January 26, 2006 Locking up the Market

Volume 9 | Issue 1

Manufacturas Tesa is greatly responsible for the ease of mind in companies and institutions where trustworthiness and high-end security are

Founded by Adolfo Caballero in 1992, Manufacturas TESA Mexico is a private company based in Guadalajara, Jalisco. Currently owned by ASSA ABLOY, the world’s leading lock group, the level of trust that this relatively young company in Mexico has built among its customer base is backed by the efforts it has devoted towards strictly following Kaizen methodologies for compliance with industry regulations, and by receiving ISO: 9000 certification.

The company’s teamwork policy and commitment to quality guarantees the highest standards in the manufacture of grade 3, grade 2, and high security locks including locksets, lever sets, handle sets, deadbolts, mortise locks and rim locks, and caters mostly to major name hardware wholesalers across the Americas.

With more than $20 million in sales in 2004 alone, TESA Mexico also offers grade 1 locks, door closers, access control systems, electronic locks, electrical mortise locks, and other complementary products that comprise a complete solution for any customer’s security needs. With sales and distribution in Mexico, United States, Canada, Central and South America, TESA Mexico bases its business on providing a wide range of products with the best service and quality, and is the largest lock export company in Mexico.

The company uses only latest generation technology in galvanoplastics and polishing using a powdered varnish application on the metal components of the locks it fabricates. Arisa power presses that are part of a 601-type industrial line are used in conjunction with Okuma machine tools and equipment to guarantee the utmost performance and the unequalled product line that has become a tradition at TESA.

Keys to success
Jorge Hernandez, director of operations, noted that Manufacturas TESA is a company that has its roots in Europe, and is part of an international corporate conglomerate that boasts an ample track record of success during its more than 50 years of operations, a time in which it has acquired the experience in the design and manufacture of safety products and access controls. It currently maintains manufacturing plants in Mexico, Spain and the United States. In addition to the mechanical locks, other special security systems are distributed, such as those used in prisons, bearing the Folger Adams name. In addition the company makes access control, electronic security and remote surveillance products under the TESA, INDALA, HID, COP and SECURITRON.

TESA’s locks can be obtained through the company’s wide network of distributors. These items can be acquired at stores such as Home Depot, Ferreterias Calzada, Ferreterias Amutio and Casa Ley, in addition to local, independent hardware stores in many locations throughout the country. Says Hernandez, “One of the major obstacles for us to compete internationally is the fierce competition from manufacturers located in Asian countries who offer similar products, nearly at cost, due to unheard of labor costs prevailing in such countries. However, in fighting back this trend, we are sparing no efforts or resources into outperforming ourselves with the level of flexibility, versatility, turnaround, and especially, the finish and design of our products to meet the most demanding of needs and requirements that are in line with the quality our customers deserve. They can be confident that no other company located in the opposite end of the globe will cater to any of their requests with the promptness and personalized service as we would.”

Hernandez also mentioned that 70 percent of the company’s production volume is geared towards foreign markets, while the remaining 30 percent is distributed through domestic channels in Mexico. This considerable sizeable percentage of foreign exports is expected to grow by 10 percent within the next year thanks in part to the company’s joint efforts with the Yale brand, with whom TESA expects to jointly tackle international markets. Once this goal is accomplished, other venues for distribution will be added to its current network of independent distributors.

Located in a 150,000-square-foot facility providing jobs for more than 540 employees, the company is readily available for immediate growth as manufacturing needs increase, as is expected to happen within the next calendar year. It is in these facilities that all of TESA’s products are inspected for proper assembly, finishing and packing for shipping either to the United States, Canada, and Mexico in North America, or to other countries in Latin America such as Colombia, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Hernandez also mentioned that, just as many other industries are abiding by environmental regulations, TESA also properly confines or incinerates its waste oils and other potentially harmful elements, and the water used in the polishing and finishing processes are reclaimed for use in watering green areas and lawns.

A locked market
The company’s product line encompasses Mogul-type conventional locks as well as collapsible doorknobs that provide minimal to medium safety levels. These are usually heavy-duty locks designed for areas with minimal security needs, such as private offices of doctors and professionals with little or no heavy public traffic. Other locks the company manufactures are high-security locks and doorknobs for added security, as well as combo units that offer both minimal and high security, depending on the user’s needs.
TESA’s narrow profile locks are ideal for aluminum frame doors, and other types of security locks and chains for added security for residences and businesses wishing to double-guarantee a maximum level of security. The company’s paracentric collapsible locks offer an unequalled level of security and are designed to be used in collapsible doors for exteriors with a high security level; these types of locks require a key to be locked or unlocked. These units are also designed to be used in sliding doors of safety cells or entrance doors, and are a perfect match for doors that must be left open but do need a key for added security. The company’s Model 30 possesses a security hook that blocks the door without the need to insert the key. Other models the company manufactures are the MOD15 lock, which is designed for small doors, such as observation panels, small-sized lockers, gun storage security boxes, and any other type of door where a key hole is installed only on the external side of the door. These locks can be used in single or double sized doors that require more than one locking point and are to be used in corridors, entrance doors or security doors that might be exposed to tampering.

The company’s Mogul type lock is a medium-security unit that can be used on single or double collapsible doors that require more than one locking point, and are ideal for metallic doors that can also be potentially exposed to tampering. The Maxi-mogul level 1 type lock, which can be upgraded as needed, offers medium sized security levels and is ideal for metallic doors used generally in administration buildings and medium security facilities. Other types of locks TESA manufactures are used in areas where monitoring information is electronically transmitted to a control panel.

Although the possibilities are parallel and directly proportional to a customer’s unique needs or requirements, the overall security offered by TESA’s products translates into ease of mind, fine design and technology for residential, industrial and commercial use across the board, and the world.

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