La revista The Business Year entrevista al sr. Mícalo Bermúdez, como Presidente del Parque Industrial Zona Franca Tamboril, sobre empleos para los habitantes de Santiago, expansión de zonas francas para nuevos clientes y el efecto positivo del CAFTA-DR.
Mícalo Bermúdez studied Economics at Hofstra University, US, and graduated from Pontificie Universidad Catolica Madre y Maestra in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He has over 25 years of experience in the free zone industry and shoe manufacturing sector. Currently he is President of the Tamboril Free Zone Park, and Vice-President of both the Board of Directors of the National Banreservas Bank and of the Editora Listin Diario. At the same time, he is a well-recognized sponsor and promoter of sport academies for kids and professional teams. Mr. Bermúdez is an active member of the new generation of business leaders of the Cibao region.
How does Tamboril Free Zone Park complement other free zones in the Dominican Republic, and what is its contribution to the socioeconomic development of Santiago?
We have 5,800 employees at the moment, with a goal of getting to 6,000 by the end of 2014. This number of people contributes approximately Ps100 million a month in revenues, salaries, and expenses to the Santiago province. Our workers are, on average, 22 years old. Around 55% are women, and we have been growing at a rate of 50% every year for the past four years, mainly as a result of the shoe industry. We have been expanding our capacity in construction, and currently have 23 buildings, and more than 93,000 sqm in area terms.
What is the importance of hosting companies such as Taiwanese Hong Fu, the producer of Vans?
Having a corporation like Hong Fu as a contractor for Vans or the VF Corporation has caused a dramatic change in our business, for a variety of reasons. First of all, it is the first time there has been a shoe investment project in the Dominican Republic since the country signed the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). We participated in the CAFTA-DR negotiations, representing the private sector, specifically the shoe sector. I had the opportunity to be part of the committee representing the country, thanks to the Minister of Industry at the time, Sonia Guzmán. She did a tremendous job in negotiating the agreement, by including the private sector as an important player in the negotiation. By doing this, we acquired a regulation, which is called “a flexible rule of origin,» which means that we can make shoes in the Dominican Republic from raw materials coming from any part of the world. We only need what is called “simple transformation,» which means that if we buy materials from any part of the world, including the Far East, just by transforming them into a finished product, the merchandise can claim Dominican origin. By doing that we received interest from companies from the Far East, and also from the US. We can offer a competitive labor rate, a skilled workforce, proximity to the US market and, of course, duty free status. The Hong Fu Group is the largest vulcanized shoe producer in the world, with more than 14 factories in three countries and more than 60,000 employees. This is bringing the attention of other companies to the Dominican Republic.
Becoming a strategic partner with a company like this has been important for us. We are a partner here helping them to set up the facility, training the personnel, controlling the costs, and working with the technical staff. We are involved in the logistics of bringing materials in and shipping products to the US. We also help them gain duty-free status because you have to apply and receive certification stating that the product is made in the Dominican Republic, in compliance with the CAFTA-DR requirements.