With equal parts patience and persistence, after two years, today we sit down to talk with Ramiro Martínez, CEO of Julián Soler.
Who is Ramiro Martínez?
Well, we start with a question that is not easy to answer, perhaps the most personal and challenging one. People are usually defined by others rather than defining themselves, but if I had to answer, I would say that I am shaped by the score we have to play together. Like a musician who can adapt the tempo, genre, and style of a performance depending on the circumstances, ensuring that the audience stays engaged with the melody and, if necessary, can hum along and continue it, making it their own and enriching it even further.
Following this analogy, music requires self-discipline, time, perseverance, order, and coordination. But it also demands sensitivity and heart to become art, much like our CSR project at Julián Soler, “VIDARTIS.”
I identify with these musical attributes, which I owe to my parents. In addition to instilling in me values such as hard work, tolerance, and respect, they also introduced me to music at a young age a passion I have set aside for some time now. However, my accordion remains my favorite instrument and is still at home. One day…
After 19 years working in another industrial group, what motivated you to lead the JULIÁN SOLER project?
Sometimes, over the years, we unconsciously create the right conditions for even the most improbable things to happen.
Leaving one’s comfort zone a concept frequently discussed is always challenging due to the personal and family implications any change entails, especially at the beginning. But those who know me well understand that I am a concert musician, a project-driven person who needs to keep the music playing to feel fulfilled and stay continuously active another defining characteristic of mine.
The 19 years preceding my arrival in La Manchuela, Cuenca, were a privilege that allowed me to grow professionally within a leading group and under demanding personal management. I am profoundly grateful to everyone who accompanied me in that phase. Once the melody of that project could play on its own, I was ready to lead new challenges.
The score presented by JULIÁN SOLER S.A. contained the essential notes and key elements to push me into a new project or concert. It shared similarities with my previous stage: the reputation and responsibility of being a leading company in its sector, a willingness to embrace change and continuous improvement, and the enthusiasm and commitment of every orchestra member. But there was one crucial difference that ultimately convinced me to take the step: a blank sheet of music to fill, despite having been in the market for over 50 years! Could there be a more exciting challenge?
You have been the CEO of JULIÁN SOLER for over two years. How has this experience been for you?
Time flies. I would describe these two years as extremely intense professionally and, at the same time, deeply rewarding on a personal level. Being part of the professionalization process initiated years ago by JULIÁN SOLER as a family business, to ensure its continuity and continued contribution to society a commitment of our founder is a responsibility with which I fully identify. Despite the inherent challenges, it allows me to enjoy invaluable rewards, such as the loyalty of my team.
JULIÁN SOLER is an example of a professionalised family business. What is it like to work in a company with this structure?
My experience has made me a firm believer in family businesses, whether family owners are actively involved in operational management or step back to exert influence and uphold their identity through the Board of Directors or Shareholders’ Assembly.
Unlike other business models, family businesses always carry an extra emotional burden, especially when the company’s name is also the family name, as in SOLER’s case. However, you have a family standing beside you, not just fighting with you but often leading the charge when necessary.
Challenges arise when the values guiding non-family senior management differ significantly from the family’s values that have shaped the company’s identity. Alternatively, issues arise when the family does not respect the autonomy required by senior management to make the right decisions for the business.
In companies with second- and third-generation working partners like JULIÁN SOLER, it is even more crucial for senior management and ownership to be aligned in values, and for family members to know when to switch roles depending on the situation. If this is done well, as I believe is the case here, company management is greatly strengthened. I could share countless anecdotes about my travels with some of our working partners to visit suppliers, clients, and trade fairs, but we won’t reveal everything in this interview, are we?
What achievements would you highlight from these past two years, and what has been your biggest challenge?
If I had to summarize, I would say the greatest achievement has been adapting the company’s organizational structure to match current operational and business needs.
This restructuring, combined with our team’s passion and the creation of horizontal communication spaces between departments, has allowed us to significantly differentiate ourselves with both clients and suppliers, delivering outstanding results.
We have achieved profitable and organic growth year after year, even under the most demanding market conditions. Today, we remain a world leader in the concentrated grape juice sector, with an annual turnover of approximately 70 million euros, a permanent staff of 80 employees, 35 seasonal workers, and productive investments totaling nearly 10 million euros in recent years.
The biggest challenge has a precise date: July 23, 2024, the passing of our founder, Don Julián Soler Marqués, at the age of 92. Though expected due to age, it was still a moment of deep sadness. For the first time since I joined JULIÁN SOLER, we decided to shut down operations for a few shifts in his honor an unplanned pause as a mark of respect and affection from all employees, his second family.
That emotionally charged time made me realize that life is ultimately fair when you dedicate yourself fully, life rewards you, even in your farewell. I had never seen anything like it. Thank you all for your kindness and respect.
His family business is his legacy, along with his daughters. His belief that a company grape juice serve society is now our responsibility employees, family, and shareholders alike.
How do you see the concentrated grape juice sector? What would you say are the market trends?
