57/74
  • Pages
01 Cover
02 Welcome Letter / Sections
03 Section 1: Latin America
04 Latin America Resilience
05 Interview: APLA
06 Interview: S&P Commodity Insights
07 Interview: ExxonMobil Chemical
08 Interview: INEOS Styrolution Americas
09 Sustainability
10 Interview: Tecnon OrbiChem
11 Interview: Pilot Chemical Company
12 Interview: Air Products
13 Industry Thoughts: Decarbonization
14 Section 2: Mexico
15 Mexico Overview
16 Factsheet: Mexico
17 Interview: National Chemical Industry Association (ANIQ)
18 Interview: Braskem Idesa
19 Interview: Grupo Idesa
20 Interview: Evonik Industries Mexico
21 Interview: Unigel Mexico
22 Interview: Helm de Mexico
23 Section 3: Brazil
24 Brazil Overview
25 Factsheet: Brazil
26 Interview: ABIQUIM
27 Interview: Braskem
28 Interview: Indorama Ventures Limited
29 Interview: Elekeiroz
30 Interview: Petrom Petroquímica Mogi das Cruzes S.A.
31 Interview: Ultracargo
32 Section 4: Argentina
33 Argentina Overview
34 Factsheet: Argentina
35 Interview: Argentine Chamber of the Chemical and Petrochemical Industry (CIQyP)
36 Interview: Argentine Petrochemical Institute (IPA)
37 Interview: YPF QUÍMICA
38 Interview: Petrocuyo
39 Interview: Petroquímica Rio Tercero
40 Section 5: Andean Region
41 Andean Region Overview
42 Factsheet: Chile
43 Factsheet: Colombia
44 Interview: Acoplásticos
45 Interview: Chilean Chemical Industry Association (ASIQUIM)
46 Interview: Ecopetrol
47 Interview: Petroquim
48 Factsheet: Peru
49 Factsheet: Ecuador
50 Factsheet: Bolivia
51 Factsheet: Venezuela
52 Section 6: Chemical Distribution
53 Chemical Distribution
54 Interview: Brenntag Essentials Latin America
55 Interview: Univar Solutions
56 Interview: Química Anastacio
57 Interview: GTM Caldic
58 Interview: Pochteca
59 Interview: Tricon Energy
60 Section 7: Logistics
61 Logistics and Services
62 Interview: Leschaco
63 Interview: Vopak
64 Interview: Eurotainer
65 Interview: Stolthaven Terminals
66 Interview: Port of Antwerp-Bruges
67 Industry Thoughts: Logistics Innovation
68 Company Profiles (Sponsored Content)
69 Braskem Profile (Sponsored Content)
70 YPF QUÍMICA Profile (Sponsored Content)
71 Brenntag Profile (Sponsored Content)
72 Evonik Profile (Sponsored Content)
73 Article & Interview Index
74 Credits

Rodrigo Gutierrez, CEO Latam, GTM CALDIC

"In spite of political changes in Latam, we believe in the region for the long term and will continue making acquisitions."

Can you provide details of the merger between GTM Holdings and Caldic?

We stared analyzing the opportunity to merge with Caldic, a global player in specialties, early in 2021, and identified significant positive synergies between the companies. Caldic had zero operations in Latin America and GTM zero operations outside of Latam; Caldic was strong in the life sciences end markets with approximately 70% of their business in this sector, whereas our company had less than 30% business within this sector, and we were stronger in the industrial market. The merger made sense as an investment theory for our shareholders, and we are now a bigger company with a global footprint. We have been able to transfer knowledge, have more volumes to negotiate, consolidate logistics, and optimize in a way that we were not able to do before. We believe we are building a unique company in terms of culture. From a branding point of view, we will keep using GTM Caldic until the end of this year, and adopt Caldic as a brand from January 2023.

What are GTM Caldic’s plans for further consolidation, such as the June 2022 announcement of the acquisition of Active Pharmaceutica in Brazil?

Latin America is a very fertile market for growth with significant opportunities. We did a lot of M&A from 2014 to 2017, whereafter we organized and improved ourselves and integrated the companies. In 2020 we made another small acquisition and realized that we were ready to continue with more acquisitions. We have been mapping companies like Active for a long time and are looking for companies that are strong in their niche markets and can add value for us. We will have a higher focus on the life sciences segment, but this does not mean that we will not keep acquiring companies in other markets. In spite of political changes in Latam, we believe in the region for the long term and will continue making acquisitions.

Can you speak to the importance of sustainability and ESG to GTM Caldic?

GTM Caldic is focused on taking care of the environment, and we have invested significantly to ensure that we do not contribute to any negative incidents. As a result, in the last year we had no leaks, environmental issues or lost time incidents. The company is silver certified by EcoVadis, and our plan is to become known in the region for sustainability. We have the target of becoming carbon neutral by 2024, as well as focusing on sustainable products for our customers. Over the past year, we have built a New Product Introduction program where sustainability factors have a strong weight when evaluating if a new product becomes part of our portfolio. In terms of diversity, we already have more women than men working in the company.

What are your views on the current supply chain and logistics disruptions?

From a logistics and supply chain perspective, 2022 is worse than it has ever been, even compared to 2020 and 2021. These disruptions are affecting everyone as lead times and costs have increased significantly. As a consequence, we have had to increase our inventories to guarantee supply. We do not foresee that the situation will change much before the end of year, so financial strength is currently very important.

Do you have a final message?

GTM Caldic is changing the way in which we approach the market, turning into an end market-focused company that wants to ensure customers they will have the proper focus and utmost care from us. Our philosophy is that if our customers and partners are successful, we will be successful. We also want to be the employer of choice in this industry, and are investing in professional development, as well as creating an environment that is politics free. We want to be seen as a big company which thinks like a small company in terms of agility, client relationships, and care for our team.

Next:

Interview: Pochteca