Despite the fact that the company is submerged in a not so much marketable-industry and that they compete in the field of seamless steel tubes, Grupo Techint keeps on climbing up among the top 100 companies. In this year’s edition, it has achieved the best results the competition has ever experienced, making it up to the second place and improving its performance in the Trajectory and residence in the country attribute (from the third up to the second position), and also in Reliability of products (from the tenth place to the eighth one), Attention and adaptation to the needs of consumers (creeping from the 39° place to the 18° one) and reaching the very first position in Economical and financial solvency, while staying firm in the second place of Investments and local production.

Guillermo Hang, CEO of Organización Techint, likes to highlight this last item, together with their trajectory and the job opportunities they offer, as one of their distinctive company values.

During 2007, the group has earned US$ 19.835 million (globally speaking, between July 2006 and June 2007), has invested US$ 400 million in Argentina, so as to satisfy the increase of the domestic demand and maintain the global acquired dimension. As an example, in the Ternium Siderar factory in San Nicolás, they had invested US$ 600 million and the Alto Horno N° 2 has been set up. In Tenaris factory based in Campana they have invested US$ 160 million related to the 2003-2007 period, allowing an annual record of 900.00 tons and the fourth thermal-treatment factory opening.

Which are the main business goals for this year?
Our objective is to keep on growing in our principal business areas. We want to move forward in the integration of the last firms acquired by Tenaris in the United States, and in their inclusion to the productive system. Another challenge would be to grow on placing Ternium as the main sheet producer in Latin America.
To achieve this aims, we are still investing with our exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbon operations. Last year, we announced an investment plan valued in US$ 800 million to increase the steel production from 2,8 million up to 4 million of tons per year in Ternium Siderar in San Nicolás. Also, we will disburse US$ 30 and 35 million in Tenaris factory in Campana so as to improve the offer variety and extend our ability to produce wire-drawn tubes in power.

Which would the main challenge for 2008 be?
To maintain our leadership in our activity areas. Out there, every business move is directed into different sides: competitive costs, products quality, development of new technical and productive abilities, customer support, collaborators’ motivation, just to mention a few items.
Also, we want to uphold an energetic structure to adapt ourselves to changes and news coming from the business world. And as we are not able to embark upon on these tasks just by ourselves, we have developed a corporative program that encourages enrolling PyMES to invest in technology and innovation, improvement of established abilities and productiveness.
Talking about general issues, the financial relation between China and Brazil needs special attention. If Argentina increases its investment levels so as to make the productive ability grow, Brazil seems to be a great opportunity. But China’s scenery appears to be threatening. We should all be observing its disloyal financial moves and distortions because of its size and the impact it cause in the region.

How do you analyze the global context for the growth of your companies?
Taking into account the decrease of the rate in the growth of global economy, also affected by the United State’s financial crisis, it’s important to make careful moves. In Argentina it’s likely that the effects of these changes are less evident and also balanced by the commodities comfortable situation.

Are you thinking of new acquisitions?
We are constantly analyzing every opportunity that appears, but there is nothing in particular to be told and considered in the short term, because of the specific characteristics of our business.

 

Translated by Natalia Bocassi