Our Professional of the Month is Claudio Restuccia, an entrepreneur who has an optimistic view of what lies ahead for the sector in Argentina in the coming years.
by Duván Chaverra Agudelo
Our search to present the profiles of the most outstanding professionals in Latin America continues in the south of the continent. Now we move to Argentina, a country that in the paints and coatings sector is one of the most important in the region and that has recognized national companies. There we find Claudio Restuccia, director of Diransa San Luis S.A and who will represent the gaucho nation in this recognition of the Professional of the month.
With the chemical engineer by profession we will talk about the current state of the paint market in Argentina, his goals as director of Diransa San Luis, his keys to success, and other professional topics.
Claudio initially recognized that the paint industry in Argentina is in an ideal position, supported by the remarkable dominance of 70% that the architectural segment has within the total volume of the market and 50% in value. "This market is supplied by traditional international companies and important local companies, but in addition, there are more than 200 smaller factories distributed throughout the country and that boast a good level of technological development; achieving these together a participation of around 30%", commented the Professional of the month.
Reasons such as the growth in the construction sector to improve the housing deficit, in addition to the economic recovery of the country, are reasons that Claudio highlights to justify the good present that the industry is going through and the optimism that exists for the coming years.
"Given the economic recovery that our country has experienced, private demand for remodeling and repainting at home has increased significantly, reaching an annual per capita consumption of around 3.5 liters / inhabitant, within the Latin American average (3.7 liters per inhabitant) but still far from the 14 liters / inhabitant of the United States or Canada, "- Claudio explained.
Restuccia is a man who throughout his famous career has witnessed the good and bad times that the sector has gone through and therefore has noticed relevant changes that affected, in a good or bad way, the development of products for the industry. Diversity in service and offering, as well as growth in sectors such as automotive have been instrumental in the process.
"The most important change we have seen in the paint market is given on the one hand, to the great diversification and sophistication of the products and the search for greater specificity in the characteristics of the final product that increasingly point to market niches. On the other hand, to the great development that large companies have made in the points of sale, incorporating technology and machinery to provide the end user with a greater variety of products and colors, "said the executive of Diransa San Luis.
A stable market
In the 4th edition of this year, INPRA LATINA published an article on the restrictions that Argentina placed on imports in most of the products, which includes those of our medium.
Although our guest recognizes that the uniqueness of the Argentine economy, helped by the remoteness of the large production centers, means that there are practically no imports of paints (less than 5%) and, consequently, local production is developed in all lines. This has been an additional challenge for domestic companies and consequently for producers of raw materials. In this regard, the opinion of our Professional of the month is as follows:
"The paint market has been supplied, for years, by companies with local production. From this point of view the thing has not changed much; the problem may be related more to the supply of raw materials. In our case, a significant part of our inputs are imported and are not produced in the country or in the region, so any restriction on imports can harm the normal supply. It is also true that although the import system has been bureaucratized, in our case we have not had any supply problems or lack of any raw material."
This is how it seems that the market has continued its normal course, although this year, according to our professional of the month, Argentina will not register significant growth in its reports. Claudio said that "we know that in 2012, due to different endogenous and exogenous circumstances, that sustained growth that the industry had had since 2003 and with production peaks in 2008 and 2011 was stopped, although the industry still maintains an inertia and a relatively good level of activity. From our perspective, consumption has not decreased since despite having made plant expansions, we are almost at maximum production."
This production has allowed Restuccia and his company to have had the opportunity to be in the continuous generation of new developments: "We witness the birth of new generations of acrylic and vinyl-based elastomeric polymers, resins to reduce titanium consumption or replace part of it, resins to formulate water-based products for wood, and of course everything related to improving the interaction of the paintings with the environment".
Finally, the Professional of the Month owes many successful keys his work to remain competitive within the paints and coatings industry in Argentina. "I believe that the keys can be summarized in our vision: to be a company of integrity, reliable, dedicated to our customers and committed to our people, with high values of quality and service to give greater quantifiable value to those who give us their trust."
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