What is a Shelter Program?
A Shelter Program is a contractual relationship between a provider and your company that gives your company the ability of establishing it's own operation in Mexico the fastest and most economical way possible. The provider becomes your “partner” in this process by providing an array of services tailored to your project. The Shelter provider is a company that is currently a legal and working entity in Mexico. The Provider has all of the infrastructure in place to be able to relocate a Company into it’s umbrella of business services. A quality shelter provider should be able to provide the Company with all of the services in Mexico which allows the Company to focus on the relocation of their program and then the start up and management of the ongoing manufacturing processes. The Provider “shelters” the company from the many duties that need to be performed under Mexican laws as it pertains to the Maquiladora industry as well has having a great deal of experience and knowledge of how to operate within a foreign culture and system.The Provider allows the Company to move into Mexico in a quick and efficient manner to begin realizing the many benefits without trudging through the learning experience on their own.

Why should I consider a NOVA/LINK’s Shelter Program?
1. If you have decided that Mexico is an alternative for you and you would like to move quickly.
2. You do not want to relinquish control to a sub-contractor, but, would prefer to have some involvement in the manufacturing relationship that allows you control of how and when things are done.
3. You would like a “partner” that has a vested interest in your success that will handle the Mexican side of the program.
4. You want to take advantage of the tax laws in Mexico that a shelter provider offers.
5. If you have limited resources or scope of project to do it alone.
6. If you would like to start small and grow into your program without having to take on the full burden of a stand alone operation before you have reached that need.

What does a Shelter Program cost and how am I charged?
Shelter programs differ depending on the provider. Most shelter providers charge an hourly rate that is applied to the staff dedicated to the project. The level of services that you will find in a provider also varies. Some providers offer administrative functions and handle the legal aspects of Mexico and rely on the Company to provide all of the oversight of the manufacturing. Providers like NOVA/LINK, however, have taken it many steps further. We provide our clients with the full experience. We have taken on the responsibilities of the standard shelter and added the transportation, warehousing and distribution, as well as the oversight of the manufacturing processes. This gives our clients the choice of degree of on-site involvement that they choose to have. The hourly rate typically covers all expenses related to the program. It is based on the size of the operation (number of employees and the space required).
NOVA/LINK uses the payroll system to determine and track the hours worked and then invoices on a weekly basis its Shelter Fee. Each week a Pre-Invoice is made with the total of all the expenses and presented to the client's manager. Copies of payrolls and all invoices are attached for the client to review and approve. Once the Pre-Invoice is approved an invoice is generated and sent to the client with all the necessary back-up.

What does the Shelter Program provide?
Services provided in our Shelter Program are:

Human Resource Administration Recruiting, Screening and Testing of your entire workforce to insure they meet your requirements.
Enrollment and administration of your employee’s medical, disability and retirement insurance plans through the Mexico Social Security system (IMSS).
Wage and Benefit Administration including guidance on the structure of incentives, bonuses and perks.
Interpretation and Administration of the legal aspects of Mexican Labor laws.
Employee development as you determine and employee recognition as you prefer.

U.S. Customs Coordination
Assistance in classification of your products for U.S. Customs to insure the lowest possible duty rate, if any, for your products.
NOVA/LINK will prepare all of the documentation necessary to export your products to the US and coordinate with your US customs broker without your day to day involvement.

Mexico Customs Coordination
We will classify your components with Mexico Customs. Again, we will search every sector to ensure the best case scenario for your products in the classification and tariff codes.
NOVA/LINK handles all of the Mexican broker services for our customers. You will not have to get involved with any interactions in this regard with the exception of providing the necessary information for us to do our job.
NOVA/LINK has many years of experience in crossing goods into Mexico and working with other maquiladoras in Mexico through intra-maquiladora transfers if your product needs to be sent to another factory in Mexico.

Facilitation of Space in Mexico
NOVA/LINK has the partnerships in Mexico to provide site selection, building construction or building acquisition.
NOVA/LINK will contract the lease through our company and provide the full building maintenance.

Facilitation of Space in the United States
Southbound warehouse services are provided at the NOVA/LINK U.S. warehouse and distribution location. Our services allow our clients’ suppliers to drop ship goods directly to us. We then provide inventory space, materials control, and supply of raw materials to our operations in Mexico for our clients We maintain systems in our warehouse to provide real time materials control to our clients. Northbound warehouse services are are much the same. We provide the Northbound services that we can provide to minimize our clients’ needs to double handle the finished goods. Full coordination of Northbound distribution can be handled by our staff. FTL, LTL, Fed-Ex, UPS, USPS, and pick and pack are all part of day to day activities.

Logistics Coordination
All logistics are handled by NOVA/LINK. Through our privately owned transportation department, we handle all cross border movements which means we always have control of our clients’ products.

Legal Compliance for your operation
NOVA/LINK’s experienced infrastructure provides the necessary guidance and administration to insure compliance to all the legal requirements in Mexico.
These include, but are not limited to, the following:
SECODAM (administers Mexico customs)
HACIENDA (Mexico’s IRS)
IMSS (Mexico’s social security system)
SEMARNAP/SEDUE (Mexico’s EPA)
Seguridad y Higiene (Mexico’s OSHA)
Payroll Tax Administration
Legal Benefit Administration

Permits
Acquisition of all the necessary permits for your materials and equipment.
Obtain work permits for any non-Mexican personnel that work at your operation in Mexico.

Mexico Support Functions
Procurement
Any supplies needed to support your operation in Mexico are purchased, on your behalf as a pass-through cost, and delivered to your operation. You can use the proven group of vendors that NOVA/LINK has, or we can seek other options as you desire.

Subcontractors
In the past 20 years NOVA/LINK has established contacts and good relationships with most of all the local contractors and sub-contractors.
You will have access to a group of capable and dependable contractors in Mexico. These cover a wide range of services you will need from the initial building installations through expansion efforts you may need in the future.

Other Services
NOVA/LINK becomes your partner in this process. You are never alone. We are available to you through our executive group and dedicated employees 24/7. We also offer you the services of planning your program, reviewing your business model, visiting your location to assist in the process and to provide our many years of experience in helping you formulate the best option possible.

Special Services
A very important service that NOVA/LINK offers to its customers is consulting on successful manufacturing practices. We understand the need to be highly effective in the manufacturing arena and support our Shelter customers in their Mexico venture from the beginning.

What do I save in a Shelter Program?
The Shelter Program saves you time, money, resources, and headaches. There is no faster approach in setting up an operation in Mexico than through a shelter. Secondly, NOVA/LINK provides an economy of scale that benefits you through shared services with other customers already under the NOVA/LINK umbrella. Third, you do not need to tie up valuable resources because NOVA/LINK has a methodical staff that can assist you in every aspect of the move. And finally, NOVA/LINK has been there and done it for you. We handle those items that you do not need to be involved with in Mexico.