Hola from Aguascalientes!
Multiline Operator Flor Margarita Muñoz Ramírez introduces her home city in central Mexico.
On a typical day I catch the shuttle bus to work and arrive at the plant at around 6.40am. I go straight to the production area for the morning meeting with my bosses and colleagues. My team starts with maintenance before we check our production plan for the day. We remove any scrap, check the approved product sample, then fill out documents and load the online software programs for the machines to make the product.
An automated visual inspection finds any defects and helps us avoid scrap in production. After each run, we pass the finished printed circuit cards to the backend area. At the end of our shift, we take stock, then pass the day’s details to colleagues on the next shift.
My direct team of 12 people includes our supervisor, line manager and the other operators. We all communicate constantly to make sure everyone knows about any errors in the machines or the online program. Our plant has a very nice work environment – my colleagues are all very good at what they do. We talk Spanish together but most people speak good English, too.
Hot springs earned Aguascalientes its name
Aguascalientes is where I was born and have lived my whole life. It’s a safe city of around one million people in the heart of Mexico. The historic colonial city center is very beautiful to stroll around. Spring is the best time of year for visitors because we have the annual San Marcos Fair, the biggest and most popular fair in Mexico, which lasts several weeks and attracts millions of people.
High-Tech Future
Cutting-edge technology and design will drive future efficiency at the Aguascalientes plant. The modern site’s flexible design will enable driver-less vehicles – known as autonomous automated guided vehicles (aAGVs) – to transport materials in the production and warehouse areas. aAGVs can make deliveries even more reliable and consistent. The plant also meets the latest building standards for sustainable energy use. During construction, sustainable materials were deliberately used in accordance with the strict specifications for LEED Gold certification. Sustainability was also taken into account in the architecture: Spacious, highly insulated window areas, for instance, allow daylight to be used at the workplaces, thus promoting a healthy working environment and reducing the need for artificial lighting.
We have some wonderful local food and drinks, such as tepache made from pineapples and water – it’s very refreshing. This region is famous for its guava fruit so you have to try the guava cakes! For some fresh air, I like the city’s large Rodolfo Landeros Park or a walk to the Cerro del Muerto (Hill of the Dead) which was named after its unusual shape. The wider Aguascalientes region has many spas thanks to its natural hot springs. They even earned the city its name, which means “hot waters” in Spanish.
Our plant is just one year old but is set to grow fast. Continental is helping our city by creating better-paid jobs and more economic stability.
