The column: A start-up looking for a future

It was early 1990 and Alejandro had just finished his undergraduate degree in a recognized institution in Peru. The Column was a cement distribution company that he had created with his cousin Alberto, and a good friend, Cesar. Alejandro's dad Don Pedro had started working when he was seventeen years old. He was now a Board Member of Capital Cement, and everyone respected his opinion. Between 1943 and1976, situation in Peru was marked by a demographic expansion, exacerbated by a process of internal migration to Lima. The migration also caused the development of slum neighborhoods, which in 1981 represented the 25.5% of the population of Lima. There were only five cement factories in Lima. Of these, Capital Cement was the main company that catered to Lima market, which would become the future supplier of The Column. The three partners who created The Column had initially invested US$12,000. Alejandro, the eldest of the three, enjoyed reading and writing.