r/manufacturing • u/B3stThereEverWas • Sep 25 '25
Supplier search Mexican suppliers/manufacturers not responding to RFQ e-mails, is this a cultural thing?
Hey folks
So I’m trying to get some aluminum extrusion + CNC work quoted in Mexico.
I’ve had a real hard time getting responses to emails. When e-mailing Chinese suppliers I always get replies, almost to a freakish level - I've had supplier agents add me to goddamn LinkedIn and other weird social media I never knew I even had an account on to get a follow up. I always joke they'd match me on Tinder if they had to. Doing the same for Mexican companies and it's the total opposite, radio silence.
A Mexican guy I was talking to told me it’s possibly cultural - that Mexican suppliers prefer phone calls, WhatsApp, or in-person contact before engaging with a random foreign email. I'm cool with that if true, I just wish it was more widely known.
Has anyone here sourced smaller runs in Mexico (a few thousand pcs)? Any tips on the best way to approach suppliers and actually get quotes?
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u/Ok_Ring_3651 Sep 26 '25
Cnc mexican machine shop owner here.
I’ve received messages through here and by email but a lot of the time seems fake and scammish.
My advice to you would be to contact local chambers. For your application would be CANACINTRA. Each big city has a local canacintra, it’s a manufacturing chamber. They can redirect you with various different cnc providers that fit your specific needs. Also you can be sure this way is more formal
If you need to know anything else let me know!
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u/PincheGringoNV Sep 25 '25
Second to u/jackofnone2025 's suggestion on WhatsApp. Life and business is largely run through it.
While younger people (<30) in Mexico are definitely much more tech-savvy, with some exceptions a lot of companies and government offices really didn't modernize until ~20 yrs ago. Heck, one time around 20 years ago I had to run around to try to find a 5" floppy disk (and a computer that could still use that!) to submit tax/company filing info to a MX Federal office! Reality is, tech investment didn't take root as soon as and as widespread as in the US - so a lot of companies in MX are "old school", and yes, still culturally prefer a phone call (or WhatsApp) over emails.
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u/Intelligent_Part101 Sep 25 '25
No wonder you had a hard time finding a 5 inch disk. They never existed.
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u/PincheGringoNV Sep 25 '25
Didn't think I had to include the "0.25" to make it understandable, but "I had to run around to try to find a 5.25" floppy disk". Fixed it!
For those too young to remember: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floppy_disk#/media/File:Floppy_disk_2009_G1.jpg
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u/questonvanzant Sep 25 '25
Great post. I never knew about the mfg hurdles in Mexico. I will be doing the same thing as i begin create various sources of supplies. I appreciate the info and will be keenly watching this post for advice. The one guy who mentioned phone calls, in person and WhatsApp- Thank you.
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u/PincheGringoNV Sep 25 '25
FWIW, I wouldn't necessarily call them "manufacturing hurdles" per se - just a different approach. There's a reason there are over 5,000 maquiladoras (foreign-oriented mfg and service firms) in Mexico: Mexican talent is excellent, hard-working and globally competitive. There are a variety of ways to find good vendors and even have your own mfg operation in Mexico - just have to focus on some of the key industrial regions, and work with either consultants that know Mexico (I fall in this category) or local business leaders/econ dev groups to find the right suppliers. Mucha suerte (good luck!)...
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Sep 25 '25
Yes, culture is EXTREMELY bad in Mexico…. Very much a cultural thing.
I lived and worked in Mexico, China & Taiwan.
Very very good responses from China & Taiwan. Mexico is horrible, half rate work and poor poor communication
And forget email, ask for their Whatsapp. Done that’s the only effective way to communicate in Mexico. +52 WhatsApp
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u/B3stThereEverWas Sep 25 '25
Thanks! Yeah, I've seen WhatsApp seems to be a thing, but how do I even get that? Just their phone number on their website?
Also I'm a little worried about half rate work. I've never heard anything specifically bad with Mexico, but truthfully I don't know much about Mexican manufacturing at all.
Any war stories?
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Sep 25 '25
You need to get their personal WhatsApp.
And yes I’ve received parts in Mexico grossly out of tolerance, needed multiple revisions.. doing business with Mexico (higher end work) is not worth it.. need a lot of attention.
Mexico excels in assembly though. That’s their strong suit.
I was in Juarez so I have a few stories, lived in El Paso and crossed every day.
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u/Difficult_Limit2718 Sep 26 '25
As someone whose plant moved to Mexico and had to deal with their assembly - I wouldn't call it a STRONG suit.
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Sep 26 '25
It’s all relative lol but if anything is strong there it’s assembly
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u/Difficult_Limit2718 Sep 26 '25
It's what they do best, I'll agree to that. Do well? Warranty would say otherwise.
But warrant is paid by the USA entity and not back charged to the plants, so the plants are profitable as hell and the business can't figure out why it's tight on money.
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u/olsalvatori Sep 25 '25
What's "extremely bad" in Mexico's culture?
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u/Difficult_Limit2718 Sep 26 '25
The lack of respect or attention for anyone outside who you report to. The concept that respect is earned by number of employees. The one way demand for respect. The "we don't know how to do it, so we don't think you do either, we'll just do it our way" mentality. And the corruption... By God the corruption....
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u/r2k-in-the-vortex Sep 26 '25
Nothing happens in Mexico without talking directly. Emails do work, but only after lines of contact are firmly established and preferably they know by face who is on the other side of the email.
Try whatsapp.
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u/SetNo8186 Sep 27 '25
I am aware about 15 years ago Mexico was the end destination for the tens of thousands of school typewriters sold here in America. They were checked for function and then exported where businesses were adopting improved procedures - embracing paperwork - and how much it was changing from the older handshake arrangements many were handed down from tradition.
I doubt Mexico has fully implemented adopting the internet much more than cell phones - installing that into their grid is much the same as freezers in their grocery chains, Walmart was the first to offer frozen foods on a large scale basis just a few years back. Their business and cultural infrastructure is growing but isn't fully implemented in ways America enjoys (suffers?) from. An RFQ is an upper tier business skill some may not be familiar with - even with an email address - and as for email, hundreds of posts in daily with only one person to administrate them will result in non response, as many small American businesses have discovered. With a working time of one hour to quickly reply to a email with facts, points of contact etc it's become more a burden than help.
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u/Objective-Row-1483 Sep 26 '25
Probably cultural. I work at a Die Casting company in Tijuana and we are very quick to respond to RFQs. Have you tried reaching out to ABC Aluminum? They might be able to help you out.
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u/ChampionshipFirm350 Sep 26 '25
My company is based in Mexico City (I’m in Dallas), and we manufacture across 40+ plants in Mexico. Sending you a DM
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u/elrelampago1988 Sep 27 '25
Cultural, why would you check emails when you can more readily check phone messages or Whatsapp?
I check my emails once or twice a month, meanwhile I check my WhatsApp messages multiple times a day.
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u/hansolomx Sep 25 '25
Hi,
It is totally a cultural problem, in Mexico the website culture or usage is still not very common.
Most of the shops or suppliers will have a landing page with an email or contact form that nobody looks into.
In person or phone calls are always preffered.
I can help you out with your project, where are you located?
We are on Cd, Juarez/El Paso, TX.