Sergio Huerta 35 Years of Miselec. By José Martín Rodriguez. I had the pleasure of speaking with Sergio Huerta Arnros, president of Grupo Misilec, who kindly shared details about his life and career as an entrepreneur, demonstrating that coming from a humble background doesn't always condemn you to success. Sergio has a success story like many, or perhaps very few, in this border region. Sergio, please tell me a little about your childhood and your family. How many siblings do you have? We were eight siblings, now there are seven of us, for boys and four girls, for boys and three girls left. And well, we spent part of our childhood in Mexico City. When we returned to Juarez, we came back by train. It was four or five days, which was a long time for us. Imagine eight siblings on a train. It was chaos with all the playing and my parents yelling at us trying to keep us in line. What did your parents do for a living? Let me tell you, my dad was a hard worker. He looked for odd jobs to support us. His job was actually in Mexico City. He worked as a security guard at the INPI, National Institute for the Protection of Children. But he was always looking for ways to earn money, and he taught us how to do it too. At that time, we lived in a warehouse that lent us a soccer field, and all eight of us' siblings lived there in a warehouse, and on the weekend we helped my mom set up the brazier and the griddle to sell food. My older brother and I would paint the field with lime very early in the morning, so that when the players arrived, both fields would already be painted. How was your return to Ciudad Juarez? When we returned to Ciudad Juarez, my dad looked for something to do as soon as we arrived and decided to sell burritos. We lived in a house or warehouse there on 5 de Febrero, and we organized ourselves to sell burritos at the market in the mornings, and they put us in the schools in the afternoons. In 1967, my dad started going to the racetrack because he was told there was a way to make a living as a lottery ticket seller. So, in the morning we sold burritos, in the afternoon we went to school, and at night my older brother and I went to the racetrack following my dad. I started running errands at the racetrack. Soon Mr. Quayar, who was in charge of sales at the candy store, offered me a job. He said, What if I give you a box and you go around selling candy? And I started selling candy in the corridors of the racetrack. I finished elementary school on that schedule, selling burritos in the morning and going to the racetrack from Wednesday to Sunday. Back then there were two races Saturday and Sunday: horses in the morning and greyhounds at night. That was my childhood. Was it a difficult childhood, or was it just the daily routine of any child? It was fun for me. I enjoyed my whole childhood that way. I got used to enjoying what I did, working that way. I enjoyed selling candy, I liked running errands, they'd give me a placetta, and I got used to earning money. I always had money in my pocket. I always gave half of what I earned to my mom, and with my half, I'd buy myself clothes or whatever I needed. I finished my primary education at age 11, and went to study business at the Two Nations Institute from 1971 to 1974. With your job generating income and your business career, did you think about continuing your studies? Yes, I wanted to continue studying. After finishing my private accountant degree, I went to the commercial banking school, which was in the Hidalgo neighborhood, and I studied high school there. I remember they charged a significant amount for tuition. I couldn't pay it. I asked them, how can we do this? They told me to come teach business classes, and that's how I paid for my high school education. When was it, when did you decide, or how did the idea come to you that I'm going to be an accountant? You know I've always loved learning. I'm very good with numbers and I thought I'd like to be an accountant. I loved the business degree, the commercial calculations, the accounting itself, I liked all of that, it was just the basics. The private accountant degree was really what we call an accounting assistant today. At the racetrack, I was given the opportunity to assist each accounting department. There I also learned about income, expenses, payroll, payments, I learned practically all of accounting. As a business owner, I learned to analyze financial statements. Career path? I didn't really make it, I finished high school, I got married at 18, I kept working, but with marriage it was more difficult, always working two shifts. Why are you leaving the racetrack? Seeing the decline of the racetrack in 1979, I accepted a job offered by Carlos Esnera as office manager for KIR Alimentos, where I was going to be very well paid. I left the racetrack, now almost in tears after so many years there. KIR Alimentos decided to close in 1980, and I started looking for work in the Macaladoras. I didn't succeed because I didn't have any education. Although I had all the experience in warehouses, it wasn't possible. What did you do? I went to ask Mr. Sapien, who owned the Erico Sapien hardware stores for a job. He opened the Azteca hardware store, but the salary was low, so I looked for another opportunity. During one of my cable deliveries, Mr. Juan Ortega from Condimex contacted me. He said, I need a warehouse worker. I accepted the job, and four months later, Condemex Juarez closed. Two months later they reopened, and he hired me as a warehouse worker. But since there were few customers, I started selling ads in the yellow pages, and my business grew significantly. But I wanted more, so I began looking for Macaladoras to sell magnet wire to. I started knocking on doors, and I began to make progress. I was already the office manager at Condomex. They brought in engineer managers from Mexico City, Celaya, and Guadalajara to be the managers here, but they didn't like the work, so they appointed me branch manager. In 1989, I started with the desire to do something different. With my brother-in-law and my dad, who were unemployed, we opened a business called Servi Industrias de Juarez. I helped them out however I could. I thought, well, if this business sells so much and so fast, it can't be that complicated. In 1990, I heard the CEO say, I need everyone who isn't an electromechanical engineer to leave the company this year. I got worried and thought, I'd better leave. I said, why am I giving so much money to Carlos Slim when I can start my own business? And so it was. I submitted my resignation in September of 90, but they didn't accept it. By September of 90, I had already bought a piece of land, and I started building a warehouse on Fidel Avala Avenue. And that's how Miscellanea Electroindustrial was born. With the warehouse ready, now it just needed to be filled. Fortunately, I received a lot of support from Laden Casa, an electrical conductor company. Their manager told me almost as a side note, I know you didn't get the distribution deal with Condomex. No, well no, what do you need? I'm already ahead of the game. I'm going