Final Day - ProMBA International Trip

Contributed by Kimberly Campbell

Our last day in Argentina.  Many gathered their things and took off to enjoy a cool fall day in Recoleta, Argentina before heading to the airport.  Anxiously a few waited for new family members to join our group, others enjoyed the afternoon shopping the crafters market in the French Square.  Whatever we chose to do in our last hours in Buenos Aires, all had a story, a favorite place, a feeling that we tried a little of everything as we embraced the culture, the people, the food, and the life in Argentina.  Farewell to Argentina….Link to Pictures

So I chose freedom

Running around, trying everything new

……Don't cry for me Argentina

The truth is I never left you

All through my wild days

My mad existence

I kept my promise

Don't keep your distance…

Day 7 - ProMBA International Trip

Contributed by Krissy Dempsey

This morning we visited ICBC which stands for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.  Our hosts were Paloma Ocha and Fernando Martin Pisauri.

In 2012, the Argentinian government gave approval for ICBC to acquire 80% of Standard Bank in Argentina for $600 million. ICBC now has 103 branches located in 17 provinces in Argentina. ICBC is 75% state-owned by the Chinese government.

We learned a lot of interesting facts about the world economies and Argentina specifically:

~ Africa's population will boom between 2005-2050 and is the market of the future in their minds.
~ They recognize that there is opportunity for production in Argentina but with current import restrictions it can be difficult. In addition, they would like to look to add more value by providing R&D, development, marketing and such.
~ In 1999, they had 2000% inflation - prices at the grocery store doubled every single day.  This year is not that crazy but will still see about 40% inflation.

The general consensus from the group was that we could have spent hours learning and discussing with Frenando.

For lunch, we went to a nice restaurant in the Palermo area called Don Julio. The walls displayed bottles of wine signed by previous patrons. The food was very good and before we knew it we were on our way to our next customer visit - Volkswagen!

Day 6 - ProMBA International Trip

Contributed by Matt Lusk

Thursday morning began bright and early with a trip to one of the premier IT services companies in Argentina, Globant IT Services.  Located just a short distance from our hotel we navigated the busy streets of Buenos Aires making our way to the very impressive Laminar Plaza Tower.  We arrived at Globant into a very different office environment, one filled with ball pits and hammocks.  This culture helped foster innovation and creativity companywide.  The company as a whole has experienced significant growth, which can be attributed to its founders’ entrepreneurial vision and attitude. Since it first began operations in Argentina in 2003, Globant has emerged as one of the best IT services companies in South America, growing to 3,500 employees worldwide and $158 Million in annual revenue.  This atmosphere mixed with the passion of its employs was the coolest aspect of the visit.

From there we all had free time for lunch to explore the area and enjoy the continued beautiful weather Argentina has continued to show us.

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Contributed by Michael Bain

3M was on the agenda for today--a U.S. based multi-national materials company with sales and operations in Argentina.  We visited their innovation center in Buenos Aires where they provide technical support and application development services for their customers.  Their facility was completed very recently and was very, very nice.  They had an impressive showcase for their products which included some hands-on demonstrations (see photo).

It was impressive to see how deeply committed 3M is to understanding how their customers use their products.  They had dedicated applications labs for healthcare, building and construction, household cleaning, automotive manufacturing and repair, personal safety, and several others.  These labs are used not only to showcase their products but also to provide customer training.

With all of the time spent on 3M's products and applications, we unfortunately did not have much time to explore how 3M manages the complicated business environment in Argentina.  But, because of the significant recent investment in an application expertise center in Buenos Aires, it can be inferred that 3M views Argentina (and Latin America in general) as an important region for driving innovation and growth in the future.

Thanks to the generous folks at 3M for hosting us and taking time to explain their business to us.

Day 5 - ProMBA international Trip

Contributed by Anne Simerly

We left the hotel at 8:30 for a 45-minute bus ride. When we arrived, we had to wear gowns before entering the facility. Dr. Alberto Garcia, the technical co-director, presented information about Roemmers to the class. Roemmers is owned by a family from Argentina with the third generation now running the company. Roemmers has 10% of the market in Argentina, producing an average of 60 million units of drugs per year. At the facility we visited today, they produce 14 million units per year of only penicillin. There are about 100 people working at this facility, with 60 technicians and 14 professionals. The average pay for the technicians is about $1,200 - $2,000 per month and about $2,500 - $5,000 per month for top-level employees. One interesting comment made was that people in Argentina do not have to get a prescription for drugs, they can just buy the drugs from the pharmacy; the people only consult a doctor for drugs.

    After the presentation, we went on a tour of the plant wearing a gown, plus shoe booties and a hair net. We started at the packaging floor and reviewed the different automated machines used for each drug. A comment was made that the process was so automated that less employees were required at the plant. Alberto showed us the two different physical forms of penicillin: syrup or pill. Each had different packaging per country. We then moved to the top for and saw the raw materials be converted into drugs. After questions, it was said that it takes 10 days to fully produce a pill and 6 days to fully produce syrup; this process starts out as a raw material then to packaging then to the final consumer.

