July 3, 2024
AICC Canada and México are ensuring their members have the information and opportunities needed to be more productive
Since its founding in 1974, AICC has grown to include a wide range of members representing independent manufacturers, printers, and suppliers throughout the corrugated community around the world. It has also inspired the creation of two other AICC associations in greater North America. AICC Canada and AICC México are equipping their respective members with networking opportunities and educational and training resources tailored to their countries’ unique needs.AICC Canada
AICC Canada began as a direct extension of AICC International, according to Jeff Abbott, director of sales for Moore Packaging Corp. and current AICC Canada president. In fact, both associations were launched the same year. Canadians Hugh Cameron of Cameron Containers, Dan McKeon of Select Carton Service, and Keith Munt of Pro-Pak Ltd. were charter members of AICC—often referred to as AICC International outside of the United States—when it was founded in St. Louis in 1974. They also happened to be Toronto-area independents. Inspired by their experience in St. Louis, the trio went home and created AICC Canada. Fifty years later, AICC Canada has about 40 general members and 20 Associate members, including suppliers and industry partners. The characteristics that define AICC International also apply to AICC Canada. “For the boxmakers, it’s an opportunity to belong to a like-minded group of independent corrugated manufacturers,” Abbott says. “We can meet together, network, share ideas, and discuss problems. We’re all in this business together, so we look at ourselves as ‘friendly competitors.’ We’re more than willing to help each other, whatever the situation may be—including advice or help with a machine part or a bucket of ink. AICC Canada really promotes accessibility among the membership and the opportunity to network with manufacturers who share the same mindset for doing business.” One of the biggest challenges to growing AICC Canada, though, is geography. “I believe we’re a strong proponent for the industry across Canada, but at this point, the bulk of our membership continues to be manufacturers in Ontario, Québec, and the Maritime Provinces,” Abbott explains. While some members are in eastern Canada, that isn’t the case in the west. “For corrugated manufacturers in Vancouver, for example, Seattle is much closer to them than we are in Ontario. So when it comes to in-person meetings and networking, they tend to gravitate to the AICC International opportunities there,” Abbott adds.
AICC México
“AICC México was founded in Guada-lajara, Jalisco, in 2001 by Humberto Treviño to focus primarily on serving Mexican boxmakers,” says Sergio Menchaca, co-founder and CEO of Eko Empaques de Cartón and current AICC México president. “AICC México began as a very small organization,” Menchaca says. “Manufacturers in the cardboard industry were very far from each other,” making networking and communication with prospective members difficult. In addition, the very idea of a cooperative association was unfamiliar and, initially, worrying. “Companies in Mexico weren’t used to being part of any organizations or associations,” he says. “I remember Humberto telling me that at the beginning, everybody was very cautious of what they would say to each other because they were in competition and they saw others as a threat. So it was very difficult for the members to grow the association in the beginning. That situation was very different to what it is now.” Now, AICC México is vibrant and growing, with 72 boxmaker members and 18 supplier members. “Last year, we grew 16% in boxmaker members, but we had a 78% growth in suppliers. I believe that is because suppliers are seeing that AICC in Mexico is growing a lot, the content is very useful for the boxmakers, and they want to be part of it.” Menchaca says several key factors are driving the organization’s growth. “A few years ago, AICC México was mainly about the annual meeting. We had one annual meeting where everybody met; we had seminars and networking. But that was it. Since then, we started having more events within the year, including seminars, webinars, and many important training courses. For instance, this year we had a two-day training seminar on lean manufacturing, focused on the corrugated industry. We also had a seminar on best practices for flexographic printers, presented by Kern Cox from Clemson University [in South Carolina], that provided a lot of information and brought a lot of value. We also have higher expectations for the annual meeting now. Members are seeing that in the quality of the seminars and speakers and the increased value they are receiving. All of these help boxmakers to believe that being part of AICC is going to help their businesses grow.” Boxmakers in particular have been drawn to AICC México due to a shift in the organization’s target audience, Menchaca believes. “In the past, most of the training and seminars were focused on the owners. If you went to a session at the annual meeting, you only saw owners or CEOs there. Now we’re focusing on having all of the people trained—human resources, flexo operators, salespersons, and so on. We’re trying to add value to the whole organization, not only the high-ranking members of the company,” Menchaca says. To help deliver that training, AICC México is working closely with universities and institutions, including the University of Monterrey and Universidad Panamericana. Spanish is the dominant language in Mexico, so AICC International resources in English have limited value for Mexican manufacturers. As a result, AICC México has, for the most part, been developing and presenting its own programming and publications for members. Even so, Menchaca points out that he would like to encourage more member involvement with AICC International. “We are doing more to promote AICC International, encouraging more people from Mexico to go to U.S. events,” he says. “The first time that I went to an event in the U.S., I was the only Mexican boxmaker there. At the last event that we had in the U.S., there were 20 people from Mexico. I think it’s great to see more Mexican boxmakers participating in U.S. events.” As he looks to the future, Menchaca sees several challenges on the horizon for AICC México members. The country likely will confront an energy problem within the next few years due to a lack of energy distribution and availability. “We’re starting to see droughts in many parts of the country, so we are starting to face a water problem,” he adds. And then, not surprisingly, there is the issue of labor. “Labor is scarce,” he says. Despite these hurdles, Menchaca is optimistic, saying, “They’re not a big deal.” That is because, in some ways, the challenges are being offset by new opportunities. “We’re seeing a new geopolitics in terms of economic nearshoring. Many companies are coming to invest in Mexico because they are finding that when you are close to your customer, you will not have the logistics challenges that we had in the pandemic,” Menchaca says. He thinks the growth of nearshoring will lead to growth within manufacturing. “Our expectations are for 2% growth for the next year, which is pretty good for our country,” Menchaca says. “And I believe the industry will grow a lot with the new investments that are coming—and that will require more boxes.” A growing industry will highlight the need for companies to provide the kind of training and professional development that AICC México delivers. “My main focus is on training companies to become more productive,” Menchaca says. “We’re going to see companies from all over the world—China, Asia, the U.S., Europe, South America—come to Mexico and make big investments in the country. My goal is that these companies are prepared. We want to prepare the boxmakers to be as efficient as possible, to have access to the best technologies available in the market, to connect with the best and most reliable suppliers. We want to make sure they have the knowledge and training to grow and to be more efficient. That’s the objective for AICC México.”
