Colombia, el mayor exportador de machetes campesinos en el mundo

Manizales, Colombia, April 11 (Colombia.inn). (Image: Ángel Núñez). Colombia, the world's largest exporter of machetes. The growing Colombian machete production industry, which has used machetes for centuries to clear land of weeds, has made the country the world's largest exporter of this traditional tool. The heart of this industry is Manizales, one of the three cities that make up the region known as the Coffee Axis, in western Colombia, where the company Comercializadora Invermec manufactures up to one million machetes of 850 different types each month, which it exports to 45 countries. "Papua New Guinea, Namibia, Lithuania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, New Caledonia, Fiji, South Africa, and Ghana are some of the places where we have a presence," Javier Henao, Invermec's international sales manager, told Colombia.inn, an agency operated by EFE. "We supply these countries and many others across five continents with specific machetes because the idiosyncrasies of farmers are something that can't be changed. While some want plastic handles, others prefer wooden ones, and still others don't have handles at all, using fabric instead," he explained regarding this curious industry. This business began in Colombia when a group of German importers, affected by the increase in steel prices after World War II, decided to create the company Industria Colombo Alemana de Machetes in 1960, along with businessmen from Manizales. Twelve years later, the company became wholly Colombian-owned and has grown to its current 910 employees, distributed across its production plants for machetes, scissors, drill bits, and other hardware products. One of the keys to its success was inheriting German precision, as that European country has a long history of producing high-quality knives. Steel arrives in Manizales from Great Britain or Korea, and in the plants of this Colombian city, it is cut, marked, rolled, shaped, heat-treated, polished, sharpened, straightened, lacquered, coated, packaged, and sold. This has allowed them to grow steadily over time; in 2013 alone, their revenue increased by 14% in the national market. "We have learned that you need the desire to be number one, optimal management, and a clear direction," explained the executive, detailing how they have become the leaders in this industry worldwide. For 2014, according to Henao, the goal is to surpass "the $42 million in sales of 2013, expand coverage in Africa and Oceania, and reach Indonesia and Brazil." Indonesia and Brazil, both largely rural countries, rank fourth and fifth among the world's most populous nations, with over 246 million and 203 million inhabitants, respectively. And the Invermec representative knows how to achieve this: "We are price-competitive and offer quality because there are cheaper products on the market, imported from China, but fortunately, they expect everyone to use the same materials, and that's not how this business works." Invermec's international track record has allowed them to ensure that only 17 out of every 100 machetes they manufacture remain in Colombia, while the rest are exported. "In the countries where we are strong in machetes, we will expand our portfolio, leveraging our existing brands: Corneta (hand tools and shears), Barracuda (drill bits and cutting tools), Colima (agricultural and construction tools), Gavilán Colorado (machetes, agricultural, gardening, and construction tools), and Águila Corneta (machetes)," Henao noted. The businessman has a clear vision: "to be the best in tools in Colombia and the largest in machetes in the world." COLOMBIA.INN Claudia Polanco.