Overall, we had a wonderful plant tour at Roemmers and we learned a lot!

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Contributed by Anindya Chanda 

Dow Argentina’s corporate office is located in the heart of Buenos Aires in the beautiful ICBC building. They occupy four floors (floors 23-26) in the building. The company have manufacturing sites are spread all over Argentina. Carolyn and Ruth took the group picture at the entrance of their office.

The atmosphere was very corporate. It started with a presentation about the company with a very interactive Q&A session. This is the first company so far who actually asked us about our background and the company we work for. They then took us on a tour of their office space which was the most interesting part. They actually have a very open office space with no walls in between offices or cubicles. Even the president of the office doesn’t have a closed office space which clearly shows their OPEN DOOR POLICY. They are actively involved in the community by participating in various educational initiatives, community development and environmental awareness among the citizens (3Es – Education, Environmental and Economy). In 2014, the company increased the salaries of their employees three times to adjust for the inflation. This clearly reflects the care that the management has for their employees.

The company is working on organic growth by actively involved with their customers and local universities. In 2014, they earned $1.5 billion from their parent company in USA to actively pursue R&D to develop new products. In order to facilitate getting the right talents, the company supports expats and exchange programs with various Dow chemical’s offices across the globe.

Day 4 - ProMBA International Trip

Contributed by Ron Taets

Improvise, overcome and adapt. That's the start of our day as the Volkswagens presentation was moved to Friday afternoon. This allowed a slight change in our schedule for an additional business structure relative to MicroFinance of Argentina.  Adapting to change is an everyday way of life in Argentina due to the high rate of inflation and economic uncertainty.

Away from the city capital there is an informal sector that was widely overlook for years. Those who wish to not be thought of as poor but vulnerable, living in neighborhoods fifty plus years old still without common services such as gas, electric and sewage systems let alone the access to conventional loans to improve their way of life.

ProVivienda Social Foundation is such an organization that began as a form of social responsibility and grew out of necessity due to lack of government improvements and empty promises. The foundation focuses on building communities through trust and micro-loans neighbors helping neighbors, strangers becoming friends communities coming together to form a better way of life.

Raul, our presenter started as a volunteer forty years ago discussed how ProVivienda Social Foundation is a part of social capital and strategic alliances among community organizations: basis of local development. The project is located in one of the poorest localities of the Gran Buenos Aires area, Cuartel V, with a population of 45,000 people, without public services for drinking water, sewage or energy.

The project objective is to develop a model of social participation and empowerment for construction of infrastructure and provision and management of public services. The first step in the project is to build a network for the distribution of natural gas as their main sources of energy, for heating and cooking in five neighborhoods with a total beneficiary population of 4100 households.

Three years later the vision became a reality for 100% of the first community now has access to natural gas, greatly lowering their present day cost of cooking and heating. Many with running water and sewage systems, improving health among the community along with two additional communities formed with the same vision forever changing and improving everyday life for these Argentinian communities.

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Contributed by Heather Jagels

After visiting Moreno Barrio Tuesday morning a few of us went out for the afternoon for a lovely lunch.

Lunches in Buenos Aires have been a very different experience than what we're accustomed to in the United States. They tend to be long and always full of delicious treats. Typically an appetizer and a main course are what's in store after a long morning of work.

Today a few of us went to a beautiful place called, The Faena Hotel. There was typical Argentinean fare served farm to table style. We really enjoyed ourselves in the beautifully decorated dining room. We also enjoyed the nap that inevitably followed.

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Contributed by Anindya Chanda

This Tuesday evening was the celebration of St. Patrick's Day! ProMBA students made the news with a brief encounter with a news reporter. The Irish community in Argentina is one of the largest in the world (calculated in 500,000 people). In recent years the celebration of St Patrick’s day has been extended to most of the pubs in Buenos Aires, where people of different nationalities and ages gather to party all night long.

Day 3 - ProMBA International Trip

Contributed by Kelli Canan

We began Monday in the same manner as the local commuters, except perhaps we began a little later than most. After breakfast at the hotel we took a bus to the heart of Buenos Aires. I would describe the commute as "efficient congestion." Compact cars, taxis, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians, typical hustle and bustle of a large city. It was exciting!

Our first company, Deloitte, is an accounting firm. We learned about the macroeconomic forces affecting Argentina. Main issues are government forces restricting imports/exports, inability to borrow internationally because of the defaults, high inflation and taxation is at a max. The world bank has a strong impact on economic factors. Social programs are subsidizing the local poor leading to immigrants entering and providing the labor base.

The speaker expressed a need for the government to face problems instead of shedding a good light where there's not. She discussed the country's huge opportunity for agricultural production however they can't get the necessary equipment imported due to restrictions. Their main sectors are manufacturing production and construction activity. We also had a brief overview of the tax reporting processes in Argentina.

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Contributed by Hannah Lane

We had a wonderful, and quick lunch at El Querandi, then it was off to IAPG, the Argentina Oil and Gas Institute. 

