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Leadership & innovation in animal nutrition Solla S.A. is going beyond successful ventures in animal nutrition, sustaining quality and excellence through R&D efforts
Written by: Mateo Rafael Tablado Produced by: Taybele Piven Interviewee: Mauricio Campillo, CEO for Solla Nutriciรณn Animal
SOLLA NUTRICIÓN ANIMAL
S Solla delivers excellent results for pig farming
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olla specializes in animal nutrition, contributing since 1948 to Colombia’s animal food sector. The company began operations in Medellin, manufacturing feed for dairy cattle and pigs. Solla has achieved sustained growth in product diversity, variety and quality, reaching specialized segments and expanding its presence in the Colombian territory − as well as in Peru, Panama and Costa Rica − taking part in R&D duties, and providing training to collaborators focusing on aspects such as innovation and leadership. Solla’s efforts have been recognized by the Colombian Award for Quality Management and Innovation, received in 2015 on behalf of Solla S.A. by CEO, Mr. Mauricio Campillo, who received the same award in 2005 on behalf of Alianza Team S.A., becoming the first executive to receive this award on behalf of two different companies. Campillo graduated as a lawyer from the University of Medellin. He has completed different graduate programs, such as the International Executive Master from I.E. Business School in Madrid − ranked among the best schools in the
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world − and postgraduate studies in Commercial Law from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Colombia and in Public Law and Economy from the University Institute of European Studies in Turin (Italy), as well as the Global Senior Management Program of the University of Chicago (USA). Prior to joining Solla, he held the CEO position in companies such as OCCEL Celular (being instrumental in its sale to Bell Canada International, owned today by CLARO), and Alianza Team, from 1999 to 2006. A growing line of products Solla’s leadership in animal nutrition has brought to the market feed for dairy cattle, pork, poultry, fish, rabbits and pet food. In the canine line, Solla enters the market with brands such as NutreCan, Sabueso and Q-idaCan; specialized formulas have been developed for the brand NutreCan including NutreCan Babies, Light, NutreCan Atleta and NutreCan for small breeds. In addition to this, it is also seizing the opportunity to break into the market of cat food through its NutreCat, Smart and Q-idaCat brands.
Key People
Mauricio Campillo CEO for Solla Nutrición Animal Campillo graduated as a lawyer from the University of Medellin. He has completed different graduate programs, such as the International Executive Master from I.E. Business School in Madrid − ranked among the best schools in the world − and postgraduate studies in Commercial Law from the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Colombia and in Public Law and Economy from the University Institute of European Studies in Turin (Italy), as well as the Global Senior Management Program of the University of Chicago (USA). Prior to joining Solla, he held the CEO position in companies such as OCCEL Celular (being instrumental in their sale to Bell Canada International, owned today by CLARO), and Alianza Team, from 1999 to 2006.
SOLLA NUTRICIĂ“N ANIMAL
Solla is part of the thriving business of tilapia and trout export from Colombia to the United States and Europe, manufacturing feed for the producers of these species. In 2009, Solla signed a strategic alliance with Choice Genetics, an American company now owned by Grimaud, the second largest multispecies genetics company in the world. This partnership has proven to be productive for swine
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genetics in pig-farming. Solla’s operations in animal nutrition are sustained by the following strengths: • Research and Development • Innovation • Strategic Alliances • Efficiency in Raw Material purchase • Control and continuous improvement • Skill Development
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R&D Centro de Investigación Avícola
Comprehensive supplier development All suppliers and strategic allies of Solla must be introduced to the different activities, interactions and variables that are present in Solla’s operations and commercial chain. It is essential that the supplier personnel responsible for key operating areas travel to Colombia in order to learn about the production plants, have contact with the immediate market − along with Solla’s managers − and their needs, including movements such as high and low raw materials, customs issues and other factors. The supplier representatives are guided by Solla in training courses and update programs, conferences and related events. Continuous success supported by Research and Development Since 2009, Solla established the Dairy Research Center. Research tasks in poultry experimental farms and in the Canine Research Center are also applied in food development for these two species. In addition to the alliance with Choice Genetics, one of Solla’s most-recent alliances has been established with the Universidad CES
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(Corporation for Studies in Health), where a stateof-the-art canine research center is being built that will have the capacity to accommodate dogs of all breeds, under conditions that will allow nutrition research along with personnel from the University. Training School Around 99 percent of Solla’s collaborators have been trained in Solla’s Training School, which has completed more than 350,000 hours of instruction in the last six years, with 140 graduated technicians, 99 technologists, and two doctors. 30 professionals have participated in High Management programs and a Global Senior Management program, to name a few, in prestigious institutions such as the University
Lecheria R&D Center, open since 2009
“We structured the purveyor-client relationship, requiring suppliers to qualify as strategic allies” – Mauricio Campillo, CEO for Solla Nutrición Animal
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This is what the Canil R&D facility will look like when completed during 2016
of Chicago, Yale, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford, besides other institutions in the United States and Europe, like the IE Business School. This project, with an initial investment close to US$1 million, allowed the company to close the gap between staff and strategy, focusing on subjects such as finance, negotiation, project management and senior management. As a result from the emergence of internal trainers, the required investment has been reduced, as those who complete their own training process become the new trainers. “We invest aiming that our staff commits to
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Chicken protein at point of purchase
share their acquired skills with the rest of the company,” explained the company’s CEO. Environment and Community Solla’s operations have a minimum environmental impact. Its industrial operation is extremely clean, as the material they work with is not poured into rivers and other bodies of water. An internal school for parents was set up, in order to guide collaborators and their families to encourage education, entrepreneurship and social risk prevention. The program “Nurturing Dreams with Soy”
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was created in partnership with the Rotary Club Bogota Laureles. This program has provided resources to 150 areas of the country, generating a sustainable model that enable communities to produce soy foods. After two months, each plant has succeeded in generating food and the required income to sustain their production. 65,000 children are benefited every day; this program allows them to have an optimal brain development and take advantage of its academic learning. Assessing the goals For Solla, the future is promising. New markets in Central America and the Caribbean, and the continuous growth within the domestic market result in constant updates for the company’s Large Ambitious Goal (known in Spanish as MEGA), whose objective is to double revenues between 2009 and 2017, incorporating Solla through alliances with capital contributions in order to enter the animal protein business, making the first alliances in chicken protein with Distraves and its Delichicks and Delecta brands. The strategy is being reformulated toward 2021.
Nation’s Award to Excellence and Innovation. Solla received the award in 2015
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Company Information “Our ambition is framed within strong values such as respect, customer orientation, creativity and innovation,” concluded the executive.
NAME
Solla Nutrición Animal INDUSTRY
Animal nutrition products HEADQUARTERS
Carrera 42 # 33 - 80, Itagüí, Depto. de Antioquia, Colombia FOUNDED
1948 EMPLOYEES
1,500 Solla CEO Mauricio Campillo and graduates from the company’s Formation School, opened in 2010 after a US$1 million investment.
REVENUE
US$700 million WEBSITE
www.solla.com
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Carrera 42 # 33 - 80 Itagüí, Depto. de Antioquia, Colombia Tel. +57 (4) 4448411 CMARIN@solla.com www.solla.com