Without a doubt, I see the concentrated grape juice sector as a sector with a future. Not only due to the necessary diversification of grape juice/wine in its final destination and the desirable balance of Castilla-La Mancha’s viticultural potential, which was already the seed of JULIÁN SOLER’s initial activity as a pioneering concentrator in Spain in the mid-1960s, but also due to the potential future uses and developments yet to come.
However, to ensure the sector’s future, coordination and planning among all actors involved are essential, starting at the raw material level. The role of the cooperative world is particularly crucial in this regard. I am a firm believer in cooperatives, just as I am in family businesses, and they too require a process of professionalization. The work being carried out by the entity Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias Castilla-La Mancha and its Business School is vital, offering specific training programs for cooperative enterprises.
The future is not secured with nostalgia or fear of change. It is ensured through strategic decisions and planning, not merely by promoting one product over another.
Regarding market trends, we could list the general trends in the food and beverage sector, which are no different from the demands our customers increasingly place on our grape juice concentrates: healthier products, certified quality, sustainability, 100% authenticity, allergen-free ingredients, etc. However, as the saying goes, “everyone sees things through their own lens” Therefore, I invite you to subscribe to our #NothingButGrapes News on our website or follow us on LinkedIn for updated information and campaign reports made in Soler.
What challenges does JULIÁN SOLER face in the coming years? Any surprises or requests for 2025?
As we have seen over the past five years, no one can predict the future, especially in companies with an international presence in more than 60 countries like JULIÁN SOLER. Challenges will undoubtedly evolve, and so grape juice our adaptability. What we do know is that we will continue focusing on the 100% authentic grape.
Investing in grapes means reinforcing the agricultural heritage, gastronomy, and cultural identity of our Castilla-La Mancha region.
In such a competitive sector, standing out is not an option, it is a necessity. But standing out in the right way: without arrogance, without egos, with respect, with a focus on quality, and by staying close to our suppliers, more than 300 farmers, 60 cooperatives, and private wineries, and our customers, who have already discovered that SOLER delivers more than just grape juice concentrate. Soon, we will have visited four continents in just over two years to explore how we can achieve the best product and provide the most suitable solutions for the industry.
Externally, our challenge is to continuously adapt to the market and educate it about our product. Internally, we face the challenge of digitalization and the integration of artificial intelligence into our processes, which we are already working on at JULIÁN SOLER. We want to avoid the crossroads where many companies get stuck: between what they were and what they could become.
However, we must never lose sight of what truly matters, the PEOPLE. We will continue holding our “Annual Meeting,” which aligns the personal and professional goals of everyone within the company. This ensures that all employees make decisions at their respective levels, feeling important and fulfilled. When only one person makes all the decisions, the rest of the team loses motivation, and a company like that has an expiration date.
As for surprises and new developments in 2025, if I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise! Everything will be revealed in due time. I am starting the year with gratitude, determined to stay close to my employees, clients, and suppliers who have trusted us from the beginning. To 2025 and beyond, I ask for only one thing: to always keep smiling.
You previously mentioned the passing of the company’s founder and Honorary President, Don Julián Soler Marqués, in July.
What values did he instill in the company that are still upheld today at JULIÁN SOLER?
I have already mentioned Don Julián Soler’s vision of the company as a vehicle for serving society. He firmly believed in the power of businesses to work toward the common good. His lifelong commitment is now our responsibility, and his numerous values, which permeate the daily operations of the company, were at the heart of the “Annual Meeting 2024 – Looking to the Future Through Our Values,” where we honored Don Julián as Honorary President of the company.
If I had to highlight some key values, I would emphasize those that have driven the company’s growth: honesty, credibility, warmth in dealings, and closeness. These are values that business schools often overlook but that must be learned and appreciated in daily practice.
Don Julián showed us that when you lead with heart, profitability can still be achieved. A business must be financially successful, but not at any cost. Our commitment is to keep growing and look to the future with hope.
Finally, on a more personal note, could you share an anecdote or special moment you have experienced at JULIÁN SOLER?
One anecdote that comes to mind happened on May 1, 2024. May 1st is a significant date for our company, which we have been celebrating with our employees and their families at JULIÁN SOLER since 1975, along with our key suppliers and local political representatives. By the way, this year marks the 50th anniversary of our May 1st celebrations!
In 2024, I attended with my wife and two children. After our traditional meal with over 150 attendees, we held a quiz competition with multiple-choice questions, similar to a Kahoot game, in which both adults and children participated. To my surprise, the final question was about my eating habits. For context, I tend to work through the day without taking a lunch break, unless an external commitment requires me to leave the factory. This doesn’t mean I don’t eat when I stay on-site, but the lack of visibility of my meal times has apparently sparked curiosity among my colleagues.
The question was: “What does the CEO of JULIÁN SOLER eat?” I remember that my youngest son, conspiring with the other children, tried to get the answer out of me. However, I hadn’t prepared the quiz, so I had no idea what the answer was supposed to be. In the end, he guessed wrong and spent an entire week insisting that it couldn’t be the right answer because, according to him, he knows me best.
by