“They taught us not to go into the family business,” said Susana Alejandro Balet, who will become president of the Zaragoza Saica paper group on July 1, 2024, with a complicated look from her older brother Ramón, who will continue to lead the company. until then. Still president the first Aragonese multinational company, which bills 3,700 million euros annually and employs more than 10,000 people in the world, corroborating Susana’s statement. “I never thought I would work in the family business, it was even surprising when 36 years ago they told me I would be going to Mexico for a few years. My commitment then was to be there for four years, gain international experience, and then decide whether to continue or not,” he said. “It was a road that started and of course I didn’t even think from far away that this would be the end of it. that way,” he stressed. Namely, leading Saica for 14 years until 2024.

After posing for the interview photos, in one of them in team control with the white and green corporate colors of the cardboard soccer table manufactured in the company’s facilitythe outgoing president of Saica spoke about the company’s plans before leaving for Italy to seal the group’s entry into the capital of two carton factories in the transalpine country, located in Annone di Brianza and Pietrasanta.

Ramón Alejandro (Comodoro Rivadavia, Argentina, 1961) relates that Saica decided in 2000 to keep someone other than a family of company shareholders in general management (all descendants of the founder, with the surnames Balet, Aragüés and Rived). «The director will run the day-to-day operations, while the president – always from the family – will do that too, but will act as a liaison between the company and the shareholders. For the job, Susana Alejandro meets all the requirements,” he said. When Ramón decided that he would not spend the 65-year term as president, as stipulated by Saica family protocol, last December he proposed that Susana succeed him in 2024. On June 26, the relay became official.

Susana Alejandro: “It’s getting harder and harder to grow 10%”

What legacy will he receive from his predecessor in the Saica presidency?

Lots of support. In this company, you set your own boundaries, because when we are growing at 10% per year, what we need are people to lead this team. I’m taking on the challenge of trying to overcome what Ramón has done, which will be difficult, because these have been years of tremendous growth and expansion.

He was Saica’s Head of Strategy, the perfect position to make the jump to the presidency.

Not this one I think so, I took this position 10 years ago. But it’s actually one of the most beautiful positions in the company, because it allows you to be involved in everything and you have to have very deep knowledge of the company so that later you can’t determine the strategy, because I don’t define it, I set the tools. I sat Saica’s very bright people at a table, asked the right questions, wrote down the answers, then prepared a ‘superpowerpoint’ for the Board of Directors. That’s my job.

What challenges are you facing now?

Continuing the growth we have at 10% per year, but it’s getting harder. It is not the same to grow at 500 million euros compared to 3,500 or 3,700 million, our consolidated turnover. On the other hand, it’s very important to keep the family together and that’s my challenge. The branches are getting more and more points of view. Ramón has done very well, keeping the shareholders united.

And what about more specific issues, like the El Burgo R&D center or accelerating decarbonization?

We want to decarbonize before the EU forces us to. In France we found a solution because fuel is available, ie wood is running out of life, and because there is clear support from the French Government, providing financial incentives for this type of investment to make it profitable. In Spain, where we produce 54% of paper, there is no clear solution. The challenge is finding which technology and maybe not one, but several.

And in terms of expansion, international presence?

The United States is huge, with factories we are nothing. Our idea was to create our own network of cartoneras so we could launch our investment in paper machines. There, moreover, human resources have nothing to do with Europe.

Because?

Because there was more turnover there was almost full employment there and it was very difficult to keep staff on. We are more concerned with human resources than with clients. We’re going to have a very disruptive product and we thought we’d offer them something different. Growth will be easy, but we need a team.

Ramón Alejandro: “We still have the German problem pending”

William Mestre

What legacy and record of service will he pass on to the new president of Saica, his successor in the presidency of the group?

In a company of this size, it’s a team. No one can do the work that’s been done alone, here the whole team has pushed. In these 13 or 14 years, all the expansion in the UK has materialized, the jump has been made to the United States, French group Emin Leiydier was purchased in 2018, which is a big important step, we have started decarbonizing our paper mills, for now in France, where currently three out of four are decarbonized with biomass boilers, which allows us to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 75%. The transition between the second and third generation of the family business has also been made. We’ve expanded into Europe and we’ve planted seeds in the United States.

More than one seed. A factory is already operating in Ohio.

I say seed because it is a broader project. The first factory is up and running and we are currently looking for a location for the second one.

And what’s left in the pipeline, what remains to be done?

We have a pending subject which is Germany. It is the most important country in corrugated cardboard consumption, and although we have ‘joint ventures’ with companies in which we have a minority stake, albeit with 49%, it is true that this is one of the largest markets in Indonesia. Europe and that’s where we have a relatively small presence. We sell tons of paper, but not large volumes. You have to leave something for those who come.

The short term future is the United States. And Germany.

We continue to analyze the operation and we don’t know how it ended. We don’t like announcing it until it’s signed. There are projects we’re seeing in Germany and elsewhere. Before the end of my presidency, some insurance will be covered.

What will you do after leaving the presidency of Saica?

One of the advantages of a family business is that it is not completely separated. You stay on the family board, on the Saica board, the family business asks if I can collaborate, and I love doing sports activities. I really wanted to cross the Pyrenees from Cap de Creus to Fuenterrabía, and for that it took me 35 or 40 days and now I can’t leave here for days. I’m not going to disengage completely, I’ve spoken to an NGO for collaboration. I will be busy but I will have more free time. In a position like this, which requires complete dedication, I don’t have much.