The engineer José Farrera Grave de Peralta, who has been working for the industry for more than 50 years and who currently provides his professional services as a technical advisor to the Celco Group, is our guest as Professional of the Month.
by Santiago Jaramillo Hincapié
With 55 years of work in the industry, José Farrera Grave de Peralta has worked in the technical departments of renowned paint companies in the Central American area and the United States, and currently stands out as a technical advisor to the Celco Group. In addition, as a highlight, its developments give today the color to more than 50% of the Central American region.
This industrious promoter of the paint industry was born in Cuba in January 1933. He attended primary and secondary education at the Colegio de La Salle in Havana and the career of Industrial Chemical Engineer at the Catholic University of Santo Tomás de Villanova in Havana.
His first job as a professional was with the paint manufacturer The Glidden Paint Co. in Havana, Cuba, in 1977, and his boss and tutor, at that time, was the engineer Fausto Hidalgo, technical manager with whom he started in the paint industry.
"For three years I was his assistant, then I was transferred to the Glidden plant in New Orleans, United States. There I was able to train in the area of quality control. Later, in 1962, I was able to earn promotion to the Glidden Plant in Guatemala. For 15 consecutive years I had responsibility for plant management, purchasing management and finally as regional technical manager with the Glidden paint plants in Guatemala, San Salvador and Honduras."
Among his most representative achievements José Farrera Grave de Peralta recalls that in 1977 he was a founding partner together with Mr. Carlos Berthet de Pindegua, in his plant designed to process paints for the repainting of automotive products. Subsequently, since 1987, he specialized in advising paint plants, especially focused on manufacturing plants, formulation and technical training, as well as the areas of quality control, production methods and sales in the factories of Glidden, Pinselca and later with the Celco Group, to which he was linked since 2008 exclusively to date.
A broad view of the industry
According to our guest, among the most common failures in the formulation and manufacture of paints in his region, which is his specialty, is the lack of quality control equipment and little technical information in the formulation of economical paints in Latex paints with a PVC greater than 85-90.
It also emphasizes that in the manufacture of the products it should be tried to use high-speed dispersers and basket type sand mills with which a better performance of the final product is obtained with more efficiency in the production process and a better performance in the high-cost raw materials.
Turning to the issue of where research leans in terms of new developments in the industry, Farrera ponders that "all the recent research we have done at Celco has been aimed at the development of water-based paints, where we keep the VOC at an optimal level trying to avoid contamination of the environment. Also the purchase of raw materials with the approval of the FDA protecting the management of the operators in the plant and the painter and the environment. We're going to have wood sealants, anticorrosives, epoxies and industrial enamels in 'water-based' systems."
Our guest also told us about what have been the keys to be competitive and endure over time in business matters. "The minimum keys to being competitive has always been to formulate products of optimal performance and properly train our salespeople by providing our customers with the service they deserve and creating a relationship with loyalty, service and total trust."
Farrero also emphasizes that the paints and coatings market in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua has great potential for economic paints, and with the technical training to the sales area and the painter as a final consumer, the market is oriented to new developments of products of better performance and higher quality.
He also concludes that after "navigating the wonderful" paint industry for 55 consecutive years, "my recommendation and legacy is that they transmit their knowledge and experience to the new generations. Remembering that it is an industry in constant evolution and progress and always bearing in mind that the most humble technician, operator, painter, will give us his experience in his university of life, always take it into account. In the meantime we will continue to help, teach, collaborate and learn in the industry that has taught me so much in my life as a painter."
