Talks to Víctor Hugo Ayala C.
General Manager
VICTOR HUGO AYALA C.: SWCOL was founded in 1995 as Engineering Company for the energy sector, focused on Oil & Gas Sector, and Electricity Generation Processes. During the first years of the company´s work we passed through different kinds of difficulties, because of Colombian political and social internal situations. At that time, between 1995 and 2000 year, the country entered a cycle of conflict, violence and increasing lack of industrial opportunities for development.
This period taught us how to face those difficulties, and challenged us to learn how to manage the business in this environment, just to give an example, we had to figure out how to work in safety way, in not secure areas of the country, when it was very different from now.
For a new company as was SWCOL at that time, with very good products and services, to keep running the business was a greater challenge we faced. There were not forthcoming projects, and the Oil & Gas market was quite small and lacked of opportunities to do what we were able to do. So, from this first years SWCOL acquired the strength that make a difference now, and it is our capacity to work under different kind of pressure, always attend our client with the best services, with the best human talent, and always on time, working 24/7, keeping beside our client, and working under our values: responsibility, integrity, leadership and teamwork.
After 2000, when the situation began to change, and a new business environment offered new opportunities, SWCOL was already on the market with a well-known experience on the sector in Colombia, and with new opportunities in other countries as Ecuador, Puerto Rico where we completed some projects. At that time the company opened a new business unit focused on mining as a complementary area for energy sector.
The new and best business environment brought new development opportunities and at the same time brought new competitors, this time they were international competitors. SWCOL was prepared to face this new challenge.
TBY: What has been your strategy to adapt to the new business environment, and what has been your growth strategy?
The SWCOL strategy has been to focus on specialized areas where we developed and keep developing good skills, through permanent qualification of our human talent at international level, it allows as offer to the market the best product, with the best knowledge, all with Colombian engineers and Colombian professionals.
Our experience is successfully applied in the following areas: Energy, Oil & Gas, offshore development, biofuels, aqueducts, mining and metallurgy, chemical and petrochemical, pulp and paper, alternative sources of energy.
SWCOL counts on Safety Instrumented Systems (SIS) certified professionals such as TUV Functional Safety Professionals. We also have certified OPC System Integrators (OPCSI) and project managers certified as Professional Project Managers (PMP) by the Project Management Institute of the United States.
Just to give an example of our specialization, from 1997 we focused on metering systems for hydrocarbons, and the result of this capacity is that SWCOL has been measuring around 80% of Colombia’s Oil transported by pipelines and from loading oil track. On this matter we work for Ocensa, ODL and Ecopetrol and we have all metering systems from Cusiana to crude export port on Coveñas. This is a very delicate issue on the industry because it is how to measure barrel by barrel.
Faced our global competitors, we feel confident of our capacities, our knowledge of specialized areas and knowledge of energy market, included Oil & Gas Sector.
As result of our growing process we are exploring the abroad market and this time we are open office in Mexico and Norway.
TBY: Foreign companies invested about $8 billion in the oil and mining industries in 2013. What makes the energy and mining sectors so attractive in Colombia?
The main thing is the results in the field. You can find minerals in Colombia. Geologists see the potential and know that we have coal, gold, and many other minerals. Our geographical position allows us to export to China or Asia across the Pacific Ocean, or to North America and Europe. We are close to the Panama Canal, too. The third thing is the political stability, which inspires confidence in investors.
But it is important to keep in mind that there are some issues with the potential to stop the investment on this good business environment. The environmental and social laws are very complicated and it is very hard to understand how to go through the process, although the government, institutions, companies, community are looking for the same objective to have a clean and healthy production.
SWCOL also entered the biofuels sector eight years ago. How is this sector developing and how would you assess its potential?
The biofuels are a good opportunity for both, social and economic development of rural Colombian areas, using the great land potential and the good weather conditions.
