There’s a little bit of New Zealand greeting visitors to Mexico, and the clever Kiwi technology will be seamlessly uniting airline passengers with their baggage as they head to popular holiday destinations.
Grupo Aeroportuario Del Pacifico (GAP) which operates 12 airports in the Pacific region of Mexico has chosen baggage handling technology from BCS Group for its showcase San Jose Del Cabo and El Bajio airports.
The gateway airport for the region, San Jose Del Cabo (SJDC) is on the far west coast of Mexico at the base of the California Peninsula and a very popular tourist destination. It handles just on 3m passengers a year making it one of the busiest in Mexico. The futuristic-styled terminal is one of the largest build for GAP at any of its airports and is set to be the benchmark for all its future terminals.
BCS Group’s multi-million dollar win, comprising three separate projects, is a significant step for the company, to the south of its long-standing North American base.
BCS Group has set up a new office in Mexico, and employed several staff to service the existing and lucrative potential growth of the area.
Brad Jackson, General Manager of BCS (International), says the company’s investment in Mexico is in full swing, with manufacturing capabilities now established and operational in Mexico City. It was assisted by BCS’ participation in a successful MFAT/NZTE trade mission to Mexico led by Tim Grosser, with NZ Government support valuable in adding a further dimension to the BCS offering.
BCS already has established a similar manufacturing base in Brazil to support other growth markets in the region.
“We have a great deal of confidence that this area of the world will become an important market for us,” says Jackson. “We saw early on the constraints that the GFC would bring to the European market and so we made a deliberate strategic decision to expand into South East Asia and Central and South America. That strategy is paying off for us and through this opportunity with GAP we are well placed to extend our foothold in the region by adding more clients to our portfolio”
“Our strategy and investment into Central and South America has been significant and allows for healthy partnerships with our clients and suppliers”, says Jackson. “We are here to add long term value not only to BCS but to our clients and partners and our business model suits the culture of what Latin America offers”.
BCS’s Mexico wins will see it provide an inbound system comprising 5 arrivals carousels and one oversize belt system, as well as a new outbound system featuring inline baggage screening at SJDC. The smaller El Bajio arrivals system features two arrivals carousels and installation will start within a few months.
