La Abuela

Standing between pallets of flour bags and the scrupulously clean processing lines turning out La Abuela flour tortillas, Cristina Ardila surveys the production side of the company she has built. Ardila, aka La Abuela, has come a long way from her childhood in Durango, where she helped out in her parents' bakery and ice cream shop and learned about running a business.

When Ardila was in the midst of moving to the U.S. almost 20 years ago, her youngest daughter began crying because, on television, Americans ate only hamburgers and pizza. The child assumed her mother would stop cooking Mexican dishes. In fact, the family didnt like any of the flour tortillas in Texas stores, so Ardila began making tortillas at home. Friends began taking them as well. When Ardila asked them to pay for her homemade tortillas, they readily agreed. I told my husband, I think we have a business.

After much experimentation, Ardila perfected a flour tortilla recipe that originated with her childrens grandmother. With a name for the product, Ardila prepared La Abuela flour tortillas labels on her computer, invested in 10 hot presses and filled her freezer. Wed been in business before, and I know how businesses are, said Ardila, who had once worked for Los Angeles largest swimming pool company as well as in electronics and proven her sales skills. She called her extended family to have their last vacation together for a long time.

Ardilas first customers were small Mexican-American supermarkets. She gave some demos, and then her husband started doing sales calls and demos. The Mexican women couldnt believe this tall, blue-eyed Anglo was cooking tortillas, she said. When the business started growing, we didnt have a lot money. Everything coming in went back into the business, Ardila recalled. She bought a refrigerated truck and made deliveries herself for five years, building each route and then hiring someone to run it. It was very physical work, but it was good experience. Nobody can tell me that I dont know whats going on. I think I know the business in and out.

The tortillas are made in small batches to control quality. Because they contain no preservatives, so the product requires careful handling to maintain quality. Along the border, the tortillas are sold refrigerated, directly distributed by La Abuela. Out of the Valley, they are handled as a frozen product by distributors.

HEB opened their doors to La Abuela throughout the Valley. And then WalMart began selling La Abuela tortillas in 10 states. The company outgrew its commercial space in downtown McAllen, leading Ardila to talk to several Valley cities about relocating her business. We came to Weslaco because of the people. They didnt make it complicated, she said. Hernan Gonzalez (Weslaco EDC director) paved the way for us. And its easier for us to deliver being in center of the Valley. Weslaco provided some economic support for the company which employs 30. They made it possible for us to take the step to build to our specifications. We are very proud of it, Ardila said.

La Abuela employees ask to see the reports when the health inspector comes, Ardila noted. They are proud of what they do. They love to know they did not get any mark downs. Whenever Ardila goes to supermarkets, she is addressed as La Abuela, a title she can rightly claim since shes now the grandmother of eight. Just as she worked with her parents, her daughters have worked side by side with her, and her daughter Sonia still works in sales. Now one granddaughter comes into La Abuela regularly because she wants to learn how to make tortillas.

Cristina Ardila identifies herself as a full time administrator: Im in finance. She plans to bring out several new products in 2008 made with the quality La Abuela is famous for. Expansion is very much in the forecast for La Abuela, and the Weslaco site was selected in part because it allows the plant to expand. We know what the consumption is in this market, Ardila said. Our next step is to automate more, from the mixing to shipping. Everything is set for growth. The next steps are not going to be so painful, she said. The company has the option of adding a third shift to get maximum utilization of its equipment. As much as one grandmothers recipe created a legacy, Ardila is creating a legacy of her own: a company she, her family and her employees can be proud of.