Rodrigo Archer
Country Manager, ArcelorMittal
Although Central American economies are small, they are growing every year by 3-5%. In Central America, there are two different zones, the north and south triangles. ArcelorMittal saw an opportunity to buy the only producer in the south triangle in 2008 from Pujol Group. At the time, it was the only asset available in the region, and the owners were willing to do business. The strategy was to maintain a presence in every part of the world, and in that sense Costa Rica has a strategic position. From here, we can ship material to countries such as Panama, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, and Nicaragua—the main economies in the zone. The high level of education was also taken in consideration. We have also taken advantage of the construction boom whose investments have mostly been made by the private sector.
Eladio Bolaños
President, AMCO
AMCO was founded in January in 2000 as a construction company mainly focused on infrastructure projects such as pipe installation, pavement, and everything related to exterior works for residential and commercial projects. In 2009, we began to produce and sell premixed concrete. This project was initially created for our own consumption because of a shortage during the economic bonanza. However, some of our construction clients then started to approach us to supply them with materials, so we decided to transform our business and create an independent line for supplying materials to our clients. We did not foresee the effects of the economic crisis of that year, but were considering whether to continue with this business or not. We decided to continue; thankfully we were well received by the market and since then have had sustained growth.
Manuel Bonilla
General Manager, Manuel Bonilla
We are a consulting company; we design and support through construction dealing and construction administration through site inspection. The approach at that time was to integrate into a single office for all services related to design and construction. In 2001, we were awarded with a project for Intel in Guadalajara. This marked an evolution for the company in two senses. First, it gave us an inclination toward industrial projects that we have maintained until today. Second, it provided us with a lot of knowledge on how to deal with first-world engineering and design. These types of projects were extremely intensive in requirements and procedures as well as technical capabilities. At the same time, we were able to apply all this knowledge for other clients.
Luis Diego Castro
General Manager, Aluma Systems
Aluma has a presence in more than 30 countries around the world and is divided into five different divisions. Costa Rica was one of the first countries in the region where Aluma began its operations. We rent and sell construction equipment and have three divisions in Costa Rica. First, the engineering division, which provides forming and shoring for construction. We also sell our equipment, although rental is our core business. We also have the mechanical equipment division and offer generators and certain compact equipment. The third division in Costa Rica is the environmental division, with portable toilets for rental. We rent for all types of industry and economic activities; however, we are basically focused on construction, agriculture, and industrial operations. We also rent portable toilets for special events such as concerts or trade fairs.
Freed Corrales
General Manager, Rodio-Swissboring Costa Rica
We were pioneers in the private sector because previously there had only been the state-run telecom and electric company, ICE. It is the pioneer in all geo-technical work as a whole, while in the private sector there were no formal contractors in this area. In the beginning, it was hard to enter this market because we had to explain to clients what we could do, our technology, and the reasons and benefits of using such a system. In 2005, our first formal competitor entered the market. We have to compete against traditional competitors at the global level. In 2017, and looking to 2018, the market has matured, and our competitors are improving so we have to be open to more technical solutions. At the current level of maturity in the market, we seek to make another revolution in the market.
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