{"id":66569,"date":"2016-04-12T12:42:09","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T16:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oncubamagazine.com\/?p=66569"},"modified":"2016-04-12T12:47:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T16:47:00","slug":"cubas-solution-to-chevrolet-owner-needs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/economy\/cuban-economy\/cubas-solution-to-chevrolet-owner-needs\/","title":{"rendered":"Cuba’s Solution to Chevrolet Owner Needs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Placetas is a small city located almost at the exact center of Cuba. Like in any other town in the country, American cars which are more than 60 years old are vital for local transportation.<\/p>\n

A small private workshop specializing in Chevrolets has seized an important market segment providing a very rare service in Cuba: they manufacture spare parts for that brand.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, Pablo Manso changed his work as a carpenter to become a panel beater. \u201cI would repair anything from cars to refrigerators. But manufacturing steel parts is not the same,\u201d he shouts while he tries to make his voice heard in the noisy workshop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the beginning, we did all kinds of jobs, but we\u2019ve gradually moved towards specialization,\u201d he adds without interrupting what he\u2019s doing because \u201ctime is money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe build the interior panels of doors, floors and trunks, fenders, rear axles\u2026 basically any part for Chevrolet \u201955, \u201956 and \u201957. This is the line of work I like, the one I really enjoy,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In Villa Clara there are no state-run companies taking care of this kind of production in Placetas, and so far, no other dealer has a plate beater licence in that area, according to information provided by the Labour and Social Security Municipal Head Office.<\/p>\n

\"chapistero-almendr\u00f3n\"<\/a>
Pedro, the founder of the business. Photo: Grether Saura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI live in Havana, and I come here because there\u2019s nothing like this place in any other part of Cuba. Here you can find any part you need,\u201d says Rogelio Gonzalez, one of the clients waiting for a part at the workshop.<\/p>\n

Carlos Bernal from a nearby province, Sancti Spiritus, has also visited this shop more than once: \u201cEverything they make here is good quality, guaranteed. You place your order with a phone call, and they let you know when it\u00b4s ready. If a client is not satisfied with a part, the shop covers the price of the fuel they used to get here. That has never happened to me in the many years I\u2019ve used their services,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get orders from all over the country, including orders from foreigners,\u201d adds Manso. \u201cOne of my clients, Juan Madiedo, is the owner of a store in Miami that sells parts like the ones we make here. He came here once with Randy Irwin, Joe Whitaker and Kevin Lo, mangers of Empresas Muscle Car GT, Automobile Parts and Moulds, and Manufacturers of Steel Automotive Bodies and Component, from Taiwan\u201d.<\/p>\n

Manso says that the visitors were very surprised when they saw the kind of quality parts that these men are able to produce in such a small space, with only a few people, and using makeshift machines.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had almost nothing when I started many years ago, and the kind of machine you need to build these parts is not sold in Cuba. It\u2019s not possible to buy one today either, when the need for a national wholesale market for entrepreneurs has become more pressing,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the only option I had was to build my own machines. I built a cutting machine to cut metal, and another machine to shape steel plates. With time, I was able to put together a press that can do different things, cut, bend, die parts. It\u2019s a multifunctional machine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe workshop has grown, and the quality has improved since that first time I held a hammer and a torch in my hands to do my first jobs. Today, almost all the parts are completely or partially die-formed, and we use more modern and efficient welding technology, only when it\u2019s needed.\u201d<\/p>\n

We do this interview in the presence of a Chevrolet \u201955 that is almost fully assembled.<\/p>\n

\"taller-almendr\u00f3n\"<\/a>
The workshop. Photo: Grether Saura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI\u2019m the manager and the receptionist,\u201d says Yodarcy Rodriguez, his wife, in a fake solemn tone. \u201cI keep the books, pay the employees\u2019 wages, pay our taxes on time. I see that all the paperwork is in order, and I also take customers’ orders, both at the workshop and over the phone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we fall behind with the orders because we simply get too many. There\u2019s so much work that we\u2019ve been fixing our own car for 9 years now. We\u2019ve replaced almost all the old parts,\u201d she adds pointing to the beautiful car that is still parked at the shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone can see that this car is ready to roll, but my dad is a perfectionist,\u201d says Christian Manso, they couple\u2019s son.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt won\u2019t hit the streets until the smallest detail is ready,\u201d he adds making fun of his father\u2019s thoroughness. \u201cIt won\u2019t move from this workshop until it looks exactly the way it did the day it was dispatched from the Chevrolet factory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Placetas is a small city located almost at the exact center of Cuba. Like in any other town in the country, American cars which are more than 60 years old are vital for local transportation. A small private workshop specializing in Chevrolets has seized an important market segment providing a very rare service in Cuba: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3353,"featured_media":66576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13904],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[33897,12855],"class_list":["post-66569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cuban-economy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCuba's Solution to Chevrolet Owner Needs | OnCubaNews English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oncubanews.com\/en\/cuba\/economy\/cuban-economy\/cubas-solution-to-chevrolet-owner-needs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cuba's Solution to Chevrolet Owner Needs | OnCubaNews English\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Placetas is a small city located almost at the exact center of Cuba. 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