Alejandro Pedrosa
“BUSINESS LEADERS HAVE A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY IN NATIONAL LIFE”
ADIMRA – Noviembre 2011
Our Origins
I was born in Tandil on 5 January 1948 into a family of Spanish heritage. My grandparents came from the Almería region. My father, Damián, was a teacher at a border school in Neuquén and died in a snowstorm at the age of twenty-three, when I was just three months old. My mother, Dolores, raised me as her only child. She worked as a teacher and instilled in me a strong work ethic through her example. My childhood was humble, although I never lacked anything. Thanks to a scholarship, I attended primary school at San José School in Tandil. Later, from 1961 to 1966, I attended secondary school at the city’s National Technical Education School.
I chose an industrial education influenced by my paternal uncles, with whom I spent my summer holidays in Córdoba. They owned a motorcycle workshop and instilled in me a passion for machinery and engineering. I was the school flag bearer and president of the student association. I completed my secondary education with a study trip to Brazil by cruise ship. I have wonderful memories of my youth in the lively city of Tandil, including the parties we used to organise in family homes. It was there, during my student years, that I met Norma, my wife. I was sixteen and she was fourteen. I have always been passionate about sport. I played football and even went on to play professionally for Club Ramón Santamarina. I also excelled in athletics.
“I have wonderful memories of my youth in the lively city of Tandil, including the parties we used to organise in family homes.”
The Beginnings in Metalworking
I started working at a very young age, while I was still in the final years of primary school. My first job was repairing hair rollers. I would cycle around the hair salons of Tandil, collecting damaged rollers, repairing them and returning them. I earned a few pesos doing that.
I had my first industrial job while I was finishing my third year of secondary school. I joined the engineering department at Metalúrgica Tandil. After finishing secondary school, I moved to Córdoba to study Metallurgical Engineering at the National Technological University (UTN). I began in 1967, amid a period of intense student activism. I experienced the Cordobazo from within, taking an active and deeply involved role.
While I was studying, I began working at LOFRAH, the most important foundry in Córdoba. I started in the engineering department and left seven years later, after graduating from university, as the company’s Head of Technology. Mario Franzosi, one of the owners, had a profound influence on me throughout the rest of my business career.
“I had my first industrial job while I was finishing my third year of secondary school. I joined the engineering department at Metalúrgica Tandil.”
An Industrial Project
In 1971, at just twenty-two years of age, I founded PRODISMO S.R.L. together with five other partners. We pooled our annual bonuses, bought a lathe and a milling machine, and began manufacturing models. Our first customer was LOFRAH, the company where we worked, which supported the initiative and provided us with invaluable assistance during those early years. Five years later, we already had our own facility, substantial machinery and a workforce of around 50 people. Two of the founding partners had left shortly after we started. In June 1979, the remaining three left as well. I was left on my own, with a workforce of around twenty employees, the machinery and the company itself. Those were difficult and very lonely times. The entire responsibility rested on my shoulders. But I did not become discouraged. I had a clear objective: I wanted to build an industrial company.
During that period, I began manufacturing tooling for the aerospace industry, participating in various projects led by the Argentine Aircraft Factory, including the Pampa, Pucará and CBA 123 (ARG–BR) programmes. We supplied assembly fixtures, dies, moulds and other specialised capital equipment for different aircraft components. These projects helped us overcome the difficult years under Martínez de Hoz, when the metalworking industry faced serious challenges as a result of trade liberalisation.
The return to democracy in 1983 meant the cancellation of the aerospace projects we had been working on. So we had to set out in search of new customers. We found them among automotive companies throughout the region. We completed our first export to Venezuela in 1983, followed by Brazil in 1985. Mexico joined later. My vision was to focus on exports. At that time, 70 per cent of our production was sold abroad.
In 1994, we were appointed FANUC ROBOTICS representatives in Argentina, which later led to a partnership with the American company PICO, the world’s largest manufacturer of body assembly lines. The aim was to develop joint projects across Mercosur, although we also carried out exports to Europe. The partnership was later dissolved, but it was extremely important because it gave us access to world-class technology.
“In 1971, at just twenty-two years of age, I founded PRODISMO S.R.L. together with five other partners. We pooled our annual bonuses, bought a lathe and a milling machine, and began manufacturing models.”
The Great Crisis
The 2001 crisis was devastating for the metalworking industry. That year, everything came to a sudden halt. Fortunately, we were in the middle of a major tooling supply contract for Ford Brazil, and that contract saved us from the widespread shutdown. That same year, we chose to pursue international growth by establishing a factory in the city of Puebla, Mexico, to support Volkswagen’s production operations. I travelled to Mexico once a month. My passport bears witness to 166 trips to Mexico over twenty-five years. My son, Damián, was in charge of the factory. Eventually, however, we decided to step away from that project and leased the Mexican facility to a German company. It was a decision driven more by family considerations than by business. Being far away involved a great emotional and family sacrifice.
