One way for a manufacturer to enter a new market is through acquisition. However, one downside of the strategy is that the manufacturing assets you acquire do not always mesh perfectly with how you like to do things.
Such was the case with Ficosa International SA, a global automotive supplier based in Barcelona, Spain. To gain a bigger slice of the burgeoning North American auto market, Ficosa acquired three U.S. parts suppliers in 2008, 2010 and 2011. The company went from having no U.S. factories, to having three.