Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Regulation of Public-Private Partnerships: Analysis and Prospects

by
Miguel Ángel Ronceros, partner, ROSSELLÓ Abogados and member of the AmCham Peru Legal Affairs Committee

One of the main problems facing Peru is the infrastructure gap. In this sense, a good regulation of the Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) Law, which energizes investments (and does not cause them difficulties), is essential to shorten the gap that affects key sectors such as health, education and ports, among others.

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Lima Security Tips from an Expert

by
Ben Jonjak

I was sitting with Walter Raffo at the Cafe Haiti on the Ovalo de Miraflores. Walter was formerly the security advisor for the US embassy, and he is currently working as an independent security consultant. Within five minutes of our conversation, I instantly could tell he knew what he was talking about.

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Taxi Excel Seeks to Revolutionize Lima's Taxi Service

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We still have to Modernize the State

When the less than parsimonious entrepreneur and soon to be former Confiep president, Jaime Caceres Sayan, is asked about his hobbies he answers almost instinctively, work. He then adds, Tennis.
The Confiep brings together the most powerful entrepreneurial unions in the country. Power brings great responsibility and all responsibility brings chanllenges. Was the Confiep up to par?

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VAINSA: a True Peruvian Success Story

Ben Jonjak  bj@livinginperu.com

I recently had the opportunity to sit down for a few words with Jaime San Martin Chirinos (the Gerente Comercial of VAINSA) to learn the fascinating story of Peru's primer producer of quality bathroom fixtures. As we sat in the conference room in the VAINSA factory (surrounded by an elegant glass case displaying the various lines of VAINSA's superb product) Jaime detailed how VAINSA grew from a single small workshop with between thirty and forty employees, to a company that now boasts four different branches and nearly 1,000 dedicated workers.

VAINSA was founded in 1975 in response to the lack of variety supplied by the major fixture manufacturer of the time (INRESA). Starting with a single factory, VAINSA sought to produce a more artistic, elegant style of bathroom fixture. As time passed and VAINSA's reputation grew, they began to specialize and eventually imported some Italian machinery which enabled them to provide a greater variety of products.

By 1980, VAINSA (which stands for Valvosanitaria Industrial S.A.) saw the need to expand, so they founded Metal Tubo S.A.; more commonly known as Metusa. You probably know Metusa as the company that produces the Sole water heaters you have in your home.

The secret to VAINSA's success and continued growth is the fact that, from the start, they have focused on making their name synonymous with quality. VAINSA also strives to maintain a level of customer service that is second to none. VAINSA has also earned an ISO 9001:2000 certificate of quality and is the only fixture company in Peru to have one. To maintain their ISO (International Organization of Standardization) certification, VAINSA is required to undergo two external and two internal audits per year as well as fulfill several other stringent requirements.

In 1993 VAINSA expanded again, this time founding Tecnosanitaria S.A. which is known in the market as Italgrif. Italgrif was launched with the aim of competing with global markets and the recent flood of cheap imports from countries such as China. In 2008, the VAINSA family further expanded by opening a 35,000 square meter plant in Lurin which specializes in the production of toilets as well as other products.

A great deal of VAINSA's ability to grow comes from the fact that their products are not just domestic, but are often used in places such as clubs, hotels, schools, and even airports. Jaime emphasized the importance of using quality VAINSA products in institutions such as schools in place of cheap imports which often contain potentially dangerous traces of lead. In addition, VAINSA exports to Ecuador, Costa Rica, and has recently won a contract for their "Linea Minimalista" for a housing project in Florida.

2007-2008 was an excellent year for VAINSA producing growth in excess of 20%. The recent financial crisis has caused a slight dip this year, but because VAINSA's product is a necessity rather than a luxury the impact has been far less than what has been felt by other industries and the outlook is bright for the future.

Exiting my interview, I was struck by a profound sense that Jaime is a man who is extremely proud of both the prestigious name of his company and all the hard work it took to earn it. VAINSA's rapid growth from a single small workshop with less than 40 employees, to a massive organization that now controls 60% of their market is an admirable story of a business that took the initiative to do things right. VAINSA has proven that they are willing to adapt and make the changes necessary to compete not only against their competitors in Peru, but the ones they will encounter globally, and their continued success should be seen as a source of pride to all Peruvians. VAINSA has made their name synonymous with quality, and they're also the first to proudly declare that they are 100% Peruvian.

VAINSA's products can be found at Decocenter, Cassinelli, and various other retailers throughout Peru. Their web page is www.vainsa.com.

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What can we learn from Einstein and Woody Allen?

By Jacqueline Saettone; Professor, Universidad del Pacifico.

Einstein, who wrote essays about physics since he was twelve years old, almost lost his interest in it when he went to study at a military school in Munich. The rigidity of the system did not motivate him to create. When he applied to a polytechnic school in Zurich, he was not admitted. However, when he entered a Swiss school to improve on his weaknesses, he developed the first experiment that would lead him to the Theory of Relativity. The school’s humanistic approach, stimulated the expression of his own creativity.

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Peruvian Fisheries: System of Individual Contributions

Courtesy of

In recent decades the anchovy industry in Peru has grown exponentially. This is due to the increase in national and international demand for this product, either for indirect human consumption (IHC), such as: meal and fish oil, or for direct human consumption goods (DHC), such as: fresh, frozen and canned, which are being promoted aggressively globally.

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Delta marks their 10 year anniversary

Living in Peru
Jobana Soto

Ten years is a defining moment for any business growing roots on foreign ground, which is why American owned Delta Airlines is celebrating its successful tenure this month as the world's carrier to Lima, Peru.

"It's a success that was done by many people," says Delia Ortega, Commercial Manager for Delta Airlines in Peru, one of Delta's leading employees who helped mold the Lima branch to such a success.

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Peru: The summit of the Summit*

Info provided by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

After the successful V Summit of Latin America, Caribbean and European Union (LAC-EU) we are left with a lot of conclusions to ponder with. First of all that Peru, when it is determined to be is capable of gigantic achievements. The displayed organization of the Summit was impeccable and it allowed our country to show off to the world as an attractive and stable destination for tourism and future investment.

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Serving the Poor

A few years ago, C. K. Prahalad and Allen Hammond wrote a very interesting article for the Harvard Business Review, named “Serving the world’s poor profitably”. In it they speak of the great economic potential the market at the bottom of the pyramid represents.

If this is true, then why have companies not traditionally invested in this market? Because: (1) They have assumed that the poor have no money, (2) They think that they are too worried with satisfying basic needs and (3) They consider that it is not possible to generate profits in this market segment.

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