Luis Pagani, chairman of Grupo Arcor, on the globalization of Argentine firms
通过Arcor集团董事长的视角，讲述这家阿根廷食品公司如何从糖果生产商发展为全球性企业，其国际化战略和管理文化对拉美企业有借鉴意义。
Executive Overview “The world is our market.” This simple but strong definition provided by Arcor's founder is indicative of the attitude which sets this firm apart from the great majority of its fellow Latin American companies. This attitude has been the key to Arcor's success and reflects the challenge undertaken by its managers. Arcor is an Argentine Multinational Group operating within the food and confectionary sectors with an eye cast on the Latin American market. At present, it faces the challenge of reaching out to the whole planet with high-quality products and competitive prices. The group has 31 plants in Latin America and manufactures more than 1,500 different products among which are food items, chocolate and confectionary goods, and cookies. Its output averages 1.5 million kilos of products a day. Arcor's products are exported to 109 countries worldwide, which guarantees its ranking as the Argentine company with the largest number of open markets abroad. In 2001, Arcor's sales reached the overall US$ 1 billion mark, with US$ 221 million coming from exports and foreign sales. Founded in 1951 as a candy producer, Arcor had already reached a daily production of 60,000 kilos of confectionary goods by 1958. By then it had ceased producing candy exclusively and had embarked on different industrial ventures. It started producing several of its own basic inputs so as to guarantee better quality and price. Early in its history, Arcor understood the value of integrating other countries in Latin America. It could foresee the potential of a common market in the region. For this reason, it expanded to different countries in the region. In 1976 Arcor established itself in Paraguay, in 1979 in Uruguay, in 1981 in Brazil, and finally, in 1989, it reached Chile. In 1993, after Luis Pagani became chairman, the group launched a more global initiative. Its management was deeply transformed, which resulted in a higher level of professionalism. This was an indispensable condition for a company wishing to position itself quickly and efficiently in the new local and international economic scenario. In 1996, Arcor built a plant in Peru to produce candy. In 1998, it acquired the Chilean company Dos en Uno, consolidating Arcor's market within the member countries of the Pacto Andino and allowing better access to NAFTA markets. A year later, Arcor built in Brazil the most advanced chocolate plant of the region. With an entrepreneurial philosophy based upon trust and desire for internationalization and presence in the Latin American market, Arcor has built a great company in its fifty-one years of history. The “Arcor culture” is based on faith in its people, regard for creativity and innovation, commitment to long-term goals, desire for continuous improvement, dedication to the best quality and price, and solidarity in employee behavior. These cultural traits as well as its renewed managerial practices have turned Arcor into one of the most important “multi-Latin” companies in the region and a good example of successful international expansion. Currently, the group is the number one producer of candy worldwide, a leading confectionary manufacturer in Latin America, and the main exporter of confectionary goods in Argentina and within the Mercosur. Luis Pagani has been Arcor's chairman since 1993. This year he has also been named Chairman of the Asociacion Empresaria Argentina (AEA), an organization born during the Argentine crisis to bring together local companies and foreign groups with large investments in the country. The goal of the association is to unify the business body present in Argentina so as to forge societal improvement.