With a Headquarter in San Fernando, Colchagua, and branches throughout Chile, Copeval S.A. is the leading company in the distribution of inputs and services for the country’s agricultural sector. We recently caught up with the company’s CEO, Marcelo Lessa to find out more about the award-winning service the team at Copeval provides to their clients.
Copeval S.A. was initially founded in 1956 when a group of farmers in the Colchagua area, mainly milk producers, created an institution to help solve multiple needs such as supplying inputs, technical assistance, and the marketing of products. During the 70’s and 90’s Copeval became the first company in the sector to operate throughout Chile, an important factor for clients who were also expanding its operations geographically. Going into detail about the company, Marcelo provides us with an overview of Copeval and offers us more of an insight into the clients it serves.
“Operating throughout Chile via our 25 branches and seven agro-industrial plants, Copeval S.A is committed to solving the input supply problems and helping clients improve yields and management in the agricultural sector. We have a permanent stock of 40,000 products, by far the largest in Chile, covering all needs and demands of our clients.
“Typically, our offerings include agricultural inputs, financing, machinery, including leasing, irrigation projects and fuel dispatch. In 2020 we restructured into four Divisions: Agrochemicals and BioSolutions; Fertilizers; Irrigation and Machineries, to better service our clients. For example, there is growing demand for Biosolutions, for which we are adding several new products. When purchasing agricultural machinery, technical service is a very important attribute since the expectations and demands of customers on the equipment purchased can provide accurate and satisfactory answers in appropriate timeframes to ensure the operational continuity of the equipment. The lease of machinery allows our customers to use modern equipment without up-front commitment of capital. To ensure our clients can get the best out of its field, we aim to provide a timely and reliable fuel dispatch service. With state-of-the-art and certified equipment for the transport of fuel, we can guarantee a safe and accurate supply in litres, with all the quality they can expect. Copeval S.A. distributes all these products with a best-in sector and state of the art logistics operation that can guarantee delivery within 24 hours to our client’s fields.”
In its attempts to separate themselves from the crowd, the firm has a traceability system that allows clients to track the processes of a product. Marcelo explains the system in great detail, highlighting some of the benefits it has for consumers using it.
“Today, it is very important to have a traceability system because it allows us to count and make available valuable information both for suppliers, government services and of course for our customers who must provide detailed information on the management of their agricultural activities to enter more demanding markets. Additionally, consumers can also use this as a benchmark to select highly reliable, worry-free products. In this way, we provide accurate information regarding the products delivered, giving absolute certainty in the administration of its inventories.”
Copeval has, since 2019 when Marcelo took over as CEO, improved its operations and financial strength in support of a new phase of growth and innovation in order to provide even better service to its clients. One important sign of this strategy is the stellar results the company had in 2020.
Bringing the interview to a close, Marcelo signs off by revealing the plans the team have in pipeline for Copeval in the years to come, not before touching on what it meant to be recognised in CEO Monthly’s CEO of the Year 2020 awards.
“To have been awarded CEO of the Year 2020 – Chile feels extremely rewarding, but without the efforts of my committed team of Managers this wouldn’t have been possible. Moving forward, if we can maintain our leading position in the industry and begin to explore new opportunities in the market then I will be very pleased indeed.”
Marcelo Lessa can be contacted at Copeval S.A. via www.copeval.cl