“My passport bears witness to 166 trips to Mexico over twenty-five years.”
PRODISMO, Today
At the beginning of the 1980s, PRODISMO operated from a small workshop on a one-hectare site. Today, we have an 8,000-square-metre workshop on a 21-hectare site next to Córdoba Airport. We have a workforce of 160 people, rising to 300 when we include those working in the workshops where we have outsourced part of our production.
Our product lines are the same as they were in our early days: moulds, dies and assembly lines—specialised capital equipment for the automotive, aerospace and home appliance industries. We have received many invitations to enter component manufacturing, but we have always turned them down. For us, staying focused has always been a priority.
My vision for the business has always been to maintain a balanced distribution of sales across our three main markets: Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Today, however, most of our production is sold in Argentina. Competition in our sector has intensified considerably. Most Mexican automotive suppliers already have purchasing offices in Asia. It is very difficult to sell them products from Argentina due to the increase in domestic costs we have experienced in recent years.
China is a shadow hanging over every company in our industry. Traditionally, dies accounted for 45 per cent of our production, while welding lines represented 20 per cent. Those proportions have gradually shifted. Today, 50 per cent of our sales come from welding lines, 30 per cent from dies, and 20 per cent from aluminium injection moulds. When it comes to dies, Chinese competition is almost unbeatable due to the production volumes and cost levels they operate with.
“Today, we have an 8,000-square-metre workshop on a 21-hectare site next to Córdoba Airport.”
The Business Approach: Technology and Talent Management
My role in the company has always been linked to business knowledge, production and technology. I never managed the finances. One of our critical priorities was building an organisation made up of talented and trusted people. Many of our employees started as university interns, even before an internship law existed. Some of our managers were classmates of my children from kindergarten through to university. People are the cornerstone of this business. In this industry, you have to create every day. That is why we make sure to recruit the best talent from Córdoba’s various technical institutes.
The other pillar of this business is technology. Since 2004, we have had an agreement with the Spanish engineering company INGEMAT to develop joint projects across Mercosur and Latin America, mainly involving clinching technology for movable body parts such as doors, bonnets and boot lids.
“People are the cornerstone of this business.”
Business Association Leadership
I have always been involved in business association activities through various organisations in my province. I began with the Chamber of Metallurgical and Components Industries of Córdoba. During the Alfonsín administration, I was a founding member of the Córdoba Metallurgical Export Consortium and contributed to the guidelines for establishing ProCórdoba, an organisation that promotes products from Córdoba in international markets.
Desde mi rol como gremialista empresario, advierto que nos preocupa la competencia de las importaciones chinas. Por eso, en 2010, con distintas empresas colegas de nuestro rubro formamos la Cámara Argentina de Matrices y Moldes (CAMYM), que hoy presido, y que nos sirve para unir nuestras fuerzas en la búsqueda de políticas de promoción de nuestro sector. Desde esta cámara, participo en ADIMRA.
“Business leaders have a major responsibility in national life. We, as business leaders, must act as guardians of public policy. Politicians are temporary; companies must endure. And to achieve this, we must stand together.”
“We, as business leaders, must act as guardians of public policy. Politicians are temporary; companies must endure.”
The Legacy
My wife, Norma, deserves a special place in this story. If I was able to accomplish everything I did, it was thanks to her unconditional support. She always took care of everything at home with love and dedication. Together, we had four children: María, Damián, Belén and Alejandro, whom everyone calls Jano. They gave us eleven grandchildren.
Three of my four children work at PRODISMO. María, the eldest, is responsible for institutional relations. Damián, who was in charge of our factory in Mexico, is now responsible for all operations. Jano, meanwhile, is the company’s Finance Director. They will be responsible for leading the company into the future, continuing our tradition of excellence in moulds, dies and assembly lines, with a strong technological focus.
I have never worked fewer than twelve hours a day. But I do not complain. Hard work is part of the culture I acquired from childhood, when I repaired hair rollers in my hometown of Tandil. My work as an entrepreneur has also brought me enormous satisfaction, including the opportunity to see the world. I have also had the honour of being appointed Honorary Consul of Mexico for the provinces of Córdoba, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero and Catamarca. My daughter Belén is the secretary of the consulate in Córdoba.
I arrived in Córdoba with no money. I grew through hard work and effort. I was able to build a renowned company, and I have been an industrial and technological mentor to many young people who have worked and continue to work alongside me. On a personal level, I have been able to build a family of which I am immensely proud. I believe that a family name is the most important thing a person leaves behind. And the Pedrosa name has earned respect in the various communities in which it has been involved. That is the legacy I would like to leave.
“They will be responsible for leading the company into the future.”
“I was able to build a renowned company, and I have been an industrial and technological mentor to many young people who have worked and continue to work alongside me.”
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