Chile
Roberto de Andraca
- Chair, Cap S.A. (Steel)
Born Santiago, Chile, 1934. BSc. Commercial Engineering, Universidad de Chile (1959).
“[I]n 1998–2000, when a severe steel price depression developed and 30% of steel companies went bankrupt. At the time we already ranked among the 20% lowest-cost steel companies.”
Summary
Roberto de Andraca charts the corporate history of CAP in steel and mining in Chile and follows its evolution from a private-state partnership to a fully nationalized company in 1970 to its eventual privatization at the end of the 1980s. He describes in depth a period of notable change between 1978 and 1987, when De Castro implemented extreme regulations that prevented companies from becoming indebted to the government. He also notes how CAP’s business culture was influenced by the company's expansion into Asia, especially Japan. He raises CAP's early adoption of an employee shareholder model, it’s commitment to lasting business relationships as opposed to one-off deals, and the company’s long-term vision, which included environmental commitments.
Additional Resources
- Empresas CAP—1994 [HBS Case]
- Empresas Cap Archive box 1122, Tape number 5280. HBS videotape available at: http://video.hbs.edu
- Empresas Cap Archive Box 1173, Tape number 12273. HBS videotape available at: http://video.hbs.edu
- Danny Monsálvez Araneda, Paola Jaña Contreras, and Patricio Ruiz Godoy, “La influencia norteamericana en el proyecto siderúrgico chileno: La compañía de Acero del Pacífico (Cap) y la usina Huachipato,”Universum: Revista de Humanidades y Ciencias Sociales 2, no. 29 (2014): 203-219
- Augusto Millán Urzúa, Historia de la minería del hierro en Chile. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Universitaria, 1999
- Antonia Echenique and Concepción Rodríguez, Historia de la Compañía de Acero del Pacífico S.A., vol. 2, Cincuenta años de desarrollo siderúrgico en Chile, 1946-1996. Santiago: CAP, 1996
- Roberto de Andraca et al., Our Common Enterprise: A Business Perspective on Sustainable Development in Latin America; editor, Ernst A. Brugger. Business Council for Sustainable Development, 1992
- Antonia Echenique and Concepción Rodríguez, Historia de la Compañía de Acero del Pacífico S.A., vol. 1, Huachipato: consolidación del proceso siderúrgico chileno, 1905-1950 Santiago: CAP, 1990
- Antonia C. Echenique and Concepción G. Rodríguez, Historia De La Compañía De Acero Del Pacífico S.A. (Huachipato: Consolidación Del Proceso Siderúrgico Chileno, 1905–1950). Compañía de Acero del Pacífico, 1990
- Enrique Errázuriz, Rodolfo Fortunatti, and Cristián Bustamante, Huachipato, 1947-1988: De empresa pública a empresa privada. Santiago: Programa de Economía del Trabajo, 1989
- Charles H. Andrews, “The Economic Performance of the Compañía de Acero del Pacífico, S.A.,” Bureau of Business Research, University of Texas at Austin, 1970
- Carlos Álvarez Cáceres, Las empresas semifiscales: Con un estudio particular de la Compañía de Acero del Pacífico. Santiago: Editorial Universitaria, 1962
Interview Citation Format
"Interview with Roberto de Andraca, interviewed by Andrea Lluch, May 27, 2008, Creating Emerging Markets Project, Baker Library Historical Collections, Harvard Business School, http://www.hbs.edu/creating-emerging-markets/."