 He started out as a small merchant by importing fabrics from overseas until he eventually built a textile empire that employed over 20,000 people.In 1999, he partnered with an apparel company known as the Tarrant Apparel Group, who manufactured denim jeans for brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Chaps, Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and American Eagle Outfitters.In 2002 Vicente Fox and Pablo Salazar Mendiguchía celebrated with him a new export textile factory in San Cristobal de las Casas.