John Kessler is SCA’s man in Colombia. His family has supplied paper to the big printers and publishers in the region for more than 70 years − a demanding task in a market which is extremely price sensitive.
John Kessler took over the family business 32 years ago − a business which his father had run for 40 years, and the springboard for SCA’s products on the Colombian market.
Work life has had its ups and downs in a market which has never been able to be taken for granted. With an annual supply volume of some 8,000 tonnes, John Kessler is trying to regain the leading position he and SCA held 17 years ago, before they were squeezed by various American competitors.
“When it comes to quality and customer service, we have a very good position. But on this market, price is critical and we have to constantly fight for our market share,” he explains. “My competitors aren’t selling products for export, but rather the surplus from their home market. Depending on the situation in the US, they can drop the price substantially. It’s hard to work for the long term and continuity when the market is constantly swinging.
Big customers in Bogotá
There’s the hint of an additional cloud on the horizon in the form of a possible free trade agreement between Colombia and the US, which would eliminate duties and trade barriers between the therefore favouring American products. If the agreement is signed, US paper products will become 15 per cent cheaper when the tax add-on disappears.
But for the moment John Kessler can count the five biggest newspaper publishers in the capital city of Bogotá among his customers. Most of Colombia’s weekly newspapers and magazines are therefore printed on SCA GraphoCote and GraphoLux.
At least once a week, a shipload of his paper is unloaded in the harbours of Cartagena or Santa Marta. Transport takes three days by truck on the demanding roads through the Andes to the capital city of Bogotá, with its approximately 8 million inhabitants, situated on a high plateau 2,600 metres above sea level, approximately 1,000 kilometres from the coast. It’s actually more expensive to transport paper from the Colombian coast to end-customers in Bogotá than it is to freight the paper from the mill in Sweden to Colombia.
Logistics and stress
If you aren’t cheapest, you have to be the best, Kessler asserts. He defends his market share by intensive customer care.
“I’m like a doctor on duty, always ready to rush in where needed.” Logistics is a constant problem, juggling customers who require just-on-time deliveries and the need to keep inventories down. “These are the kinds of things that can give you heart trouble in the end,” he laughs.
At 65 years, he has recovered surprisingly well from the serious heart problems which hit him nine years ago.
“Stress has taken its toll but I’m not complaining. I love this industry – and I’ve got paper in my blood.”
Text: Erico Oller Westerberg (rewrite from Papergram 3/2007)