Just a few days ago, Borges' 125th anniversary was celebrated at Mas de Colom in Tàrrega, which is the company's new institutional headquarters and dissemination space. "Everything that has happened to us has been a miracle," Antoni Pont commented along with his brothers. A miracle that has no age. Theirs is a saga of peasants with an austere entrepreneurial spirit from a dryland between Tàrrega and Reus. "The family spirit has marked us: the illusion of making a home. It is a feeling, a bond, a way of being, the fact of doing good for the home. Going in a straight line. Being honest even out of selfishness, as my father used to say," he recalls. Antoni Pont is part of the third generation that co-piloted the company for 50 years, promoting the internationalization, diversification and verticalization of the business, as well as the launch of the Borges brand, always faithful to the Mediterranean diet. "You have to do, teach to do, make do and let do," he emphasizes, a phrase learned from another great Catalan family saga, the Puig.
The truth of the family The businessman who has 5 children and 16 grandchildren is very clear that "family is one of the few truths in this world." However, truth often surpasses fiction and sometimes does not fully meet expectations. The third generation of the Pont family was excited for their 14 children to continue building the company, but it was not possible even though eight children did accept it. What happened then? Antoni Pont's firsthand account is very clear: "There was no clear consensus leader among them ---unlike other Catalan family businesses like Puig---. There is no single formula, you have to adapt to each circumstance. We made a heroic and drastic decision: we fired the 8 children and decided that the family would only be in the governance of the company and not in management. We opted for 100% professionalized management, withDavid Prats, who today is the CEO and president. A representative from each of the four branches of the fourth generation is now part of the board of directors." No sooner said than done, and as Ortega y Gasset says, "you are the fruit of yourself and your circumstances.""Family is one of the few truths in this world and the fourth generation is a good counterweight to the management team led by David Prats"
Cohesion is key within family businesses, but so is respecting the character of each generation and, therefore, of each child. His dream was to repeat with the fourth generation what had happened with the third generation, but future problems were sensed, and professionalization of management was chosen. In all families, beans are cooked..., says the popular proverb. Everyone knows their own business behind closed doors at home, but surely what happens is not as important as how it is faced. Always as a team. The honorary president is in this sense very happy with the work that the fourth generation is carrying out within the board of directors: "They are a good counterweight to the management team."
To understand each other, it is also worth going beyond mistakes because "learning from difficulties is an art." This phrase could also be the work of the great philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who is so liked by his friend and executiveSalvador Alemanyit's a whole philosophy of life for Antoni Pont. "There are always flaws and virtues, but no one is always right and there are things that can be fixed and others that cannot. The important thing is happiness", claims, although happiness is never a bed of roses for Sant Jordi.
The art of the three errors
In his case, the honorary president of Borges recalls three major errors that have helped the company advance: the aforementioned problems in the fourth generation of the Pont family, but also not having had more patience when it came to continuing with local nut production or having arrived late to the large Chinese market ---"we have tried to prevent the same thing from happening to us in India and we dream of developing our business in Africa"---.Three errors: generational succession, having patience with local nut production, or having arrived late to China
The key to Borges was and is diversification, the multi-product and multi-packaging strategy, the brand spirit, and not just exporting, but establishing itself in each country. From those bulk powders, these sludges... Star in the United States, Tramier in France, ITLV in Russia, or Ortalli in Italy, among other brands. All of this has made Borges a world leader in packaged olive oil by brand and one of the great leaders in nuts and olives with a presence in more than 100 countries and a total turnover exceeding 700 million euros, of which about 70% comes from the international market. "We have tried to have a local partner in each country, but always maintaining the majority. The world is very big. There are many growth opportunities despite crises and wars. We can grow geographically with products or innovation. The sky is the limit," he argues. The sky is the
We could still add many more success recipes that you can also find in his book: habits, will, value of attitude and aptitude, organization, healthy ambition, diplomacy, enthusiasm, optimism, creativity, short and long-term planning, seriousness and responsibility, being honest and honorable, being aware of one's own limitations, open-mindedness or the tripod of happiness: exercise, stress control and healthy eating.