When we arrived at IAPG, most of us went up stairs, and a few lucky souls got to ride the very old elevator up to the fourth floor, where a nice auditorium awaited us.  A woman who works for IAPG  as a journalist gave us a presentation, and we asked a lot of questions.  IAPG's main goal seems to be educating the people of Argentina about oil and gas.  They have programs for politicians, corporations, and students of all ages.  We learned that Argentina is currently not exporting any oil, and instead is importing oil.  This seemed strange to us, because they have some of the largest reserves in the world of natural gas and oil.

After this, we again boarded the bus with our driver Claudio, and headed to the NH Hotel in Buenos Aires City. There we were greeted with bags of candies on our seats, and buckets of candies to sample!  Arcor is one of the largest confectionery producers in the world, and is the only completely owned Argentinian company that we will be visiting this week.  We got to see some of the most popular marketing commercials, one for KISS gum and one for a popular Chilean chocolate. 

Bring on the 2nd business day!

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Contributed by Brandon Stephens

This is a company that appears to be navigating political uncertainty, taking a 60 year old family philosophy of doing business, and utilizing one product that has made it one of the top ten candy companies in the world and very successful in Argentina. Arcor makes and distributes chocolate, sugar confectionery, cookies & crackers, food products, ice cream, and product packaging. Decades ago the candy company started from a group of brothers.In some ways they stumbled on to new opportunities like buying a cardboard making company up to being asked to partner with Coca-Cola so a competitive edge could be gained in the market over PepsiCo.

There is a great chance you have never eaten Arcor candy.Corporate communications officer Agustin O’Reilly gave more detail on the company’s operations, which indicated it had a nationalistic loyalty, but values the international partnerships to achieve success. “We (Argentinians) think we are superior to other Latin Americans, when sometimes they see our national products and think our government and business are built on corruption. But at the end of the day we are all South Americans working to do the best for out people,” O’Reilly told the UT ProMBA group. This does not stop Arcor from sometimes packaging their goods under a private label to be sold in other countries.

The formula of linear development, taking many processes in-house, building products organically and through strategic partnerships has been quite profitable for the little candy store that could, which started in 1950. “One good thing about our business is that we are needed regardless of what happens in the world. The markets can go south, but people have to eat, and when they feel bad, they always want candy,” O’Reilly added. The company has experienced 225% growth during a ten-year period, going from $947 million in sales to slightly more than $3 billion. For any business that is “sweet,” even if its candy.

Day 2 - ProMBA 2015 International trip - Sunday, March 15

Contributed by Orlando Carrasquillo

Our ProMBA trip to San Antonio de Areco, Province of Buenos Aires and Estancia El Ombu (60 miles outside of Buenos Aires)

We started our visit to Estancia El Ombu with a nice horse back ride.  There are currently over sixty-eight horses on this estancia along with many other ranch animals.  Their expertise and care for the horses can be observed by the amount of trust they give back.  The enclosed picture is of a guacho practicing their famous horse “hypnosis”.  This was an amazing feat to watch with such a large animal.  We then got an opportunity to enjoy the grounds that have ancient trees and lovely hacienda style buildings.   The estancia's namesake, the great ombú (Phytolacca dioca), a plant as characteristic of the pampas as the baobab is of the African savanna.  Centennial oaks, araucarias (monkey-puzzle trees), palms, eucalyptus, casuarinas and magnolias adorn the rest of the immediate areas of the main house. The surrounding ranch land, with its natural lagoons and small water courses running to the Areco River offer a rich habitat to a large proportion of Argentina's 1000 bird species.  These trees anchor the three main buildings of the estancia developed around the 1880's.  There is a main house, a gathering building and a smaller bulding used for cooking.  All have a late colonial Spanish building style with native motives sprinkled on the outside facades.  This estancia last served as a summer house and working ranch for the Boelcke family in 1990.  This amazing piece of Argentina has been in their family since 1934 when Mr. Enrique Boelcke purchased it from Lieutenant General Pablo Richeri, the original owner.  The facilities and grounds now function more like a hotel and activity center for groups due to the handwork of the current Boelcke family care taker, Eva Boelcke.  A magnificent al fresco lunch with guacho songs was the perfect ending to our time at the lovely Estancia El Ombu.

 

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Contributed by Chris Maguigan

Today we split into two groups and visited different parts of Argentina. Our group took a boat tour up the river to the Tigre Delta, which is a tourist spot that many Buenos Aires natives like to visit on the weekends. It was a beautiful trip the entire way and they have lots of options to entertain yourself once you get there. There's a theme park, sightseeing, and our option of visiting the fruit and crafts market. Finding food was not a problem as several of us found a nice shaded sit down restaurant and enjoyed some Argentine carne and wine. Others toured the many vendors in the market and found gifts for friends and family back home. It was a wonderful experience and we enjoyed the warm Argentine hospitality!!

Once we returned to Buenos Aires, many of us decided to take a tour of the San Telmo craft fair, possibly the world's largest flea market!! We walked several miles and still didn't reach the end of it. Along the way, we purchased many crafts and goods, encountered an incredible drum circle, and ate local street food. It was an exhausting but wonderful experience that all of us hope to repeat again soon! It felt like every decision to try something new proved to be the perfect option for all!!