20
de Desembre
de
2016 - 03:57
Given the curiosity a surname like Grifols awakens, it is difficult to imagine what family meetings must be like, in which fathers, sons, nephews and grandsons share their business interests at such a high level. We are talking about a company with HQs in the United States, the Czech Republic, Germany... and even Argentina, and which until September recorded a net profit of some 406.1 million euros, 1.1% more than in the same period last year. The curiosity doubles when we realise that the company, and therefore the family, will in 2017 see a change of generation at the top.
At the end of the day, Grífols is also a family. In fact, the current chairman and CEO, Víctor Grífols Roura, began in the family firm helping his father move furniture and files to the factory in Parets del Vallès that the firm opened in 1972 and that has remained open ever since. "When building was finished it seemed to me like an infinite facility. It was hard to imagine that one day we would fill those large warehouses, but after nine years there wasn't enough room," says Grífols Roura in the e-book Cuando un sueño se cumple (Grifols, S.A., 2015), which recounts the business history of this profoundly entrepreneurial family.
The family, which has generated curiosity and envy in equal parts (above all because of the extensive assets it has built up, with the current chairman being the third Catalan and 12th Spaniard on the Forbes list, with 2.6 billion euros), will see a significant change in January when -as confirmed by the company on Monday- the younger generation takes over. Executive responsibility will pass to Raimon Grífols Roura (brother of the current chairman) and Víctor Grífols Deu (son), as joint general managers from January 1 2017. Víctor Grífols Roura will stay on as non-executive chairman of the board. Generally wary of talking to the media, the current head of the firm explained the reasons for his stepping down at an event held recently at the Cercle d'Economia de Barcelona: "I think it is time, the young people are well-prepared and today, given how the world is, it is hard to say whether experience is a benefit or not. I do not feel tired but I do not think it is my place to continue," he said.
Accustomed to change
The executive also explained how his father delegated responsibility for the firm when he was 67. "He left it to me, but his last patent was when he was 90 and I intend to continue doing the same. I will get in the way as little as possible but I have no desire to go on for ever, the young people have to have their chance," he insisted. He took over from his father, Víctor Grífols Lucas, in 2001, becoming the third generation of the family at the head of the company.
Now it is his brother and son who will become joint CEOs, a new position for four hands to take the reins of the project. Although Raimon Grífols Roura insisted -during the same event at the Cercle d'Economia- that "he is passing a hot potato to us," from the day his brother told them of his decision, "we said we were ready to take on the challenge." For his part, Víctor Grífols Deu recognised that the hand-over had come "a little earlier than I had expected but I am delighted to take it on, without any fear." His son is convinced that "Victor will not leave on January 2; no doubt he will still be around and will help us."
A company life
The parents and grandparents of the current chairman founded the original laboratory in 1923 as the Institut Central d'Anàlisis Clíniques, Bacteriològics i Químics, which acted as both the family dwelling and workspace. In fact, the company says that on the patio, doctor Grífols Roig and his wife, Magdalena Lucas, bred rabbits and guinea pigs to experiment on.
The natural successor to these laboratories was the current Grífols, founded by doctor Grífols Roig and his sons, José Antonio and Víctor, in November 1958, during the postwar period, in the city of Barcelona. Initially it was devoted only to clinical analysis, manufacturing and doing blood transfusions, but it was research that allowed them to grow.
The first Spanish penicillin
Research has been a constant in the history of the company. In fact, they created the first freeze-dryer of blood plasma in 1943 and in 1946, Grífols Lucas went to London to study the work of doctor Fleming on penicillin to turn the company into the first producer of penicillin in Spain.
Also in this entrepreneurial spirit, for example, in 1945 they founded the first private blood and plasma bank in Spain, the Hemobanc, which six years later had 1,300 registered donors.
13,000 employees around the world
The companies that in the 1960s made up Grifols, Laboratoris Grifols, Gri-Cel and Dade-Grifols, together had 145 employees. In 1975, three years after the new factory in Parets del Vallès went into operation, the staff had risen to more than 300 employees and, between 1979 and 1987, the staff remained stable at 455 employees. In 1987, the number of employees had risen above 400, and in 1997 there were 1,155 employees after the acquisition of the Alpha subsidiaries–US company that was a leader in the blood plasma sector that had passed into Japanese hands- in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy, and the creation of Grifols International provided the gateway to international markets.
