“The Colombian market is a bit restricted”

How do you see the current situation of the Colombian market and which is the perspective for the future?
I think all the operators feel insecure. Its inversions have not been so aggressive as in previous years; they are in a sort of “stand by”, waiting to see what happens, not just due to the change of regulation but also due to the elections. It is clear that investors are more cautious right now.

In the last three months, the VAT increment has also affected and beaten us. All these has caused that the market is a bit limited. There are operators that keep on investing, however they are more prudent.

Has Atronic opted by any special policy?
We have always been present in Colombia. We have a person who has been living and working here for eight years, due to the market nature. Besides, we count with a technical service and a local representation. We know we have to keep on doing the things this way.

What have you been presenting in FADJA and how did you see the event?
It was a hard decision. When it was informed that nothing else could be exported, they informed about the census and said that, for six months, the import of machines will be banned, so we changed our strategy with regards to the things we were going to present at the show because it was not going to have any commercial impact.  Then, se dio marcha atrás, but the costs to bring products from Europe were quite high, and we weren’t sure, commercially speaking. We decided to have a smaller booth that previous years with high-quality products, as usual, among them, The Three Stooges. We will what happens in the future.

What feedback did you receive from local and regional operators?
They are all very worried about the issue related to taxes and law, however, they all have been very receptive with the new products.

Which will be the following steps of Atronic?
We have ELA event in a couple of weeks. It will be our presentation in society, because, until a year ago, the Class III machines we have nowadays were not present in the Mexican market. It will be our presentation in society with a well defined Mexican class. We have a lot of expectations.