The First Facility Management Blog

An industrial engineering conference on the campus of Tec Milenio University in Monterrey, Mexico, was a fitting accompaniment to the grand opening of the first international office of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). The IIE Latin American office, housed on the Tec Milenio University campus, will support more than 60 IIE chapters and 1,100 IIE members throughout Latin America. Day-to-day operations are managed by IIE staff member Nydia Moreno, a graduate of Tecnológico de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

IIE Executive Director Don Greene and Corporate Operations Manager Donna Calvert represented IIE headquarters at the well-attended opening ceremony that also captured the interest of local press and the more than 1,000 students and professionals attending the conference.

Photo caption: (left) Filipe Quintanilla-Flores, a professor at Tecnológico De Monterrey, and Institute of Industrial Engineers senior vice president of international activities, addresses guests at the grand opening of IIE’s first international office in Monterrey, Mexico. Also shown: Dr. Rosa Hilda Felix, a professor at Instituto Tecnológico de San Luis de Potosi and IIE regional vice president (seated), and Daniel Villarreal, an industrial engineer with ProModel Mexico and long-time IIE member.

“The hundreds of people attending the grand opening of our Latin American office along with the number involved in the industrial engineering conference on this campus is ample testimony to the burgeoning growth of the industrial engineering profession in this region,” said Don Greene. “We look forward to being a resource and partner in the further growth of the profession in Latin America.”

The new office will facilitate exchange of information between IIE headquarters and members throughout Latin America and will promote membership in the organization as well as events, training, and leadership opportunities for both professionals and students.

According to Louis Martin-Vega, Ph.D., dean of engineering at North Carolina State University and president of the IIE Board of Trustees, “This represents a significant milestone in bringing our vision of IIE as a truly international organization to fruition. We can now provide our Latin America members with more immediate access to the many services IIE offers.”

“This is an exciting time for us,” added Felipe Quintanilla-Flores, professor at Tecnológico De Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, and IIE senior vice president of international activities. “The office in Monterrey will both support our members in the region and serve as our prototype for additional offices world wide.”

IIE supports the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IIE is an international, non-profit association that provides leadership for the application, education, training, research, and development of industrial engineering.