In the book published by the company, which provides exhaustive information about the firm, they refer to themselves as rare birds: "This is a company that trades on the stock market, with a presence in 25 countries and that provides work for 13,000 people, but continues to be a family firm with personality."
At the end of the day, Grífols is also a family. In fact, the current chairman and CEO, Víctor Grífols Roura, began in the family firm helping his father move furniture and files to the factory in Parets del Vallès that the firm opened in 1972 and that has remained open ever since. "When building was finished it seemed to me like an infinite facility. It was hard to imagine that one day we would fill those large warehouses, but after nine years there wasn't enough room," says Grífols Roura in the e-book Cuando un sueño se cumple (Grifols, S.A., 2015), which recounts the business history of this profoundly entrepreneurial family.
The family, which has generated curiosity and envy in equal parts (above all because of the extensive assets it has built up, with the current chairman being the third Catalan and 12th Spaniard on the Forbes list, with 2.6 billion euros), will see a significant change in January when -as confirmed by the company on Monday- the younger generation takes over. Executive responsibility will pass to Raimon Grífols Roura (brother of the current chairman) and Víctor Grífols Deu (son), as joint general managers from January 1 2017. Víctor Grífols Roura will stay on as non-executive chairman of the board. Generally wary of talking to the media, the current head of the firm explained the reasons for his stepping down at an event held recently at the Cercle d'Economia de Barcelona: "I think it is time, the young people are well-prepared and today, given how the world is, it is hard to say whether experience is a benefit or not. I do not feel tired but I do not think it is my place to continue," he said.
Accustomed to change
The executive also explained how his father delegated responsibility for the firm when he was 67. "He left it to me, but his last patent was when he was 90 and I intend to continue doing the same. I will get in the way as little as possible but I have no desire to go on for ever, the young people have to have their chance," he insisted. He took over from his father, Víctor Grífols Lucas, in 2001, becoming the third generation of the family at the head of the company.
Now it is his brother and son who will become joint CEOs, a new position for four hands to take the reins of the project. Although Raimon Grífols Roura insisted -during the same event at the Cercle d'Economia- that "he is passing a hot potato to us," from the day his brother told them of his decision, "we said we were ready to take on the challenge." For his part, Víctor Grífols Deu recognised that the hand-over had come "a little earlier than I had expected but I am delighted to take it on, without any fear." His son is convinced that "Victor will not leave on January 2; no doubt he will still be around and will help us."
A company life
The parents and grandparents of the current chairman founded the original laboratory in 1923 as the Institut Central d'Anàlisis Clíniques, Bacteriològics i Químics, which acted as both the family dwelling and workspace. In fact, the company says that on the patio, doctor Grífols Roig and his wife, Magdalena Lucas, bred rabbits and guinea pigs to experiment on.
The natural successor to these laboratories was the current Grífols, founded by doctor Grífols Roig and his sons, José Antonio and Víctor, in November 1958, during the postwar period, in the city of Barcelona. Initially it was devoted only to clinical analysis, manufacturing and doing blood transfusions, but it was research that allowed them to grow.
The first Spanish penicillin
Research has been a constant in the history of the company. In fact, they created the first freeze-dryer of blood plasma in 1943 and in 1946, Grífols Lucas went to London to study the work of doctor Fleming on penicillin to turn the company into the first producer of penicillin in Spain.
Also in this entrepreneurial spirit, for example, in 1945 they founded the first private blood and plasma bank in Spain, the Hemobanc, which six years later had 1,300 registered donors.
13,000 employees around the world
The companies that in the 1960s made up Grifols, Laboratoris Grifols, Gri-Cel and Dade-Grifols, together had 145 employees. In 1975, three years after the new factory in Parets del Vallès went into operation, the staff had risen to more than 300 employees and, between 1979 and 1987, the staff remained stable at 455 employees. In 1987, the number of employees had risen above 400, and in 1997 there were 1,155 employees after the acquisition of the Alpha subsidiaries–US company that was a leader in the blood plasma sector that had passed into Japanese hands- in Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy, and the creation of Grifols International provided the gateway to international markets.
In the book published by the company, which provides exhaustive information about the firm, they refer to themselves as rare birds: "This is a company that trades on the stock market, with a presence in 25 countries and that provides work for 13,000 people, but continues to be a family firm with personality."