Hugs Before Handshakes: How IPC Mexico Is Winning Hearts and Minds at APEX 2025

Mexico's electronics has always been one of the main events at APEX, but this year they are doubling down! I explore the journey of IPC Mexico and their first-ever dedicated pavilion at Apex after 25 years of Mexican participation at the show. 

Lorena Villanueva, the dynamic leader of IPC Mexico, reveals their groundbreaking "three-helix" strategy that's reshaping their position in the Mexican electronics landscape. By forging deep partnerships between state governments (including aerospace hub Querétaro and automotive electronics center Guanajuato), academic institutions, and industry leaders, IPC Mexico has created a powerful ecosystem that drives education, innovation and growth throughout the region.

What truly sets IPC Mexico apart is their authentic approach to community building. "We are huggers," Lorena explains, highlighting how cultural understanding and personal connections have been game-changers in their success. Rather than imposing American methodologies, IPC has empowered their Mexican team to develop strategies that resonate locally while maintaining global best practices. This cultural intelligence has transformed IPC from being perceived as a foreign entity to becoming a truly Mexican association in just the past 12 months.

The future looks bright as IPC Mexico continues hosting regional events that facilitate networking and knowledge-sharing in comfortable, open environments. Their commitment to supporting both members and the broader industry demonstrates how international organizations can achieve global excellence through local relevance. 

Want to see how genuine connection and cultural understanding can transform an industry? Follow IPC Mexico's journey as they continue building bridges between Mexico and the global electronics community!

EMS@C-Level Live at APEX is sponsored by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Creative Electron (https://creativeelectron.com)

EMS@C-Level is hosted by global inspection leaders Koh Young (https://www.kohyoung.com) and Global Electronics Association (https://www.electronics.org)

You can see video versions of all of the EMS@C-Level pods on our YouTube playlist.

Transcript

Introduction to IPC Mexico

Philip Stoten 0:08

Hi, I'm Philip Stoughton, I'm at Apex 2025 and I am joined by Lorena, who runs IPC in Mexico. Lorena, how are you?

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 0:17

Very good, thank you. Thank you for having me.

Philip Stoten 0:19

How's the show been so far? I think what I'm really excited about is that IPCA has recognized the importance of Mexico at this show, because there are always a big Mexican participation here and they're giving you a whole space, a whole pavilion to do your own thing.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 0:34

That is correct. For the 25 years that Apex has been running, there's been presence, as you say, on and off of Mexican representation, been presence, as you say, on and off of Mexican representation, but it is the first year that we have our own Mexico pavilion. So we're very, very excited.

Mexico Pavilion's First Appearance

Philip Stoten 0:51

Yeah, and it's a unique space at the show because it's not a bunch of vendors, it's not equipment. You have some government bodies there. You have much more of a kind of holistic approach to the market.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 1:03

Exactly. We learned a couple of years ago that if we wanted to have success in Mexico, we needed to partner with the three helixes of the industry.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 1:15

So we're partnering with the governments, the state governments, with the academia, the academic institutions and, of course, with the companies, the academic institutions and, of course, with the companies. So we brought to this edition the government representatives from the government of Querétaro, which is a huge aerospace hub, and from the government of Guanajuato, which is also a very important automotive electronics hub in the center of Mexico. And we brought two of our partners to different shows the Binational Electronic Show they have been a very strong ally of everything that IPC Mexico is doing and, of course, the Wired Tech Show. So we're partnering with them also in some of the shows. And we brought one of our strongest arms in Mexico, one of IPC's training centers Automation HR. They've been our strategic partners for all the three years that IPC has been in Mexico and they've been doing a great job with us, helping us spread the word and reaching all the places, all the little places in Mexico.

