UPM Pulp Matters 2/2023

THE PERSONAL TOUCH

“I HOPE THAT OUR FAMILY BUSINESS WILL EVENTUALLY CONTINUE FROM ONE GENERATION TO THE NEXT.”

last 20 years, and as is common in Latin America some 97% of the companies are small businesses that employ four to 19 people. Lucián now runs the business together with her two brothers. Israel arranges the journeys and the drivers’ work shifts, the other brother Joaquín is responsible for maintenance of the vehicles, while she handles customer contacts and administration. Their professional skills complement each other. “In the 2010s we managed to hire more drivers, and in addition to the 15-seater minibuses we invested in bigger buses. Everything was looking good. Then the pandemic knocked us down.” I n 2020 Uruguay was living in the middle of a pandemic that had brought the entire country to a standstill. Tourism stopped, logistics stopped, Lucián had to lay off her employees and the company struggled with minimal income. “The pandemic affected our operations 100%, that’s how I would describe it. We were left with a minimal amount of transportation and reduced all costs we possibly could. The contract with UPM in 2020 could not have come at a better time.” UPM, which had started building a new pulp mill in Paso de los Toros the previous year, made a contract with Lucián Transporte y Turismo. It became UPM’s regular contract

28

PUL P MAT TERS 02/2023