Excerpt from article titled Selling goods overseas vital for local economy
By Jose Alvarado Vega

Services-oriented professionals, such as civil engineers, architects, construction managers and distributors of manufacturing and construction equipment, have the best chances of being competitive in other markets, according to Sandro Murtas, director of International Trade for the Puerto Rico Small Business Development Network.

Last February, in a previous Star report, Murtas said that associating with large companies in target countries may be more effective than going at it alone.

Such is the case with Aireko Management Services, a 40-year old construction management company based in Guaynabo. The company recently obtained a $7 million contract from Wyeth Laboratories to supervise expansions of its plant in Mexico City. The pharmaceutical company is a local client in Aireko.

“Wyeth helped us get into Mexico,” says Josen Rossi, president of Aireko and vice president of the Puerto Rico Export Council. “We are encouraged to take our business there because the country is a member of NAFTA and has brought many of its standards up to U.S. levels.”

Aireko plans to use its recently opened office in México to bring in more business from that country, Rossi says. The company has managed expansions of pharmaceutical plants and construction of health facilities in the Dominican Republic and U.S. Virgin Islands.
Professional firms will reap the benefits of continental trade agreements, as many Latin American countries will seek to upgrade their infrastructure, according to Rossi.

“Given that the countries will have to adopt environmental policies similar to the States, they will be looking for engineers who know how to write up environmental impact statements and design treatment plants,” he says. “But we have to keep lobbying Washington to make sure those markets are really opened up, or else those opportunities won’t materialize.”
Aireko, which employs 40 engineers, had $80 million in contracts during 2002, up from $60 million in 2000. Exported services in 2002 accounted for $4 million.

The situation in Mexico contrasts with that of the Dominican Republic, which Rossi says has a “riskier” business climate because its institutions lack direction.

“We have not sought contracts there because there is no cooperation between politicians and business leaders to provide security,” he says.
The challenge for local construction company will be to master the latest management systems that are used globally, such as turnkey contracting, Rossi says.

“The traditional design-bidding-changing orders system still predominates here,” he says. “But we need to adopt alternative construction systems, such as the turnkey method, which contains cost guarantees that are required by international financing entities such as the International Monetary Fund.”