By: Héctor Oswaldo Gómez Pérez
In Yohanna Alzamora's native Barranquilla, the sun on Colombia's north coast hits harder. In that region of the country nothing more suitable than a good air conditioning, to make the heat that invites you to take a bath in one of the beaches of the Caribbean Sea. In that city, where one of the most important and colorful festivities of the Andean country is celebrated, the Carnival of Barranquilla, our professional of the month was born on October 27, 1973.
While in some families the artistic or sporting vocation is transmitted from generation to generation, it is even not uncommon to meet several good singers or a couple of good footballers in some of them, in the case of Yohanna the inheritance would come from the side of the air conditioning and refrigeration industry. His grandfather is a pioneer of this industry in Colombia and his legacy seemed to be a matter of genetics.
"I remember with joy how my grandfather, Hugo Armella Munch, founder of the first air conditioning factory in Colombia, and my father Manuel Alzamora López taught me to love this industry, to feel passion for service and to give myself heart and soul to our work. In them I found two great teachers who with their example guided me and motivated me to continue with their legacy, "said our professional when remembering her family and her beginnings in the industry.
Alzamora is the general manager of Serviparamo, a company born in Barranquilla itself, which today has 15 branches in Colombia and has a team of 675 people.
The house business
For Yohanna Alzamora, the industry's own terminology has never been strange to her. That is why when he arrived at the family business in 1991, and with only 18 years, he already knew the basics of the business. His baccalaureate studies were carried out at the Parrish College and the professionals, of business administration, at the University of the North; precisely his beginning in Serviparamo coincided with the beginning of university life. Thus, between courses, he combined the academy with work in the family business which allowed him to get to know it from beginning to end and from all possible perspectives. He started in the customer service department, and later went through the accounting, technical area, works, human resources and commercial, before assuming general management.
Among the freshest memories of the first years in the sector is 1997, a season that in his opinion was loaded with very negative consequences for several Colombian companies: "in 1997 Colombia was living a complicated moment for its economy, which was a threat to companies in the industry and that in effect ended up affecting a large number of companies in the country. While this was a difficult time, I knew it was a great opportunity for the development of the company if we managed to expand our portfolio of services and products," said Yohanna.
It was precisely after this economic storm that thanks to its customers, collaborators and suppliers, Serviparamo began to expand throughout the Colombian territory. In 1998, the company began to open offices in the main cities of the country until completing the current 15 branches: Cali, Bogotá, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Riohacha, Valledupar, Bucaramanga, Cúcuta, Pereira and Cerrejón, in addition to the pioneer office in Barranquilla.
In this way Alzamora referred to her family, the nuclear one, and that in which the company she runs has become for her: "My family, like the family of my co-workers are the engine that sustains and drives me. It is a blessing to have my parents Manuel and Jacqueline who have been my cornerstone, my sister Michelle who is my great ally, best friend and co-worker and my 3 younger siblings, Juliana, Manuel Julián and Jackie who are my hope and promise of a better future. Together with them and the family of our collaborators we integrate Serviparamo S.A."
Alzamora in the industry
For the professional of the month, success in her work is closely related to teamwork. "I focus on supporting my team, visiting the works we are developing and detecting business opportunities," Alzamora said, noting that on no day of the week are their working days less than 10 or 12 hours.
For this business administrator, Latin America is a market that offers many opportunities and challenges for the air conditioning and refrigeration business. "Latin America is that great hope that is still undeveloped to its full potential." In his view, our region has great opportunities in the implementation of technological developments, in the introduction of the latest advances in the industry and in the possibility of generating cultures in our countries around quality and environmental conservation.
"Integrating more as a region must be a goal, as the world of globalization invites us to think about how to make alliances maximizing our strengths. Our industry has a lot to do, despite having traveled an interesting path through which we have learned lessons that have remained part of history," Alzamora said, pointing to the following as the great challenges of the industry today: "aggressive programs of energy efficiency, air quality, environmental conservation, achievements in industrial safety and occupational health.
With regard to Colombia, Alzamora believes that the great development of the air conditioning and refrigeration industry has occurred in the last 5 years, accompanied by a growing demand, increasingly demanding customers, a technology that constantly evolves, more comprehensive services and a greater awareness of what has to do with energy saving and environmental conservation. He also said that "the contribution of the consultants of our country has been very valuable in terms of raising the standard of the projects and thus having engineering works at the height of the best in the region. Regulation in our country is still almost non-existent at certain levels, but this is already changing for the benefit of the industry in Colombia."
Although the keys to success are many depending on the type of person who thinks about it, for Alzamora the success of the company he leads is based on the following aspects: faith in God, determination and perseverance in the achievement of goals, obsession with development and training and permanent preparation of all employees. Precisely on the latter he said that "there are currently few educational institutions specialized in Latin America in the training of technicians and professionals in the trade, so in companies we have to take the flag of education and training. Over the years, the demand for a specialized workforce has led to a greater supply of skills available and I am sure that it will be a trend that will increase progressively."
