ONE OF A KIND

UNO is much more than an ally offering the best fuel and lubricants for business and consumers, but also becoming an outstanding force driving Central America

In an interview with Millie Cano, Brand Manager for UNO in Central America, we learned about the traits enabling the company to evolve toward becoming a more complete business, establishing a difference which results in obtaining leadership covering both the retail and B2B segments by supplying fuel and lubricants in the region.

WOULD YOU PLEASE BRIEFLY SHARE SOME DETAILS ABOUT UNO CENTRAL AMERICA?

HOW LONG HAS THE COMPANY BEEN RUNNING AND ANY OTHER FEATS OF RELEVANCE THROUGH ITS EXISTENCE?

UNO is part of UNO Corp., which has more than 1,600 service stations in Latin America, the company also manages the Shell brand in Guatemala, with 348 service stations, and Biomax in Colombia, with 859 locations. As UNO, we are a regional company running under a successful business model since its inception. The UNO brand was born in Honduras with its first service station, which opened in 2002; actually, the company operates in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua with more than 486 locations.

In UNO we create different employment opportunities, benefitting more than 13,000 individuals and their households in a direct and indirect way in all of Central America, resulting in a positive impact in their well-being and development. This figure includes more than 3,000 positions in Honduras.

Our leadership stands out for our operation in all of the value chain, from importing oil & gas byproducts, its storage, conveyance and distribution,

UNO belongs to all of the countries it operates in, our talent is local and carries within the passion of Central American naturals, also shared among our brand’s traits up to the last mile delivery of different products to our clients.

UNO belongs to all of the countries it operates in, our talent is local and carries within the passion of Central American naturals, which is also shared among our brand’s traits.

Our effort and commitment has earned us the trust, heart and mind of consumers, which have turned us into becoming a beloved brand in all of Central America due to our innovative business model, centered on our customers.

Each visiting customer feels our warmth as soon as they come in, which is also another trait from Central Americans; and we are proud to say that our company was born in Honduras and is here to stay and go beyond borders.

WHICH ARE YOUR MAIN BUSINESS UNITS AND PRODUCTS? WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE ITS MAIN TARGET?

Our brand is under constant renovation in search of the highest standards in order to always remain among the leaders in our business. All of our decisions and actions are aimed at searching continuous improvement not only to increase sales, but also in developing a long-term relationship with our current and future customers to earn their trust and make them feel at ease, knowing that in every visit they’ll be filling their tanks with worldclass quality products, always on the forefront of the market and with the latest technology. Actually, the goal is to create a real connection with proven credibility.

UNO is comprised by five business units: •

Our own line of lubricants covers every industrial sector with the best quality. From motor oil for passenger vehicles, oil for heavy machinery and marine motors. For sale in UNO service stations and authorized retailers in all of Central America.

HOW HAS UNO SPREAD THROUGH CENTRAL AMERICA?

UNO’s presence in the region is a result of its acquisition business model. Throughout our history, we have expanded through Central

America with our UNO and Pronto brands with convenience stores and with fuel, lubricants and bitumen retail and storage.

WHICH STRATEGIC ACQUISITIONS WERE EXECUTED TO GROW THE BRAND? WHICH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS TOOK YOU TO NEW MARKETS?

In 2008 the Copena station service chain was acquired in Honduras; in

2009 we acquired the Shell brand in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In 2011, the acquisition of the Rubis/Chevron brand was consolidated in Belize, Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In 2014, the Petrotica and Colono chains were acquired in Costa Rica. In 2015, the Pacific Oil chain was acquired, and four years later, also in Guatemala, we acquired the Formula 1 chain. Thanks to these acquisitions we have the largest service station chain in Central America with 469 locations.

WHICH ADDITIVES ARE CONTAINED IN FUEL AND OTHER PRODUCTS OF THE UNO BRAND,

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE MARKET?

Our Dynamax Plus additive package has a boosted formula with a new element able to reduce motor friction, which improves performance with thorough motor cleansing, removing carbon deposits, increasing efficiency.

After using UNO fuel with Dynamax Plus consistently, you’ll notice benefits such as: a thorough cleansing of the motor for optimal performance, driving up to your vehicle’s potential, more miles per gallon, improved efficiency and lesser costs for maintenance.

UNO with Dynamax Plus has a spreading detergent effect in fuel which helps to remove carbon deposits, reduce mechanical corrosion and promotes constant motor maintenance, contributing to a longer life for your vehicle through essential functions: elimination of residuals, protection to injectors and combustion chambers, delivering more power, optimizing the performance of essential components and reduction of carbon monoxide emissions.

Also, our additive is designed for any light or heavy vehicles, from motorcycles to marine vessels. All of our fuels -Super, Regular and Diesel- contain the new Dynamax Plus additive, containing unmatched properties meeting the highest demands for top performance.

WHICH MARKETING ACTIONS FROM UNO ARE RESULTING IN EARNING AND KEEPING CUSTOMERS’ PREFERENCE?

We became “número UNO” by optimizing every resource in our favor to obtain insights which contribute to decision making and designing new strategies that bring us closer and tighter to actual and potential customers and digital users, thus improving our brand’s positioning within the region.

We love to offer not only the best experience in our service stations, but also the best promotions. Every promotion is carefully designed to reward customer loyalty through new engagement strategies and coveted prizes; this way, everyone visiting UNO has the same chances to earn a prize.

Each step we take in marketing is part of a strong strategy consisting of a digital media plan, ATL channels and BTL activations which allow us to connect, relate and create emotions in every one of our customers, which we are able to evaluate before and after any promotion.

Year after year, our customers -in every single country we are atawait for our promotions: brand new cars, motorcycles, cell phones, TVs, tablets, video game systems, laptops, household appliances and, specially, a lot of gallons of the best fuel in the region, are just some of the hundreds of giveaways that have been awarded to our customers throughout the years.

HOW HAS UNO CENTRAL AMERICA UNDERGONE ITS OWN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION FACING THE MARKET AND ALSO INWARDS?

We are setting our wages for the future through the deployment of new technology, aiming to integrate new working methods enabling us to make the most from the potential of digitization, resulting in a company culture evolving toward a rapid response within an ever changing environment.

Changes currently happening within UNO are undoubtedly driving forward an innovation culture, optimizing current processes’ efficiency, and also creating new business opportunities thanks to data analytics and improving customers’ experience and their relationship with our brand.

Our deployment plan considers every area in our company, this will benefit clients and customers from the different segments and channels we work for, among them: increased purchase visibility, a userfriendly interface, help from our ground personnel, and an unmatched customer experience, overall.

Thanks to such changes we will accomplish vertical integration to other market segments and offer more services in our entire chain.

We aim to become a market leader evolving from a point of purchase for fuel to a multi-service station where customers can always find products that facilitate business transactions and, overall, provide a true purchase experience.

FOUNDED: 1996

INDUSTRY: Energy / Oil & Gas

CONTACT: www.uno-terra.com