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28/07/2016
Interviews with Córdoba Exporters

ProCórdoba Agency, through the interviews with Córdoba Exporters, wants to make Inforest company known. It is a company devoted to the production of forest firefighting equipment, rescue and firefighter equipment. In Argentina, it is the only company that provides this kind of supply solution.

Below, you will read the dialogue with Miguel Peláez, representative of the company and Grupo Exportador SEA that has been recently created with the incentive and leadership of ProCórdoba.

• How did Inforest emerge?

Since 1992, when I started as a firefighter in Alta Gracia, there has been a direct relation between this activity and my life. In 2000, through the employment program “Plan Primer Paso” (PPP) and thanks to a person from fire brigade I started working in the Quality Assurance Area of an auto parts factory from Alta Gracia.

During the first months everything went well but later, the 2001 crisis began and the factory almost didn't work. Then, I decided to make a Water Backpack according to my needs because I used to use them in all fires and my shoulders tended to get injured.

In this factory I learnt a lot but the crisis led me not to continue with the “PPP” employment program. Then, thanks to the reactivation I returned to work. However, this entrepreneurship and my studies did not let me spend enough time to do quality things and I preferred to bet on the new project.

I was emotionally supported by my family. I come from a middle-class family; my mother was a teacher and my father was a commercial assistant, which is the reason why I didn't have too much money to invest. When I started, I had 140 pesos per month from the “PPP” employment program and the confidence of those who supported me. Much can be done with an upright behavior rather than with money itself.

After the first exhibition, we were called for a fire in La Pampa and there, I used my device. Among the people who travelled, there were also members of the National Plan and The Provincial Plan of Fire Management. The product was liked and I was asked to produce 100 for them.

I began outsourcing almost everything and assembling parts in a garage after coming from College in Córdoba at night. I worked till very late at night and little by little I had more and more clients and products until we achieved what we do today.

• How many employees has the company got?

It has 17 direct employees, with a low employee turnover and with a strong human resources policy in order to be able to meet each personal need and be aware of the impact of individual work in the group result.

• Who are the main clients of Inforest? What supply of products is available for them?

Our final client is the state in the different countries where we are present.  We also have private companies that belong to the forest sector and fire brigades because they get what the state buys and provides them with. 

We provide elements for personal protection, tools, backpacks, firefighting and rescue elements but we work with projects that allow us to extend coverage and market penetration. This is the reason why we are developing ourselves in areas that require us to interact with other companies in order to provide training and fire-detection services and other complex solutions that involve other actors.

• Which is the commercial strategy of the company?

We always focus on clients to make them feel listened to and well advised by our experience. We develop a long-term relationship and sale is a consequence of this. We work with different kinds of clients and we've grouped them according to their way of purchasing so that we can meet their needs in the best way. As a premise, we work thinking as firefighters so that we are ready to provide solutions. Moreover, our competitors are not our enemies but competitors. 

• Which is the national and international projection of the company? Which is the company profile regarding foreign trade? In which markets is the company active?

From its origin, my aim was to be active internationally and after 4 years of work, we did it. Today we are present in southern hemisphere countries because it is there where we project. We believe that it is necessary to make us stronger locally and to move up. 

We've done it.

In the last two years, we've taken a more directed policy to empower ourselves in South America, Africa and Oceania. However, our participation as exhibitors in specific fairs of the sector, with the support of ProCórdoba, has allowed us to enter unexpected markets such as Iran or Indonesia. We believe that export is a way of removing seasonality and diversifying with regard to the fluctuations of regional economies.

• What participation does Inforest have in the government purchases? What particular experience can you tell us regarding tenders?

In my experience, tenders are very important for growth and investment. The state generates economic growth policies. However, we would have to improve the efficiency of processes, get greater knowledge of local supply and have the commitment the employees or officials. For example, in almost all the countries where we are present, in many cases, the bureaucratic process entails a delay in the fulfillment of the payment terms or in emergency situations that haven't been planned so it means lots of money.  

• How was the process of Inforest’s presentation in tenders? What do you consider important about sales possibilities through tenders?

Tenders are a slow process. It’s a process that must be tidy. It requires that the company is healthy and updated with each obligation and presentation, i.e. it demands working in a way that avoids many headaches. In tenders, it is important to have a person who reads the documents and pays attention to every detail. Tenders are first won if you respect the formalities of presentation and then, due to the price.

• How do you evaluate ProCórdoba Agency’s work of advising companies on the presentation of international tenders?

ProCórdoba has been a tool to enter foreign trade since our origins, i.e. it has been our economic support to participate in the missions and the logistics and management assistance to conduct meetings and contacts for each business.

It is difficult to access this without an organization that supports you in these first steps. One always learns in trade missions. One learns from people who participate on behalf of other companies and starts knowing people related to foreign trade. Good and bad experiences are shared to pave the way.

• Which are the business opportunities you have had after participating in trade missions?

Most of the long-time clients have been the result of trade missions. On the part of ProCórdoba, there is an advance preparation; then, there is a mission; and finally, there is a further monitoring. The companies we’ve visited are waiting for answers and we have to comply with them. We have to be ready when they want to purchase. Today, internet  facilitates things but personal contact continues being a decisive factor.

• Can you tell us about your company's insertion strategy in new markets? Which are the new markets with greater potential you've identified?

In general, today, in our field, the South Hemisphere is the market we focus on because it is the market with greater potential to grow and where there are fewer suppliers in our sector.

The participation as exhibitors in specific fairs, the trade missions and a good internet platform are the three tools that allow us to get and consolidate clients. We are always providing innovative products, which make a difference. We are not competitive for the productive scale but we are competitive for the added value.

• How did you start getting involved in the humanitarian aid? What do you think about the role that Grupo SEA can play in Latin America?

The humanitarian aid market is a market where we started with the participation in a specific fair in order to know the market, the suppliers and the clients, i.e. to know whether there were opportunities in that sector or not. The creation of Grupo SEA is the result of ProCórdoba's action to unify an exportable offer.

In this market, the individual efforts are not so effective. A group's action may generate interest and exhibition for purchasing agencies. It is a long way to go but it is a market that has a great growth perspective, where new ways of purchasing are proposed for the organizations. We must to be present to take the opportunity.

Make contact with other companies that make up the Directory of Exportable Offer of the Province of Córdoba by visiting exportadoresdecordoba.com