Jeant Peinado Business Manager
CONFIPETROL
"We have developed an ambitious five-year business plan for Chile, identifying a potential market of over US$2 billion in services and potential tenders where we can participate."
Could you introduce to Confipetrol?
Confipetrol was born 20 years ago in Barrancabermeja - Colombia, initially focused on the Oil&Gas sector. In 2010, it began its expansion at a regional level, first Bolivia and then Peru, where it acquired an important construction and maintenance company, allowing it to diversify operations in different sectors. Since then, the organization has been providing comprehensive equipment operation and maintenance solutions and services to mining, energy, hydrocarbons and industry.
In 2019 we entered the Chilean market, facing challenges such as social unrest and the pandemic, obtaining our first contract and start of operations in 2021 in the energy sector. In 2022, we obtained additional contracts in the medium-sized mining sector, and in 2023 we managed to enter large mining, with an important electrical maintenance service in one of Codelco's main operations.
In 2024, we have been awarded a new service with an important gold producer in Chile, and we have been working hard to monitor our submitted offers and the structuring of tenders to which our potential clients have been inviting us. What is Confipetrol's approach to safety in its operations?
Confipetrol has implemented a robust safety management system, consisting of more than 5,000 operational procedures. Recognizing the need to instill a safety culture, we enlisted a third-party consultant to assess our practices. Their findings highlighted an initial reliance on constant supervision for safe behavior.
In response, we have shifted towards fostering an interdependent safety culture, where employees embrace safety values and adhere to protocols without constant oversight. This transformation aims to deepen employees' sense of personal safety responsibility.
Moreover, we have incorporated virtual reality technology into our training programs, allowing employees to simulate critical tasks in a risk-free environment. This innovative approach helps employees gain practical experience in identifying and mitigating risks, improving their ability to anticipate hazards and prevent accidents. How does Confipetrol increase productivity and improve energy efficiency of operations?
Confipetrol, through its Integrated Management System and Service Management Model based on ISO55001, establishes the guidelines to guarantee the development of the activities framed within the scope of each contract. Thus, the specific conditions of the facilities, the operational process, the Client's standards and procedures are all evaluated. Confipetrol defines the tools and methodologies to be used, establishing appropriate action plans aligned with the operational reality of the processes under our responsibility.
Within the action plans that are established, tools focused directly on optimizing the productivity of resources can be considered, and these may include the measurement of Effective Time (of jobs), the SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die), Operational Discipline or the 5āSā, all of this under monitoring and control through management indicators, which allow us to validate the expected results or make changes to the initially defined strategy.
Additionally, in our vehicle fleet we implement digital platforms to control fuel consumption and mileage, generating optimization alternatives and training in ecological driving of vehicles, allowing us to improve the energy efficiency performance index in our operations. How have you managed to convey your quality in operations to newly hired employees?
To begin our operations in Chile, we supported ourselves with Confipetrol Andina, a leading company in the provision of maintenance services in the mining sector in Peru, transporting professionals who were in charge of instilling our policy and culture at the beginning of operations.
For our first service in Chile, we supported ourselves with local strategic partners and specialists in personnel recruitment. This, combined with the experience of foreign personnel, led us to the start of operations. What are Confipetrol's objectives in Chile in terms of growth and overall development?
We have developed an ambitious five-year business plan, identifying a potential market of over US$2 billion in services and potential tenders where we can participate.
We have been working hard with our business development area, participating in fairs and events in the industrial sectors of mining and energy that allow us to increase the visibility of our brand in Chile, renewing and updating our pipeline month by month, aiming for a growth of US$100 million in sales, having the support of 3,500 employees and being recognized as a leading company in the provision of maintenance services at an industrial level.