ASOCIACION

COLOMBIANA DE
INDUSTRIAS
PLASTICAS
(ACOPLASTICOS)
Presented by:
Allen Glennie P. Lambert
Oliver Michael C. Narreto
 COLOMBIA

Colombia is Latin Americas fourth largest and Middle Americas

second largest economy measured by gross domestic product.
Petroleum is the main export - over 45% of Colombia's exports.
Manufacturing makes up nearly 12% of Colombia's exports, and
grows at a rate of over 10% a year.
Colombia has the fastest growing information technology industry
in the world and has the longest fiber optic network in Latin
America.
Colombia also has one of the largest shipbuilding industries in the
world outside Asia.
 COLOMBIA
Colombia over the last decade has experienced a historic
economic boom.
In 1990, Colombia was Latin America's 5th Largest economy and had a
GDP per capita of only US$1,500
by 2015 it became the 4th largest in Latin America, and the world's 31st
largest.
As of 2015 GDP (PPP) increased from US$120 billion in 1990 to nearly
US$700 billion.
Poverty levels were as high as 65% in 1990, but decreased to under 24%
by 2015.
Modern Industries like Shipbuilding, Electronics, Automobile, Tourism,
Construction, and Mining, grew dramatically during the 2000s and
2010s, however, most of Colombia's exports are still commodity-
based.
 PLASTIC AND RUBBER CLUSTER IN
COLOMBIA
Late 1990s approximately 550 firms of Colombian
plastics and rubber industries employed 35,000 workers
About 28 firms employed more than 200 workers
396 firms employed fewer than 50 workers
Plastic production concentration:
Bogota 51%
Medellin 16%
Cali 12%
Rubber production concentration:
Cali 40%
Bogota 18%
Medellin 7%
 PLASTIC AND RUBBER CLUSTER IN
COLOMBIA
mid - 1990s (refer Exhibit 1, plastic-1997 & rubber -1994&1997):
Plastic Production:
grown to $1.6 Billion
with export revenues to $166 Million
Rubber Production:
grown to $489 Million
Export reached highs of $56 Million
Export Destinations:
Andean Community nations:
Venezuela
Peru
Ecuador
Bolivia
 PLASTIC AND RUBBER CLUSTER IN
COLOMBIA
mid - 1990s (refer Exhibit 1, plastic-1997 & rubber -1994&1997):
Plastic Production:
grown to $1.6 Billion
with export revenues to $166 Million
Rubber Production:
grown to $489 Million
Export reached highs of $56 Million
Export Destinations:
Andean Community nations:
Venezuela
Peru
Ecuador
Bolivia
 PLASTIC AND RUBBER CLUSTER IN
COLOMBIA
Major raw materials for the cluster:
Petrochemical resins:
Polystyrene
Polyvinylchloride (PVC)

Colombian firms producing petrochemical resins:

Employed approximately 4,000 workers in 1999
Annual output of over $600 Million
Export Revenues: $175 Million
 PLASTIC AND RUBBER CLUSTER IN
COLOMBIA
Firms imports: Feed stock (olefins and aromatics) due to
lack of capacity by Eco-petrol
-Olefins and Aromatics are building blocks for wide
range of materials such as solvent, detergents and
adhesive (Wikipedia)

Aside from Plastic and Rubber

Colombias paint and ink industry (1999)
- employed 3,000 workers
- generate revenues of $230 Million
 ACOPLASTICOS
Established in 1961 by a group of Colombian plastics manufacturers
Colombian government was pursuing a policy of import substitution
High tariffs
High foreign exchange restrictions
Established for the main purpose of lobbying
Lobbying - the act of attempting to influence business and
government leaders to create legislation or conduct
activity that will help a particular organization (Bus. Dictionary)

Intense Lobbying efforts Acoplasticos obtained tariff reduction and hard

currency access for raw materials, machinery, and equipment imports,
while retaining tariff protection for finished products.
Colombias import substitution policies were largely repealed in the early
1990s.
 ACOPLASTICOS

Carlos Alberto Garay hired in 1984, as its new

executive director.
Former Vice President of the Asociacion
Nacional de Industriales (ANDI) The
national association for colombias private
industrial sector
held degrees in Engineering and Economics
acquired plastics industry expertise at
Celanese Colombia and Colombian
National Planning Bureau
worked for the Andean Community, crafting
program for the development of the
petrochemical sectors in Colombia, Peru,
Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Carlos Alberto Garay
 ACOPLASTICOS
Carlos Alberto Garay with Acoplasticos
New direction:
1. The organization would expand the scope of
its membership and activities to include
additional industries associated with the
plastics manufacturing value chain.
2. Acoplasticos would shift the nature of its
activities toward improving the productivity of
the entire chain, with particular emphasis on
upgrading technology and human resources
in the cluster.

Carlos Alberto Garay

Instituto de Capacitacion e Investigacion del
Plastico y del Caucho (ICIPC)
(Institute for Training and Research in Plastics and Rubber)
a nonprofit technology center.
formed in April 21, 1987
3 Founder members:
Acoplasticos supplying laboratory and process
equipment
Formacol financing the Institute building
EAFIT land on its campus
PART II
 REFERENCES
This presentation is based on the Michael Porter and Willis Emmons case
study for Harvard Business School for Microeconomics of Competitiveness