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Advanced Electronic Manufacturing

News Brief

General Microcircuits de Costa Rica Celebrates Five Years

Mooresville, NC USA, July 2015 In 2009, when the US economy was reeling into the great
recession, North Carolina based General Microcircuits, with a successful model of transitioning
the manufacture of customers projects to low cost, o-shore Asian alliance partners, needed to
nd a near-shore, lower cost solution in this hemisphere to accommodate market pressures of
shortened lead-times for manufacturing and a solution to reduce transit time and overcome
increasing logistics cost.
After ruling out Canada, Mexico, and most Latin American options, GMI uncovered the merits of
manufacturing in Costa Rica. With a long standing friendship and protection from the United
States, Costa Rica disbanded its army in 1948 and used those appropriations to invest in the
education and welfare of its people. As a result, they have obtained a literacy rate of 96% and
developed a workforce that attracts an assortment of multi-national companies looking for a
talented workforce. Interestingly, Costa Ricas population is quite young, with a medium age of
26 years.
Intrigued by its proximity to the Southeastern United States, GMI values the shortened transit
time to ship goods by sea from Costa Rica to North Carolina (7-10 days; compared to 30-45 days
from Asia), the shortened ight times from Charlotte to Costa Rica (4 hours; compared to 17-26
hours to Asia) and the one/two time zone change which improves communication responsiveness
(compared to 11-13 time zones in Asia).
In addition, many Costa Ricans are uent in English and are eager to converse with Americans.
Ticos (Costa Rican natives) are hard workers with cross-functional skills. With electronics being
the number one export for Costa Rica during the
21st century, many talented workers were well
trained in advanced manufacturing.
With all of these advantages, GMI made the
commitment in 2010 to launch a manufacturing
operation 15 minutes from the main
international airport in the San Jose Valley
(Juan Santa Maria) at the Free Trade Zone BES
Industrial Park in Alajuela. This investment was

1133 N Main Street | PO Box 748 | Mooresville, NC 28115

P 704.663.5975 | F 704.663.6569 | www.gmimfg.com

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News Brief

started in March 2010 with a group of 14 employees in a 1,014m2 (10,914.61ft2) building.

GMI-CR quickly exceeded all expectations regarding adaptability of the processes, quality of the
manufacturing, and human talent. By 2012, GMI-CR had grown to 50 employees and had
outgrown the facility.
In late 2012 the company moved from the 1,0014m2 (10,914.61ft2) building to a 2,295m2 (24,700
ft2) location. Not long after this expansion was done in the same Free Trade Zone BES, new hires,
new production lines, additional processes and more advanced competencies where added to
support North Carolina and its customers needs. Within six months the head count had reached
90 and once again GMI-CR was running out of space.
In 2014, GMI acquired an additional 1700 m2 (18,300 ft2) in an adjacent building, bringing the
total to 4000 m2. (43,000 ft2) By early 2015, renovations complete, GMI relayed out the facility,
maximizing eciency and ow. GMI-CR now employs 116, with an expectation of 150 by the end
of 2015.
Acknowledgements:
GMI-CR holds Certications
for ISO 9001 and ISO
13485(Medical).
Even though the Free Trade
Zone incentive provided by the
Costa Rican Government oers
GMI and its customers a
competitive advantage where
the raw material can be
imported and transformed into
nished goods without adding
any taxes, duties or additional taris, the greatest reasons for GMIs investment in Costa Rica was
the skill and knowledge of its people along with its proximity to GMIs customer base.
To view a video about Costa Rica, go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn6qgfTmsyA
GMI engages in strategic partnerships with governmental agencies within Costa Rica (CINDE,
PROCOMER and AMCHAM). As a result, GMI is working with them and the other multi-national
companies within the Free Trade Zones to enhance local suppliers competitiveness to ensure
GMIs US and Latin American customers receive the extended value.
For US Inquiries contact Jay Handley at jhandley@gmimfg.com
For Latin American Inquiries contact Marco Fernandez at mfernandez@gmimfg.com

1133 N Main Street | PO Box 748 | Mooresville, NC 28115

P 704.663.5975 | F 704.663.6569 | www.gmimfg.com

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About General Microcircuits:

GMI is a global advanced electronics manufacturing company providing circuit board and
integrated assemblies to manufacturers in diverse industries and applications. Founded in 1980
and headquartered 20 miles north of Charlotte, North Carolina, General Microcircuits serves
customers in all segments of the industrial, commercial, telecommunications, medical, defense,
energy and evolving market-sectors. GMI provides domestic (North Carolina), near-shore (Costa
Rica) and o-shore (China and South Korea) manufacturing capabilities to meet its customers
needs and volumes.
www.gmimfg.com
All new product launches begin in Mooresville, NC, an easy drive from Charlotte International
Airport (CLT). GMI combines a very established and experienced workforce with a strong supply
chain and marries them into a risk intolerance business model.

1133 N Main Street | PO Box 748 | Mooresville, NC 28115

P 704.663.5975 | F 704.663.6569 | www.gmimfg.com