March 21, 2013
Contributed by James Fletcher and Matt Hale |
| Matt Hale and James Fletcher |
Once we arrived we were welcomed by a team of Finning / Cat team members and were given a safety briefing by Jamie. Next, Sebastian, the marketing manager for Finning S.A--which includes the countries of Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia (better known as the Southern Cone)--provided information about the company’s history, goals and the overall South American copper mining industry, which also includes other precious metals such as gold, silver, and molybdenum.
The last presentation was given by Emilio Escobar, Finning’s Mining Manager for the Southern Cone. He provided detailed insight on the challenges faced by the local mining industries, including the importance of water scarcity, power limitations, human resources and environmental concerns. He also shared that there are $100B in mining opportunities within the Southern Cone within the next 20 years. Even though Chile is currently the world’s largest exporter of Copper at 36%, Peru’s exports are on track to match or exceed those of Chile by 2025.
We next were led around the repair facility in two groups. We encountered an extreme focus on safety, the importance of training, and a state-of-the-art CRM program. Because of all the heavy equipment in several stages of repair, it was very important for the employees and the visitors to follow the previously mentioned safety procedures. Although we were required to stay within the yellow lines, we experience vehicles that had just arrived and others that were ready to be returned to the customer. During the training tour, we were made aware of a photo of a young man that was part of their apprentice program that eventually worked his way into the ranks of a mining engineer. Most impressive was the large set of monitors that electronically monitored 40% of the vehicles they have been responsible for putting on the roads or, in this case, in the mines. This technology could be considered "OnStar on steroids," because it conveys real-time data from the mine to the control room, allowing the controllers to notify the miners and the dealer of emergencies and preventive maintenance schedules.
As long as mining is part of the developing communities of Latin America, Finning will continue as the leader of equipment supply and maintenance.
Contributed by Dustin Garrels and Eugene Hampton II
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| Dustin Garrels and Eugene Hampton |
Once we arrived at the bank, we were taken to the auditorium, which looked like a movie theater, complete with red, plush seats. After a short refreshment break, Robert Heimlich, the Investor Relations Manager, began his presentation. He started with a general overview of Chile’s economy before taking a deeper dive into the banking sector specifically. Lastly, he told us more about Banco Santander Chile. We finished with a Q&A session, where he gave us lots of helpful tips for the travelers’ assignment! Here are some of the more interesting facts we learned:
- Despite very favorable macroeconomic conditions in Chile, the banking industry is becoming tougher due to new regulations.
- Chile has 2 credit bureaus: one that focuses on “positive” information (for bank transactions only), and one that focuses on “negative” information (for both bank and non-bank transactions). Recently, the government “hit the reset button” on the negative credit bureau.
- Customers must have a minimum monthly income of $400 to open an account where they can issues checks. However, a customer can have a debit card without the ability to issue checks. Banks do not want the stigma of their customers bouncing checks.
- Banco Santander’s target market is the top 30% of the working population. They want deposits first and foremost and will only issue loans once they have established at least a 6-month credit history.
- The government insures all checking accounts, but only up to $5,000 on investment accounts.
- Mortgage interest rates are benchmarked to inflation. There are no fixed-rate mortgages.
