Fives exports industrial maintenance and accelerates digitalization in Mexico

Fives, an industrial engineering group with multi-sector experience that designs and manufactures machines, process equipment and production lines for industrial companies, announced the continued expansion of its industrial maintenance and digitalization practices in Mexico.

The company stated that the expansion, situated in Querétaro, Mexico, is at the heart of a country that has become a major player in the aerospace and automotive industries. Fives said that this new operation aims to sustainably improve industrial productivity through a combination of maintenance expertise and innovative digital offerings, while supporting the development of local skills and talent.

Fives added that this expansion builds on existing collaborations with industrial players such as General Motors and Stellantis, and further strengthens the company’s industrial footprint across the continent.

Fast-growing market facing a structural challenge

Fives said that Mexico is currently experiencing the strongest industrial growth in its recent history, with more than 400 new international company establishments since 2022 and record levels of foreign direct investment. However, the company added that this growth is facing a major challenge: a shortage of industrial maintenance skills, now identified as a key constraint to scaling up manufacturing operations.

In some sectors, Fives said that up to two-thirds of companies report difficulties recruiting these critical profiles, resulting in direct impacts on productivity, equipment reliability and overall plant performance.

As a result of these challenges, the company’s Fives Maintenance and Fives CortX are deploying their business models in Mexico.

A differentiated industrial model with a known successful reputation

Fives said that this expansion is based on a differentiated industrial maintenance model that combines on-site expertise, operational digitalization, continuous performance improvement and performance-based commitments.

Working closely with customers at their production sites, the company said that this model delivers results, including:

• +15% equipment availability
• +25% productivity
• -25% maintenance costs
• Alongside reduced energy consumption

Fives said that it supports customers throughout the entire equipment lifecycle, from preventive and corrective maintenance to MRO and OEM activities, as well as connected offerings for performance optimization.

The company said that its expertise extends across the following sectors:

• Automotive
• Rail
• Logistics (mail, express & parcel)
• Defense

Fives said that it serves customers such as Safran, Airbus, Alstom, RATP, DHL and Amazon.

A strategic project for local employment and skills development

To address the shortage of qualified technicians, Fives said that it is deploying a model based on the development of a strong local ecosystem in Mexico, built around:

• Structured training programs for local teams
• Transfer of know-how and international best practices
• Development of technical training programs tailored to the needs of Mexican industry

As part of this initiative, the company said that it is establishing a strategic partnership with the Universidad Aeronáutica en Querétaro (UNAQ) to co-develop educational programs and integrate nearly 30 local talents each year.

“Our ambition is clear: to sustainably develop local skills in order to strengthen Mexico’s industrial autonomy,” said Kévin Pierre Émile, president of Fives Maintenance.

Fives said that this local presence provides an immediate competitiveness lever for Mexican manufacturers by enabling them to:

• Reduce dependence on European OEMs
• Optimize intervention and maintenance costs
• Improve equipment availability and performance

Digitalization at the heart of industrial performance

Fives said that CortX Alchemy, the company’s CortX’s digital platform dedicated to industrial performance, is at the core of this approach.

“Our ambition is to help build a stronger, more resilient, and higher-performing industry capable of meeting increasingly complex challenges,” said David Zak, president of Fives CortX

By collecting, contextualizing and analyzing production data, Fives said that the platform supports manufacturers in their digital transformation and facilitates decision-making through the secure and non-intrusive convergence of OT and IT systems.

The company said that CortX Alchemy enables manufacturers to:

• Reduce quality issues by minimizing scrap and production losses
• Anticipate failures and optimize maintenance operations
• Improve equipment reliability and production asset performance
• Reduce the energy footprint of industrial installations.

By transforming data into actionable insights, the company said that CortX Alchemy helps sustainably improve the performance, availability, and competitiveness of industrial sites.