important for projects to be on time and high quality. For real estate developers, it is different. For them, we build projects which our clients then sell. Apart from industrial clients and residential developments, another important client base for us is institutional clients such as universities. For example, we built a unit in Querétaro for the Instituto Tecnologico de Monterrey, in addition to a new library for them in Monterrey, which is one of the most important libraries in America. We have also built for Universidad de Monterrey and recently finished the San Pedro Unit High School. We are also keen on participating in the Pabellon Amarillo in the Campus of the Universidad de Monterrey, which is about to be launched. Institutional clients present another type of work. It is delicate work building on campuses. The fact that we have a good track record with our clients allows us to stand out.
GUILLERMO BACA We started off doing maquiladoras, industry buildings along the border with the US, and just building the shell, which is then filled with people and equipment. But now we design and build sophisticated industrial buildings, including paper plants, tire plants, chemical plants, pharmaceuticals, and food industry plants, for example. These are high-tech buildings with high-end specifications in line with European and American specifications. We have learned to design and build these kinds of sophisticated buildings as we grew through the years. Naturally, our client profile has also changed in alignment with that. Now, we have clients and competitors from all over the world, from the US, Spain, the UK, France, China, Germany, Japan, and, of course, Mexico. We sell engineering and construction services, and we are a service business. And service is all about people. When you invest in your people, the rest will follow. When you look at the list of our clients, 70% are repetitive, meaning they hire you again. That vision has been crucial for us. In the last five years, the size of the company has tripled.
How did your company expand throughout Mexico geographically?
GB Copachisa began as a construction company for industrial parks. After our first city, one of our big customers was Packer Electric, a subsidiary of General Motors, and it asked us to go to Monterrey in the 1980s to build another city. This park was followed by cities in Laredoa, Cuahuila, Saltillo, Ciudad Juarez, and other cities. Then, Terrazas founded Enmixa, which designs and builds steel structures, and that further supported the Copachisa business. He then founded Denmec, which designs and builds electrical and mechanical installations. Today, we have 14 companies. Terrazas manages all those companies from Copachisa, so Copachisa was the mother company that owns those other companies. Since we started growing, we decided to create a holding company, Grupo Punto Alto, which manages all our companies.
What are your predictions for the medium term for the construction sector in northern Mexico?
EM Developers believe 2017 and 2018 will see projects drop in the areas where we are most active, such as San Pedro Garza Garcia. The cost of land is relatively high in San Pedro Garza Garcia compared to different areas in the municipality of Monterrey, which is why we have seen construction on the rise in other areas. We are also active in other areas such as the Bajío, Queretaro, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Jalisco, among others. We are building a new commercial center and a housing project in Hermosillo, Sonora. We have just signed a contract for a new building in Mexico City. This is an exclusive contract to build an underground parking structure at a cost of MXN160 million (USD9 million). However, we are also interested in building the tower above the parking structure. The requirements of the underground parking structures raise the price of the apartments, offices, and commercial areas.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Interview
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