Molex Plant Sees 50% Improvement in Profits Following Engagement with International Advantage

The Client

Molex Incorporated manufactures electronic components for a range of industries, with 59 plants in 20 countries throughout the world. The 70-year-old company makes 100,000 products, employs 33,000 people and tops $2.6 billion in revenue.

The Goals

Business itself is challenging enough. But merging two cultures in one manufacturing plant -- and between plant leadership and headquarters -- makes for an even more complex environment. The Molex plant located in Nogales, Mexico, on the Mexico-Arizona border, wanted to improve the productivity, efficiency and competitiveness of its cross-cultural work force – to ultimately enhance profitability. And achieving clear communication between all parts of the company was critical.

The Solution

International Advantage was engaged to work with company leaders for 12 months, beginning with supporting them to establish clear plant-wide objectives and supporting them in their completion. A second objective was to implement processes that would streamline communication in a way that leveled out the differing cultural expectations across the organization. Numerous internal issues were addressed wherever they were found, including cross-cultural group process, attention to management skills, and inter-departmental conflict resolution.

Lisa Koss coached each of the 15 leaders one-on-one on both personal and professional effectiveness. Her focus on all levels of system: organization, groups and individuals helped ensure that positive changes took place more quickly.

The Strategic Advantage

International Advantage helped the Nogales plant be more competitive within Molex and globally:

• Elevated employee satisfaction in 75 percent of all pre-surveyed areas
• 50 percent improvement in profits at the plant
• Lowered occurrence of quality issues by 50 percent
• Earned the Best in Class award for Most Improved Quality among 65 worldwide plants
• Awarded the Sonora Industry Honor, which acknowledges the "Best Place to Work" in Sonora by the Chamber of Commerce for the Mexican state of Sonora

“Lisa helped our lead team support and trust each other, and communicate. It was a huge step,” said Seth Maxwell, Industrial Business Unit Manager. “We now present a more united front to the plant and collaborate better, which results in faster decision-making. She added a tremendous positive influence and gave us the tools to contribute proactively and support each other.”