The Professional of the Month representing Brazil is Rodnei Peres, Export Manager at Full Gauge Controls.
By Duván Chaverra Agudelo
If you have been to one of the many HVAC trade fairs in the world, at some point you had to have seen Rodnei Peres, yes, a Brazilian, with a European prototype, who is always present in each of the stands where Full Gauge participates, either in Latin America or in other latitudes of the world.
Rodnei is a well-known professional in the sector, his great experience in issues related to refrigeration, and his charisma, have left their mark on this guild in which good relations between colleagues stand out.
For these and many other reasons, we consider Rodnei Peres, Export and Import Manager of Full Gauge, to be the Professional of the Month on behalf of Brazil; which we consider as an opportunity to learn about his beginnings in the industry, his projects, his goals and his favorite hobbies.
Its beginnings
Rodnei is originally from Rio Grande, a port city located 320 km from Porto Alegre. He started working from a young age in a sports gym, something that was quite useful for him to learn to relate to people; then he went to work with his father, who had a service company, and it was there that he began his interest in the subject of refrigeration. "He visited more than 80 schools to check and fix, from water drinkers to small conservation chambers. Around that time I started refrigerating," Rodnei said.
Then he had another experience with a bar where he continued to put into practice his relationships with people, and where he says he learned to make the best caipirinha of the summer. After this experience, and after graduating, fate led him to be in Full Gauge.
"I graduated in refrigeration, in 2000, when I sold the business and moved to Canoas (it is only 5 km from Porto Alegre) to do my mandatory internship at Full Gauge Controls. I started my activities in the Application Engineering Department, answering the queries of clients from all over Brazil and doing the technical visits / trainings. In 2010 I graduated as a Business Administrator with an emphasis in Foreign Trade. Shortly before he was already responsible for the entire export department of the company. Some time later I also began to manage the purchasing department of the company (Imports), completing everything that is related to Foreign Trade. Now my role in the company is that of Export Manager, although I am still responsible also for imports, "said our guest.
Committed to your cause
Rodnei has a team on which he relies to achieve all his objectives. He believes that teamwork is fundamental and that knowing how to manage so many people to walk in the same direction is an important challenge.
"The big challenge is to keep the team motivated, but it's every boss's challenge. I am responsible for 18 people, each with their own personality, and I with mine. Many times I function as a psychologist. Our role is not easy, only those who are there know it. Every day is challenging mainly because it is a technology company. There is a lot of clash of opinions between people from the same department and a lot between other departments. That is why it is necessary to have everything very clear to filter ideas and plan actions. My team accompanies me in my decisions because we always make them together most of the time.
Along with these challenges, our Professional of the Month also has projects and goals with a desire to fulfill: "I never stopped preparing. Since my graduation I achieved a postgraduate degree in the area of marketing and many other minor refresher courses. I want to study another profession, something like Architecture, also to be a teacher, because I love to teach. I also want to spend a period in the United States, hopefully by Full Gauge, because that can happen since we just started our operations there. I sent a person from my team to start that challenge, but even by the policies implemented in many Latin American countries we are increasingly being led to that path."
Another important topic to highlight is to know what are the reasons why Rodnei considers that he is recognized in this industry: commitment, respect for people and his ethics, lists them as the main reasons.
"My family always educated me by showing that respect is one of the main virtues of the human being, be it respect for animals in terms of natural resources, for example. And that serves me for private and professional life. Unfortunately there are many lies in trade negotiations, due to lack of ethics, and respect. And I'm proud to have always been able to look into the eyes of my clients speaking truths. Equally, the changes in our segment are dynamic and require quick decision making in negotiations eventually already cast, such as a price increase of a supplier, which forces us to raise prices. Even so, I am as transparent as possible with everyone to maintain the reputation and trust of the company but also mine, as a person, because tomorrow or later I may be working somewhere else and I will always have the respect of everyone." commented our guest.
Your vision of the industry in Brazil
Rodnei is in a constantly evolving market where customers demand new solutions for their refrigeration sector. That is clear, also visualizing that times of crisis can not be an obstacle to move forward: "We are very clear that threats are our allies, because we need to be very attentive, enough to anticipate and offer customers new technologies. Our vision is that in refrigeration, above all, there are no threats as such, but there are new incoming technologies generating new demands."
On the subject of electronic controls, Rodnei makes an interesting analysis: "We live a process without return, because the demand increases more and more, while the demand for mechanical controls has been decreasing year by year, and what is the reason? The price ratio between the two already explains the change and the energy cost and energy efficiency ratio definitely answer that. We also enter Industry 4.0, where the human being makes fewer and fewer decisions. We are putting in place the controls to process the information and make decisions about how the teams will behave better. That does not mean that the human being will be obsolete, on the contrary he will have a role of greater management over the team, since it will be necessary to parameterize the plants. In addition, we are achieving that remote access to the facilities helps us with more data regarding the equipment and also place all the management on the same system, with the greatest objective of energy savings.
And that technological reality, of remote monitoring, is seen throughout Latin America, mainly in countries like Colombia, Chile and Uruguay."
The family side of the Rodnei
Rodnei is currently married and has a 10-year-old son (from his first marriage). He is an animal lover, today they have cats but soon he will move to also have puppies. He is a football fan, a loyal follower of Gremio de Porto Alegre, he is aware of everything the club does and attends the stadium whenever he can. In addition, his son plays soccer, accompanies him to training, says he is a player with a future, and supports him in all the decisions he makes.
With his wife he learned the art of jogging, something he practices at least three times a week, and does not leave aside the gym, constantly maintaining his routines, because this is a practice that can not be missing in his life. "I also love sitting in my comfortable armchair, with my wife, watching a good movie or series, with a very bitter mate (typical of Rio Grande do Sul) or a beer, if it's a weekend."
Travel is his other passion: "The idea of getting to know other countries and languages was a stimulus in my life. I grew up watching a TV show called Globo Repórter, which until today is spent every Friday night, after the famous Brazilian novel. Because it was a program of reports, very often they exhibited other countries to show other cultures, and that awakened a dream, as a challenge at the same time, of never being in a comfort zone forever and running after my goals, in addition, of course, to be able to know as many places as possible. Today, for work or vacation with my family, I have met more than 30 countries, from all continents. And whenever I have the opportunity, I go diving to relax from the heavy daily routine," Rodnei said.
So if you stop by a Full Gauge booth, do not hesitate to say hello to Rodnei, for sure he will attend you as you deserve.
"Today I am very proud to see everything I achieved, everything I helped the company conquer, as I started in the export department of Full Gauge Controls together with my directors and team, and together we consolidated Full Gauge Controls in many parts of the world. Fortunately, the world is very big, so there is still so much more to do and conquer."