to offer you a consignment. Tell me what you need. I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to fill the warehouse with cable. I'm talking about 20 million pesos worth of cable these days. I started promoting and working with that brand, I developed it, I started selling a lot, and I started selling a lot of conductors, but we knew that conductors alone weren't enough, so I went to Mexico City to knock on doors. I needed Iron Pipe. I was selling Asinox, but I needed a leading brand. Like our YMCO. Fortunately, Mr. Ruben Mitchkney, who is the owner in May of '91, I told him, Sir, here is the plan of my warehouse. I was the manager of Condomex for so many years, I am going to open my business. He asked me, How much investment do you have? I just invested in the warehouse, but I'm really eager to work. He told me. I'm going to trust you. And sent me two trailers full of pipe. I told him, No, I've never handled pipes before. He said, It doesn't matter, I'll send you what you need. If you don't sell it, you can return it to me in 30 days. They'll need to do an inventory, and you can pay me for what you've sold within the next 30 days. I developed the brand, it went quite well. I started selling a lot, and to this day I continue with the brand. I've been meaning to ask you, Sergio, where did the concept of the miscellaneous come from? I remember a place that almost only lives on in our memories. The Haberdashery General store, where you went for a pencil, tax, glue, scissors, yarn, construction paper, colored pencils, candy toys, little gifts, gift wrapping, guitar strings, and so many other things. It was about saying, I have everything. Since I already had experience with Servi Industrias de Juarez, I supplied whatever the Macquilladora asked for. I'd say, I'm not going to limit myself. Let me tell you something funny. The Sergiko's plant told me. Hey, I'm having a children's party, can you get me some donkeys to take the kids for rides? Of course, I convinced the man who did rides in Burunda Park and took him to the children's party. I provide a complete service. They give me a list of hardware and electrical supplies, and I quote them everything. They send me what they need. It's a service, a solution to a problem or a need for a manufacturing plant. That's how Miscellanea Electroindustrial was born, electrical and industrial, to sell materials to industry. I developed the name to incorporate a corporation, designed my logo, and registered the trademark Misselec, so no one else could use the name. Since we opened the SA, I was already developing, with considerable growth thanks to brands like Cooper Lighting and General Electric. I sold a lot of lighting, materials, and conductors, and I sell to more industries and contractors. In 2001, I bought this land. I didn't want a very large plot. I was looking for one around 5,000 square meters, and this was the one I found. I negotiated a good price and decided it would stay there until I had the funds to build. In 2003 I began construction of this building, and in 2005 I inaugurated it with a different, more formal, and futuristic vision of life. You have a sales and accounting mindset, and with Missilec you're entering a very technical market. How did you deal with these technical aspects? At Condomex, I learned to deal with engineers, and, as an entrepreneur, by attending manufacturers' training sessions. How did you open Chihuahua? In 99, a contractor, Engineer Beruita, went there to build Lexmark, one of the first Macaladoras to open near Chihuahua, and another contractor was bringing Coca-Cola to Chihuahua. I started delivering materials to them, going back and forth to Chihuahua. To make a long story short, in November of 99 I opened a warehouse there. Honestly, it was pretty hard work with constant trips. The contractors from Chihuahua were used to Mexican materials, but those from Juarez asked me for American materials, although I struggled because imports were complicated in those years. I started developing Chihuahua, hiring people. I would leave at 4 in the morning and return at 4 in the afternoon. I did this for a month until I had the necessary staff. By 2005, I was already quite established. What have been the biggest challenges you've faced in these 35 years? Look, the first devaluation happened at the beginning of '95, and it caught me with significant debts in dollars. I owed money to American companies, and I thought I was going to have to close my business because it was an incredible devaluation back then, but I faced it head on. I said, nothing's going to happen, I'll sell the inventory. Ibisitit Barreta Ingenieria. He's one of my main clients, and the engineer, Ricardo Beruita, may he rest in peace, asked me. Do you have the material for this project? I said, Yes, I have plenty of that material, give me a quote. I quoted him the previous price. He asked, but why are you quoting me that price when it's double today? I said, Because that's how much I bought it for. Even though I owe in dollars, I'm not going to take advantage. He said, send me everything. From then on, he was my most important client. Based on that trust, I started selling him conductors, lighting fixtures, equipment, and many other things, and I was able to pay off what I owed. In recent years there has been growth in the rest of the country. Tell me a little about it. We also opened in Queritaro back in 2011, following contractors who were working there. Then Monterey, and in 2015 we immediately opened in Leon. I started traveling, attending to clients, visiting them along with the sales team, and we would do presentations by computer, introducing myself, showing them my company, and letting them know who I am. So it's all been quite a lot of work. What does this 35-year retrospective leave in your heart? It gives me great satisfaction to be doing what I love. At 68, I've already traveled a great many miles, but I'm still excited about starting new businesses. We just opened two new companies this year, two new workshops for panel integration. I'm not slowing down. Anything else you'd like to add? I would like to mention that I have always had the support of my family as well as a great team, which is essential for the growth of any entrepreneur. Finally, I want to share that a very emotional moment in my life was in November 2023, when Misilec slash Sergio Huerta Arnros was recognized by the CCE Business Coordinating Council, with the Rising Star Award as the Company and Entrepreneur of the Year. It was a great honor to be recognized for my career as an entrepreneur and my ongoing support of the community. Sergio Huerta is a great human being, a successful businessman, and his life story is full of lessons. When we talk about the culture of hard work, which is often just political or economic rhetoric, there's no better real life example than Sergio Huerta. His environment, family, trust, and saving have taken him beyond selling sweets as a child. Hard work and perseverance have allowed Sergio Huerta to make Grupo Missilec one of the most important companies in the country.