Latin America. The Chilean company Virutex Ilko, which since 1994 has had a presence in Colombia initially intended only to market its imported products in the country, now went to the assembly of one of the largest plastic injection plant of the corporation and one of the largest exporters.

The move to the plant was initially given with a winery in Cali, then, in 2007 they bought a Bogota company of mops and brooms, and so they settled in the plant that had that company in Mosquera. Eleven years later they moved to the Cauca Free Trade Zone (located in Puerto Tejada), where they no longer only had the goal of serving the local market, but also of exporting.

As for the offer, it is worth noting that in the plant they manufacture sponges, cloths, mops and brushes, all with recycled plastic. Additionally, they produce all the plastic for the corporation and also some kitchen items.

According to Antonio Caicedo, manager of Virutex Ilko in Colombia, they manage two lines of business: cleaning, with the TASK brand, with more than 100 product references (brooms, rags, dustpans, sponges, cloths, etc.), and kitchen, with the ILKO brand, with a portfolio of more than 200 references, which include kitchen batteries, pots, pans, utensils, among others. In the country they sell in large stores, cacharrerías and on their website. This channel was opened before the pandemic and its growth has been exponential (940% in 2021).

He also added: "the corporation sells the same products in all the markets in which it operates, in Colombia there are some exclusive, because for example here the mop with wooden cape is very much liked. However, they sell fewer and fewer yarn rags, which have been replaced by microfiber traps. In cooking, their strength is in pans and pots, where the replacement is frequent due to the custom of many Colombians to eat in the pot, which makes them grate and last less. "

High demand increases employability

In the Colombian operation, the company employs 430 people and last year they registered sales of 113,000 million pesos, 26% more than in 2020.

According to Caicedo, "the operational base has been focused on mothers who are heads of household in the region with excellent results. We have managed to change the production offices of other subsidiaries to make them from Colombia given the proximity to the Port of Buenaventura. Today we are exporting to Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, United States and Mexico."

What is expected for 2022?

For 2022, the manager Virutex Ilko Colombia expressed that he expects to maintain the pace of growth, although with a little more caution due to the political uncertainty of an election year, as well as the impact of the so-called container crisis, which has made its raw materials take between four and five months.

However, he stressed that the logistics issue in Colombia is a competitive advantage being close to the Port of Buenaventura, as well as the issue of costs vs cost per ^M2 in the rest of the region. He also emphasized that among the advantages to expand the market is the quality of both small and medium labor.  In turn, they hope to strengthen the issue of exports and expand to Northern Latin America.