The manufacturing industry leverages these tools in real time in order to predict and prevent potential problems, thus maximizing the performance of operations and workforce in production plants by collecting, storing and organizing data generated by machines, devices and systems on the production floor.
Predictive models combine the power of Big Data with artificial intelligence and machine learning to understand, monitor and optimize processes.
In Costa Rica, since July 2020 the producer price index for the manufacturing sector started to report increases, a situation that could lead to a rise in sales prices and simultaneously to a fall in the quantity of products traded.
Between December 2019 and June 2020, the producer price index for the manufacturing sector (IPP-MAN) reported negative year-on-year variations.
Bomerics, a company engaged in the manufacture of medical devices, announced that it will invest in the expansion of its operations plant located in Zona Franca Zeta, province of Cartago.
The new facilities will have an area of 10,200 m2, which doubles the 4,600 m2 it currently has. According to a press release from the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (Cinde), the investment will allow the company to develop a full-service, vertically integrated business model.
America Free Zone, located in Heredia, Costa Rica, plans to execute an investment plan in the next few years totaling close to $120 million and contemplates the implementation of electro-lane stations and the construction of new infrastructure.
Executives of the business complex informed that up to now they offer their clients 200 thousand m2 of space for business activities, but the medium-term plans are to add another 60 thousand m2.
Between 2020 and 2023 Nevro plans to invest $21 million in the commissioning of an industrial plant of more than 3 thousand square meters in the Coyol Free Zone, in Alajuela.
The company based in California, United States, is dedicated to the manufacture of medical devices that are demanded by patients suffering from debilitating chronic pain, reported the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives (Cinde).
The U.S. company, which still operates a plant in the country for the production of sandpaper and adhesive tapes, has begun the process of relocating its operations, which includes the closure of the factory operating in Heredia.
According to information released by the company, the closure of the industrial complex located in Santa Rosa de Heredia, follows a business strategy and is not a consequence of the economic crisis that generated the outbreak of covid-19.
In order to house companies that are about to start operations or for companies that need to expand their operations in Coyol Free Zone, the Costa Rican industrial complex is building new infrastructure for an area equivalent to 67,347 square meters.
According to information disseminated by the industrial park located in Alajuela, Costa Rica, 17,725 square meters are currently being built, corresponding to new expansion processes of companies already installed and requiring more physical space to operate.
Proquinal Costa Rica announced that it will reinvest $20 million in its coated fabric manufacturing plant, which is located in Spradling Free Zone Park in Coyol de Alajuela.
This reinvestment will allow the implementation of a new process within the plant that will increase its export capacity. The company manufactures coated fabrics for high performance markets such as hospitals, yachts, school buses, stadiums, airports and hotels, reported the Costa Rican Development Initiative Coalition (Cinde).
If quarantine and mobility restriction measures are extended by two months, annualized demand for carton packaging in the region is forecast to decline by 9% in 2020, and if extended by three months, the decline could be as much as 13%.
The "Information System for the Impact Analysis of Covid-19 on Business", prepared by the Trade Intelligence Unit of CentralAmericaData, measures the degree of impact that the crisis will have on companies according to their sector or economic activity, considering several scenarios for the coming months.
While a group of manufacturing companies decided to reduce their operations in Costa Rica, arguing that local production costs are high, another group of companies in the sector decided to increase their investments.
According to the most recent official data, during August 2019 the growth of economic activity in the manufacturing sector was 2.5%, explained by increased external demand for products from special regimes companies, particularly medical implements and steel products such as bars and sheets. This contrasts with the decline in manufacturing activities for the domestic market. See report of the Central Bank of Costa Rica.
Searching for home furnishings, accessories, clothing and gifts, more than 150 local and international buyers will participate in the New World Crafts Fair, to be held in Antigua on September 24 and 25.
From the Agexport statement:
AGEXPORT's Handmade Commission prepares for the 12th. Edition of the New World Crafts Fair (NWC), the most important marketing platform for handmade products from Guatemala in the region and one of the main in Latin America, which will take place on September 24 and 25, 2019 at the Hotel Casa Santo Domingo, Antigua Guatemala.
High operating costs and the contraction of internal consumption are some of the reasons why in Costa Rica manufacturing companies under definitive regime report a decrease in their production, a situation that contrasts with the dynamism of companies in free trade zones.
The latest report on economic activity in the country, compiled by the Central Bank of Costa Rica explains that manufacturing grew 2.3% mainly because the free zone companies maintained a high growth (10.8%), which more than compensated for the decrease in production of the definitive regime (-2.5%).
In Costa Rica, Thermo Fisher Scientific opened a new 1,400 square meter distribution center in Coyol Free Zone, Alajuela.
This investment represents the third expansion of the company in the country in 7 years, and with its new distribution center Thermo Fisher increased its installed capacity by 52%, reported the Costa Rican Coalition of Development Initiatives.
In Costa Rica, businessmen expect job creation to stagnate this year, as only a thousand new jobs are expected to be created, resulting in a year-on-year increase of just 0.7%.
The forecasts of the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC) for this one are the result of the study that the sector carries out every year, which concludes that in the most positive scenario, the performance of production, employment and investment, would be similar to that of 2018.
Beverage Industry Digital Magazine established in 1942, the oldest Spanish trade journal and the only beverage trade magazine serving the Latin American beverage market. It serves soft drink bottlers, brewers, bottled water...