Francisco González - Chile
The Chilean paint industry is stable and competitive at the local level, but it still needs to improve to reach the size of other Latin American markets, says Francisco González, our professional of the month.
by Duván Chaverra A.
At a time when a grey economic climate persists and the light at the end of the tunnel is still distant, the Chilean paint industry is looking for solutions to keep competitiveness intact, but with the awareness that it is not yet possible to think about growing. The latter is a verb that today few dare to conjugate for their own benefit.
According to the National Institute of Statistics, until March of this year in Chile industrial production fell by 7.1%, completing six consecutive months of decline, as a result of low demand. But this is just one more proof that that country is not indifferent to the pace of the global economy.
However, the Chilean paint market remains competitive, as it retains a stable economic system that allows it. Today, the industry hopes to continue overcoming the barriers that worry it every day and force it to think about successful initiatives and strategies so as not to lose dynamism.
Our professional of the month for this edition is an executive known in the local environment, his name is Francisco González Gastellú, current general manager of Chilcorrofin and the Industrial and Marine Division of Ceresita, both companies belonging to the same business group. He assures that the growth of this industry has remained stable in recent years, so he foresees some representative change during the coming months.
An innovative and professional market
González describes the most outstanding characteristics for which the Chilean paint market is recognized, especially in the home line: "It is a very competitive market, in which at least seven large companies, both national and foreign, participate. There are highly developed distribution channels that actively participate in the business, especially in architectural painting. There is also a very demanding industrial sector, in which service is paramount. It is clearly a market with a good professional level and open to innovation."
Despite the advantages that this industry has given the proper functioning of its infrastructure and its stable economic system, our professional of the month considers that these constitute a good tool in the local environment, however, there is still a long way to go in the search to expand the market and thus reach the same successful size of other countries in the area.
"The advantage of the Chilean market is the stability of the rules of the game of the economic system, which allows us to work with the tranquility that comes from knowing that state institutions in general function properly. The disadvantage, perhaps, is the size of the market, which is substantially smaller than that of other countries in the region, such as Argentina or Brazil."
Investments within the same industry
Although it is well known that in times of crisis the budget is restricted, Francisco González believes that if the purpose is to reach more important market levels within the Latin region, it is key to provide his working group with all the necessary tools to know deeply the rival against which they compete and at the same time to which they aspire to become.
"Today we must invest in people, empowering and preparing them to face increasingly globalized markets. In different areas we see that there are no longer the barriers that made it difficult to compete in other countries," said the leader, adding that in his nation there is still a lot of initiative to look beyond its borders by those who have to do directly with the production of paintings.
"At present it is possible to do so, but many times we do not have the technicians and professionals with the mentality to project themselves beyond the country, we must provide tools for them to develop in that sense."
On the other hand, González thinks that it is important to specialize in the corresponding market area, according to the product that will be offered to the client, because in many cases the marketing strategy cannot be the same for all services.
NULL"Without a doubt, another aspect is specialization, each market is particular and you should not fall into the error of thinking that a strategy that works well in one market segment will do so in another," he said.
Plans to stay in place
Give added value to your products a positive outlet to preserve competitiveness within the paint market. In Chile they know this, but to make this proposal go ahead it is necessary to invest, another word that at this time has a meaning more inclined to risk and fear, than to a viable solution in terms of profitability and taking advantage of opportunities in crisis.
The general manager of Chilcorrofin and the Industrial and Marine Division of Ceresita assures that in addition to the issue of added value, there are other points that must be considered, such as accurately identifying the products that at this time may be more profitable and those that for now are not.
"Added value is achieved through innovation and investment in research and development. This is the right time to rethink the profitability of each product and its viability in the long term, so that we can be prepared to face again the growth that is going to come, "said the executive.
A professional who keeps climbing
Francisco González Gastellú is an Industrial Civil Engineer and MBA who was born in Santiago de Chile in 1965, and who throughout his professional career has worked in the fishing and painting sector. Currently, he is the general manager of Chilcorrofin and manager of the Industrial and Marine Division of Ceresita.
While he was working in the fishing sector, he received an offer to occupy the position as finance manager of Pinturas Soquina (a company specialized in the decorative sector) and which is also part of the Ceresita Group. For seven years he has held positions in the areas of logistics, finance and commercial, and in the last three years he has been in charge of Chilcorrofin, at which time that company became part of the aforementioned group.
"In all these companies I found an excellent team of professionals, who have helped me to internalize this particular business."
Francisco González believes that from his hand he has managed to carry out a process full of successes with this Chilean company: "More than an achievement of my own, I think I have had to lead a process with Chilcorrofin, in which we have managed to position ourselves in the market as references in special solutions in paints and coatings, both for the home and for the industry".
"We have specialties in which we are market leaders, such as pool paints, anticorrosives, varnishes and waterproofing, the result of years of work in research and development. This has allowed us to grow at double-digit rates in the last 3 years," concluded our professional of the month.
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