Sergio Karin is the Commercial Director of Massey Ferguson for Latin America.
He has a degree in International Commerce and Business Administration, and has more than 25 years of experience in the automotive sales business sector.
-It comes from the automotive sector. Are there differences with the agricultural machinery sector?
-Yeah.
An advantage of agriculture is loyalty.
In agriculture, regardless of the brand, loyalty is much more respected, trust is generated over time, where relationships are somehow built.
-What is the objective of Massey Ferguson?
-We are recovering the market.
We have manufacturing in Argentina and in some way that manufacturing was insufficient for the volumes of the last two or three years because beyond the business itself, it was a protection for capital, machinery was purchased to have capital assured and now it is not.
We really have a big job of recovering ground.
The opening of imports generates a great competitive advantage for us due to greater flexibility and not depending solely on local manufacturing.
The launch we made at Expoagro of the new low-power products are produced in Brazil.
One of the two tractors will be manufactured in Argentina in the short term.
-How much do three of us want to grow this year or in the next two?
-Massey Ferguson is not a brand to be below 20% in tractors and that is what we aim for. In combines there is also ground to recover.
We are at a 5% share due to import limitations.
Now it gives us back the competitiveness to operate with a slightly larger mix.
-With this situation, do you foresee new investments in the General Rodríguez plant?
-The issue in Argentina is inexplicable.
It always requires special attention.
We can never get along for the moment.
Any company always thinks about investments. We have a global plan that, depending on what happens in the market, makes more or less investments.
In Argentina we work with day-to-day work and short-term planning.
Always for the context.
Hopefully we have more predictability so that it can be planned.
-How did the year start for the brand?
-We are off to a very good start, we are above the volumes we estimate for January and February.
Now, in March, with ExpoAgro, pushed there by dealer networks, we should have a good first quarter, which is actually fundamental for the composition of the year's results.
We have been very strong since January with a product with very good commercial conditions, with a very strong alliance with Agco Finance, which is our bank.
-How do you see the new Government?
We are on the right track when we talk about impacts.
Opening imports was a good decision.
The field still expects greater support in relation to withholdings, I think this needs to be reviewed.
We are still going to have a very tough first semester, even if we have favorable weather conditions, but I believe that at a structural level things are happening.
The changes, in some ways, the decisions have not yet been directly on the field, but I think this is going to happen.