IPC's Global Expansion Approach

Building Community in Mexico

Philip Stoten 2:23

That's hugely valuable. All the places, all the little places in Mexico that's hugely valuable. And I think what's interesting is, when you look at what you're doing on the booth, you're reflecting a lot of what IPC has to offer. You have training partners there. You have government partners there. What I think IPC has done a really good job of in the last decade is morphing from this association that felt very USA-centric to something that's much more global but is able to act locally, and that's really important. Tell me a bit about what you're doing that's perhaps unique in Mexico and the kind of services or the areas that you touch.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 3:00

Yeah, well, as you mentioned we are, ipc is a global electronic association, so having presence in Mexico was very important for the mission and the vision of the global electronics association that IPC is. So what we're doing there is putting a face in the ground. So what we're doing is partnering at a personal level, and that has been changing the game completely, because when we first went to Mexico, we started trying to go and meet with the members of IPC and we learned soon enough that we needed to do a better job on positioning IPC, at least in Mexico. They were well known in the rest of the world and in the US, but we needed to do a more personal work in Mexico, and that's what we've been doing. I think that one of our strengths is that we are building community in Mexico.

Philip Stoten 3:59

Yeah, you've done a really good job of that, particularly in the last 12 months. There seems to have been a step change in the way people view ipc. It feels like actually it feels like a mexican association, which is exactly what you want it to feel like on a local basis, but it just feels like it's involved in more staff. We're seeing more from it. The communication online has been really on point. It's. It's made a big difference. What do you put that down to? Is it just down to you, lorena, or is there a whole team of people busy in a way that you don't? No, it is a whole team.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 4:31

Of course we needed to put a face to IPC Mexico.

Philip Stoten 4:34

Yeah.

Leadership Summits and Future Plans

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 4:34

And I was lucky enough to be that phase but the support and the commitment of the entire IPC team, starting with John, then with David Hernandez, our VP of Education, and Carlos and Robert, who I think you've met so the support and the commitment that the company has towards the development of workforce, towards the development of all of the regions, that is what's been the game changer, and what happens here is that they gave me the freedom to go and expand our operations and do it the way that we Mexicans like to do it right.

Philip Stoten 5:14

At a personal level.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 5:15

We are huggers, we like to establish those connections at a more personal level. So I think that that's the secret of our success in Mexico.

Philip Stoten 5:26

Yeah, I lived in Mexico for seven months and I think the reason I enjoyed it is I actually moved from California. It felt so much more European than the US it's curious. But yeah, I think it's that idea that you behave in the same way you would and you don't try and take a model from another country and just put it there, because that cultural connection is hugely important and hugely valuable.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 5:53

That's correct. We've been very good at making sure that the companies know and the industry know that we are here to help them yeah to help them succeed yeah not only our ipc members which are very important for us but also the rest of the industry yeah so that's what we do we go to a city, we connect with their local governments, their academic institution, and we make sure that they know that we're here to support their success. Yeah, and I think, I think that's that's a key.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 6:19

Know that we're here to support their success and I think that's a key of what we're doing.

Philip Stoten 6:22

Yeah, it makes all the difference, doesn't it? One of the things I've also seen IPC do very successfully over recent years is these kind of leadership summits, where they're getting people together in a very safe, comfortable environment to talk about the challenges they have. They had a very successful one here yesterday. I've chaired a couple for them in Europe. Is that something you're doing or you're planning to do in Mexico?

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 6:46

Yes, we've been having these small events. Of course, we would love to have something at Disco, but what we're doing right now is to host small events in different cities to create this networking, to bring the industry together to talk about what we're doing, to talk about education, to bring all the resources and have them chat, you know, as you said, in a friendly, fun, open environment. Exactly that's what we're doing.

Philip Stoten 7:15

Yeah, it makes all the difference, doesn't it? Well, Lorena, keep doing what you're doing. You're doing an awesome job. I'm very much enjoying your social media feed as well.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 7:21

Thank you so much.

Philip Stoten 7:22

Good to see what's going on there and we'll chat again soon.

Lorena Villanueva, IPC México 7:25

Thank you so much.

Philip Stoten 7:26

Thank you.