|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
   |
SOFTTEK: MEXICO'S 'HIGH-TECH MAQUILADORAS' (int'l edition)Gerardo Lopez Garcia is a man in a hurry. Trained as an engineer at the University of Texas at Austin, he started but never finished three graduate degrees: one in computer science and two MBAs. ''I missed class starting up my own company,'' he admits. Never mind. Lopez, 46, is pioneering a new Latin industry: custom-designed software for companies around the globe. Lopez is cashing in on the worldwide shortage of software engineers. The founder and president of Softtek has recently snagged contracts from four U.S. companies, including General Electric Co. Lopez expects Softtek's sales to nearly double, to almost $60 million, this year. Indeed, he calls Softtek's software factories ''high-tech maquiladoras.'' Software could be the ''next great new industry in Mexico,'' adds Roberto Batres, head of consultant Arthur D. Little Inc.'s Latin American unit. Softtek got its start in the U.S. developing programs to deal with the year 2000 computer bug. Its programmers make about $16,000 a year, compared with the $50,000 U.S. software engineers usually earn. Now, Softtek is helping credit-card users update data bases. Says Lopez: ''If we do these jobs well, the U.S. will represent an infinite market for us.'' The company employs 1,800 Mexican engineers and has 10 sales offices around the world. Lopez' main worry is finding enough English-speaking software programmers. He recruits up to 100 graduates a month from Mexico's top universities. Meanwhile, he frets that banks don't understand his business and are reluctant to extend credits. That's one reason he plans to take Softtek public. Lopez owns a 27% stake in the company. If he can pull off an initial public offering, he could become Mexico's first software millionaire.
By Geri Smith in Mexico City
|
Updated Oct. 16, 1997 by bwwebmaster
Copyright 1997, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Terms of Use