Grupo Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo, known just as “Bimbo”, is the leading bread-making company in Mexico and Latin America and one of the most important companies of this industry in the world. It has presence in 18 countries in America, Europe and Asia. Bimbo produces around 5,000 products and has more than 100 trademarks. Since 1980, Grupo Bimbo has been a public company listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange.

Company History
The name “Bimbo” was first proposed in 1943 by Jaime Borja, one of its founders, and was selected because it is very short and easy to pronounce. The launch of its first plant and of the company, however, would not be until 1945. In 1947, new routes (Tuxcan, Poza Rica, Toluca, Pachuca, Puebla y Cuernavaca) were built and the company grew in terms of goodwill and employees. In 1950, Bimbo began to use the famous “38” vehicle, a vehicle that had loudspeakers, a record player, and microphones that were very useful to promote the bread in the small towns and regions of Mexico. Due its fast and significant growth, the company had to establish several branches around the country. This system has operated since then and Bimbo operates more than 1.3 million branches today. In 1955, the tenth anniversary of Bimbo, the company had 700 workers and 140 vehicles. In 1957, the company created a new trademark: marinela products. Between 1957 and 1960 Bimbo opened 2 new, large plants: the western plant and the northern plant in Mexico. In 1963, one of the founders of Bimbo Mexico established 4 new Bimbo plants in Spain. However these 4 plants were totally owned by Jaime Jorba and were unrelated to the Mexican Bimbo except for the name and the procedures for making the bread. Under other trademarks and names, Organización Bimbo opened more than 4 new plants around Mexico producing new kinds of food like jam. In 1980, Bimbo became a public company and listed 15% of its shares on the Mexican Stock Exchange. In 1984, Bimbo began to export its products to Texas. In 1985, Bimbo produced more than 200 different products and was one of the most important companies in Mexico. In 1986, the company organized its structural governance, establishing the existence of one industrial group that would have control over all the trademarks (Bimbo, Barcel, Exbim, and Proarce). In 1987, Bimbo began to operate in Los Angeles and Houston, and in 1989 in Guatemala and Argentina. In 1990, Bimbo began operations in Europe and almost all the territory of Central America. In 1994, Bimbo bought an existing plant in Costa Rica, another one in Chile, and another one in Argentina. In 1997, the company established new plants in Colombia, Costa Rica, and Argentina. In 2000, Bimbo bought its second bread-making company in Peru. Finally in 2006, Bimbo acquired “Panrico,” one of the most important bread-making companies in Beijing, China.

Political and Public Influence
Paragraph information

Corporate Accountability
Grupo Bimbo has a significant social responsibility program. It is tightly related to health, environment, society (poverty, food etc.) and the wellbeing of its workers. In terms of health, the company has been making serious efforts, trying to eliminate the trans fat of its products and to promote exercise as a way of life. In terms of environment, the company has been making big efforts to recycle, reduce its consumption of water, and it has supported a big reforestation campaign in Mexico. In addition, Bimbo supports three educational institutions, the Mexican foundation for rural development, the Mexican Foundation for employment, and “DESEM,” a Mexican foundation that promotes youth development.

Labor
6 December 2005: “Los sindicatos califican de “tomadura de pelo¨ la actitud de Bimbo hacia la administración”  The article exposes the controversy generated by Bimbo’s decision to close its plant in “El Espinar” and move its production to the Bimbo plant in Briviesca (Burgos). The trade unions claim that the plant has been profitable enough and that what Bimbo is doing is not right and would affect many workers.

Financial Information
2005	 2006	2007-3 Activo Total	                               36,725	41,731	43,367 México	                                       23,593	26,796	26,497 USA                                               10,045	10,704	11,272 Latinoamérica                              3,087	4,232	5,599 Activo Circulante	                        9,286	11,556	10,810 Inmueble, Planta y Equipo Neto	18,469	20,464	22,305 Pasivo Total	                                16,872	18,127	16,673 Deuda de Corto Plazo	                  248	3,112	2,266 Deuda de Largo Plazo	                 8,092	5,268	3,433 Capital Contable Consolidado	 19,853	23,604	26,694 Tipo de Cambio al cierre del periodo (Peso vs. Dolar)	10.7109	10.8755	10.9243

Las cifras de 2007 están expresadas en millones de pesos constantes al 30 de Septiembre de 2007. Las cifras de 2006 están expresadas en millones de pesos constantes al 31 de Diciembre de 2006.

Governance
Executives Board members/affiliations Executive director/compensation Date and venue of next AGM

Contact Information
A message can be sent on the following webpage: http://www.grupobimbo.com.mx/contacts.php

External Articles
http://www.comunicarseweb.com.ar/biblioteca/noticias-07/1131.html

http://www.business-humanrights.org/Search/SearchResults?SearchableText=Bimbo&x=0&y=0

http://www.csrwire.com/News/2970.html