Today was a really busy day. We had three company visits,
starting with Hela. This is the company that we had researched. We were able to
see some of the manufacturing processes for different tools. The company does
not require extremely hi tech equipment to make its products which is good
because this reduces the cost of machinery and maintenance costs. However,
Chile does not make its own machinery, and many of the things were imported
from Europe or Asia. Importing these machines adds to the cost greatly. Would
it be better to invest in developing machinery in Chile or is it just cheaper
and better to import these products? This is something they have to figure out.
Next on the schedule, we visited Centauro. Centauro is a
producer of canned food products such as tomato paste, canned fruits, and
prepared meals. They have a good set up because they have many contracts with
farmers to supply them and they are located near Santiago and the coast. This
allows them to export more easily and supply throughout the country. I think
the most interesting thing about this company is that they change the name of
the brand depending on where they are trying to market the product to. I have
not heard of companies doing this until now.
Next stop, Bosques del Mar. Bosques del Mar is the largest
producer of mushrooms in Chile, it’s closest competition only produces 30% of
what they produce. It was also interesting that the guide has worked in Kennett Square and a mushroom farm that is 5 minutes away from my house. He said that compared
to Kennett Square, they do not produce nearly as much, however, in terms of
South America, they produce a lot and have an efficient process. We then took
the bus back to our hotel to finish our touring for the day.
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