And a fire turned into an opportunity The fire at the Borges plant in Reus on that distant March 28, 1996, deserves a separate chapter, as that tragedy represented a masterful lesson in how to turn a crisis into an unprecedented opportunity. At least that's how it looks with the clock and rearview mirror on. Antoni Pont says he also inherited from his father that "insurance is an investment and not a necessary evil." Borges then received different offers from various administrations to move its headquarters, but its crisis cabinet chose to hold an unprecedented family press conference, remove the charred materials, establish alliances, maintain production, negotiate with the Reus City Council, or make abenchmarkingof the best nut factories in the world. From there came a popular and recognized brand, the new Borges factory that has been the mirror of half of Europe, or the appointment of a group CEO to professionalize management and begin the transition to the next generation.Once the public colloquium between Antoni Pont and myself is over, it's time for questions, and some businessmen ask him for his opinion on the drought. The businessman replies that "we have to try to adapt to the circumstances because global climate change is a dramatic reality and to say otherwise is demagogic." The spark is served, and he also warns that the case of the Segarra Garrigues Canal is "a tremendous shame" considering that "the infrastructure that has cost the most money in Catalonia irrigates 70,000 hectares." "A very copious and wasted investment has been made. It has not been well managed," he snaps. The last questionThe last question ofSergi Saborit, director of theThe New Barcelona Post, has a special journalistic interest: the stock market listing and the option to sell the company. The honorary president's answer says almost everything: "There is always the option to sell. We have made our first steps in the stock market through the subsidiary Bain, but the stock market is not the panacea. It is not a solution because you are subject to rumors and the circumstances of the market and the global economy that affect the quotation. Going public can be a possibility. The vocation is clearly one of continuity and we are excited to continue being a family business.""Global climate change is a dramatic reality and to say otherwise is demagogic"
"There is always the option to sell. We have made our first steps in the stock market through the subsidiary Bain, but the stock market is not the panacea. The vocation is clearly one of continuity and we are excited to continue being a family business"
During the Borges 125th anniversary event, his daughter Ana Pont highlighted the balance between environment, social welfare, and economic growth as Borges' spearhead, while chef José Andrés claimed that "food is everything: health, life, climate change, poverty... We have to turn current problems into opportunities for wealth. Everyone is part of the solution."
A personal anecdote in MadridLet me finish this article on a personal note by recalling a small but symbolic anecdote I experienced a little over a year ago with Antoni Pont on a trip we took together to Madrid for the Esic Aster Awards, where we shared a jury. We were waiting for the AVE back to Barcelona when Antoni decided to go into a shop at Atocha station to see where Borges' products were placed. He even asked the salesperson different questions about the distribution and consumption of his products. Not knowing at any point who his interlocutor was, I believe the salesperson in question still hasn't quite understood why there were so many questions... A gesture that reflects the extent to which Antoni is an entrepreneurial businessman and aTrue Leader who throughout his entire life trajectory has always taken care of every last detail.
"The only ones who don't fail are those who do nothing. The important thing is action. You don't always get it right, of course, but in failure you learn to improve and you learn the lesson... You have to dare," he assures. That said, and as he likes to remind, looking at his watch, "punctuality is the elegance of the intelligent."
"The only ones who don't fail are those who do nothing. The important thing is action. You don't always get it right, of course, but in failure you learn to improve and you learn the lesson... You have to dare"
Thus, we conclude the first session of the True Leaders cycle, punctually and as elegantly as possible, which was attended by Jaume Alsina Calvet (Bon Àrea), Joaquim and Felip Boixareu (Irestal), Jaume Alsina Casalduero (Encofrats Alsina), Pere Cisteré (H10), Imma Amat (Amat Immobiliaris), Albert Campabadal (Grupo Sifu)
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