United States. During the last AHR Expo, we had the opportunity to interview Cheryl Merchant, Chief Executive Officer of Taco Comfort Solutions, who told us about the company's plans for Latin America, among which is the expansion of its presence and participation in activities within the region.
During the show, Cheryl was very pleased to "see people again in person and this is why Taco is here, meet our customers and bring our employees and partners. I'm very happy to be here," he said.
How important is Latin America for Taco Comfort Solutions?
Cheryl: Latin America is one of our greatest business growth opportunities and we are very pleased to be there. Having hired Gabriel Covete (Vice President, Area Sales - Middle East & Latin America) allows us to have very high expectations, being present in this kind of shows, meet our clients and meet people like you.
Taco is very strong in North America but it's just the beginning for us; we have big goals for the next five years, our strategy is great, we even hired 162 people last year, so we are growing everywhere and in all our areas of operation, from Zurich and Czech Republic, to our operation in Italy; even in Vietnam we are building and beating every goal we had last year.
How did the company experience the hardest stage of Covid?
Cheryl: For a company that loves being with its customers, that cares too much about its people, this Covid was one of the worst things we had to deal with. When this happened we immediately, and literally, shut down our plants before anyone else, protecting our people, putting protective masks on them, using separate spaces, building equipment, etc. Everything we could do to keep our people and our families safe. That was the most crucial moment for us. During this time we went back to work and recover each of our operations in the world, so that we could continue 100% and we are doing so now but still keeping our people safe.
Pictured, Gabriel Covete, Vice President, Area Sales - Middle East & Latin America; Duván Chaverra, Editorial Director of ACR Latin America; Cheryl Merchant, CEO, and Ken Watson, Sr. Vice President Global Marketing, Taco Comfort Solutions.
ACR: How does it feel to be the CEO of Taco?
Cheryl: I've been in the automotive industry for 35 years, now I've been the CEO of Taco for the last three years and I'll tell you something: it's the most spectacular company you can work with and with a purpose. Although you mentioned the Covid thing, we were considered an essential supplier of products from the beginning, so it is very important for us to know that in hospitals, data centers or medical institutions they called us needing pumps that we had ready. So being an essential supplier made us feel like we were fulfilling the purpose for which we were created. Being at Taco now and working with Johnny White (Chairman) and the White family is spectacular. This is the kind of company that has the values to keep people together and work together strongly, and I'm very proud of that.
ACR: What message can you leave to the people of Latin America about what they can expect from the company in the coming years?
Cheryl: They can expect our presence everywhere. With the support of Gabriel, taking us to the shows and our team in general, who even during covid was there meeting with clients and being present; I assure you that these activities will increase. We have many intentions to expand as fast as we can. I lived in Mexico for five years and worked for that market for 22 more years, so I love this and we are committed to the growth we can have in this region.
Finally, Cheryl commented that "in the last two years we have virtually trained 62 thousand people and created 40 new ECMs, we are the industry leaders in efficiency and I assure you that we will be meeting you more frequently."
Interview in English
