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It is a prodigal son of modern agriculture in Argentina. He was born more than 35 years ago as a family agricultural business, with four employees, a truck and 3,500 hectares in the west of the province of Buenos Aires. From that moment to the present, it has not stopped innovating, much less growing.

In full productive age, the company founded by Adolfo Grobocopatel in the Buenos Aires town of Carlos Casares became a leading company in the provision of inputs, services, grain marketing, research and development within the agro-industrial chain.

Far from reaching its ceiling, it currently has 36 branches and 16 storage plants -the capacity of 350 thousand tons makes it one of the main players in the business-, strategically located in five Argentine provinces -among them, Córdoba-.

Based on this capillarity and with an increasingly developed muscle, it originates 2.5 million tons of grain per year –20% is from its own production– and manages more than 260,000 hectares in production in the country with 74 partners.

"We see in Argentina a great possibility of continuing to grow, doing what we know how to do best, which is producing and providing services to producers that go beyond inputs," Enrique Flaiban, CEO of Los Grobo, assured Agrovoz.

Throughout its short history, the national company experienced a stage of internationalization. It was when he decided to replicate his business in Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, a presence that after five years he decided to sell and focus fully on its development in Argentina.

At the same time that it sold its assets in Brazil to the Japanese group Mitsubishi in 2013, the company decided to add a new business unit in the country.

It was through the purchase of the agrochemical company Agrofina, located in Zárate, with which it develops, produces and markets phytosanitary products (herbicides, fungicides and insecticides) through a national distribution network of more than 400 points of sale, with presence in 12 Argentine provinces.
“At the time, it was a medium-sized company in the sector that has now become one of the most important in the sector at the national level and ranks eighth in the market, but very close to the three that precede it. It has a turnover of US$ 150 million a year”, added Flaiban.

FROM FAMILY TO NATIONAL: THE GROWTH OF THE GROBO

The family business had a corporate transformation in 2016, when part of its members left their place within the leadership.

Since then, the Victoria Capital Partners (VCP) Investment Fund has been in charge of controlling the company, with 87% of the shares, while the remaining 13% belongs to the brothers Gustavo and Matilde Grobocopatel.

Managed by Argentines, the VCP has investments in the region for more than US$ 2 billion. In Argentina, his best-known contributions were to companies such as Grupo Peñaflor, Editorial Atlántida and Arcos Dorados, the McDonald's franchise, among others.

Under the new administration, the company has doubled its turnover in the last six years.

The group has more than 700 collaborators throughout the country and as of June 30 (its last fiscal year) its sales were US$ 820 million.

A wheat mill in the city of Chivilcoy, with a capacity of more than 100,000 tons per year, also allows the company to have a niche opportunity.

"The flour business is not strategic for us, but we do see it as a way to find commercial opportunities for wheat," Flaiban justified.

In addition to channeling a large part of its grain sales abroad through traditional exporters, the company also looks for opportunities to carry out operations directly. According to the CEO, with the volume they handle they are in a position to complete ships exclusively.

At the domestic market level, the executive highlights that the company has an important range of clients, which also includes the entire cattle and meat chain, and dairy production.

"Between 3,500 and four thousand producers operate with us a year, to whom we offer commercial opportunities for their grains and also for the provision of inputs that, in addition to Agrofina's products, also include third-party agrochemicals," Flaiban pointed out.

This input supermarket profile is also completed with the sale of third-party seeds and its own brand. "We believe that seed research and development is a good option to continue innovating and entering a market that has high demand," he said.

With around 500,000 bags required per year, Los Grobo is one of the largest distributors in the seed business in the country.

As part of its own seed development, the company has had the El Grobo 1923 maize hybrid on the market for two years, to which a long-cycle wheat variety has just been added for high-productivity plantings.

THE PLANS IN CÓRDOBA OF THE COMPANY LOS GROBO

Los Grobo always had a marked presence in the province. His landing was in 2007 when, as part of his expansion strategy at that time, he built the Avex poultry company, located in Río Cuarto.

Later, as part of the business change, the company's insertion policy in Córdoba took another course, focusing more on production and services.

"Today we have seven branches in the province, located in Huinca Renancó, Inriville, Laboulaye, Jesús María, Río Cuarto, Villa María and a point of sale in Alta Gracia, with more than 30 employees," said Flaiban, who for previous executive functions –between 2011 and 2016 he was CEO of Ecogas in Córdoba– he knows the province well.

In addition to planting 40,000 hectares in Cordoba, the group originates around 400,000 tons of grains and sells inputs worth US$ 40 million.

"Regarding Agrofina, we have divided the province into three zones with their technical and commercial managers who serve more than 60 clients, and we have a presence with our products in more than 100 locations. If we take into account the balance of our last year, and also considering what the value of the grains generates, Córdoba represents almost 20% of the consolidated billing”, compared the CEO. In real numbers, it represents approximately US$160 million.

The expansion plan in the province currently includes the search for personnel and the future development of branches in Río Primero, Río Segundo and Río Tercero, and the analysis in San Francisco.

As part of the expansion of the range of services, the company has begun to develop strategic alliances for the provision of fuels (of the Shell brand) with suppliers in the province.

Digitization is also part of Los Grobo's business. Through its digital platform Mauá, more than 3,500 producers access information in a timely manner, useful for managing their activity. “This type of technology favors a more personal interaction between the client and the company, in addition to generating a synergy that allows strengthening commercial ties”, Flaiban reinforced. → poderlocal.com.ar

Automatic translation from spanish.