LAKO Tool & Manufacturing, an Ohio-based manufacturer of precision components and sealing technology for flexible packaging machinery, was strengthening its commercial presence in Mexico and Latin America.
To support this expansion, LAKO needed a Sales Engineer based in Mexico City who could combine technical understanding with commercial capability and local market knowledge.
The position would serve as an important connection between customers in Mexico and LAKO's U.S. organization, requiring both local autonomy and effective communication with headquarters.
The Hiring Challenge
Finding technical credibility and commercial capability in the same profile.
The mandate required more than conventional sales experience.
LAKO needed someone who could understand a specialized industrial product environment, communicate credibly with technical customers and translate that knowledge into commercial development.
At the same time, the successful candidate needed to operate effectively across Mexico and the United States, combining English-Spanish communication with an understanding of the local customer environment.
This made the relevant talent market considerably narrower than the title “Sales Engineer” alone would suggest.
“The relevant market was not simply Sales Engineers in Mexico. It was professionals who could connect technical credibility, commercial capability and an international organization.”
Our Approach
Defining the search around technical-commercial capability.
Sync Talent mapped engineers and commercial professionals with backgrounds in packaging machinery and industrial equipment sales.
The search focused particularly on bilingual candidates who combined technical understanding with demonstrated commercial exposure.
Structured interviews were used to evaluate three dimensions central to the mandate:
- Technical Understanding
- Could the candidate operate credibly within a specialized packaging-machinery environment?
- Commercial Capability
- Could the candidate develop customer relationships and translate technical understanding into commercial opportunities?
- International Collaboration
- Could the candidate operate locally in Mexico while communicating effectively with LAKO's U.S. organization?
Close communication with LAKO's leadership throughout the process helped maintain alignment and support timely decision-making.
Context · English / Spanish
The Outcome
A successful placement in less than two months.
Sync Talent successfully completed the search within two months, appointing a Sales Engineer with the combination of technical knowledge, business understanding and local customer relationships required for the position.
Following the appointment, the new hire began supporting LAKO's commercial and technical activities in Mexico, including customer relationships and the company's local market activities.
The engagement demonstrates how defining a search around the substance of the role — rather than the job title alone — can help identify technical-commercial talent for international industrial companies building local capability in Mexico.
- Position
- Sales Engineer
- Industry
- Packaging Machinery
- Location
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Focus
- Technical Sales
- Languages
- English / Spanish
- Time to Hire
- < 2 months
- Outcome
- Successful Placement
- Year
- 2025
Key Takeaway
“Building a local market presence often requires more than adding sales capacity. The right hire needs to connect technical credibility, local customer understanding and the international organization behind the product.”
Defining the market beyond the job title.
For specialized industrial roles, the relevant candidate market is often defined by a combination of capabilities rather than by job titles alone.
In this engagement, technical understanding, commercial capability, bilingual communication and the ability to operate between Mexico and an international organization shaped the search market.
Explore the Atlas Method