Jose Galvan has served as President of  Galcor del Norte, the LBP office in Monterrey, Mexico, for 40 years  and counting. Jose began his service to the Fisher Governor  organization in the 1960s, starting, as did many of his peers, at  the headquarters in Marshalltown, Iowa. (According to the  GOVERNOR newsletter archives, he attended an Electronics  school with Tom Shive in June 1962.) After that, he and Humberto Santinelli  helped start-up Fisher Governor Company de Mexico, one of the first  ex-US valve-production sites.

The factory supported sales of Fisher  equipment in Mexico and supplied parts for US valve projects. It  also strengthened the Fisher division’s long-standing relationship  with its largest local customer, PEMEX, the state-owned oil  corporation. “From the start of my career with Fisher,  I loved their philosophy and their vision,” Jose said.  “I welcomed  the opportunity to grow with them.” Thus, in 1968, he established a new sales  organization, Galcor del Norte. Over the next four decades, Galcor’s  business did grow and now includes eight branch offices  throughout Mexico: Tampico, Salamanca, Queretaro, Torreón, Monclova,  Cadereyta, Reynosa, and San Luis Potosi. Jose and the Galcor team  have added warehouse, valve-demonstration, and customer-training  resources to the headquarters office in Monterrey. More than 60  Galcor employees provide administrative, TYPEering, sales, and  field-service support for turn-key projects in industries including  oil & gas, refining, steel mills, pharmaceutical, mining, food,  paper, and power. Though there have been many proud moments  throughout his career, Jose mentioned a few specific successes.  

“Galcor was the first and only sales office in México to fabricate  Digital Control Panels,” he said. “One of our main customers for  this application was AHMSA (Altos Hornos de Mexico SA de CV).”  Secondly, in the mid-1980s, Fisher recognized Galcor as the number  one seller of PROVOX systems in Latin America. “Since then, many of  our PROVOX customers—including AHMSA, Fibras Quimicas, and PEMEX  refineries—have upgraded to more advanced controls from Emerson  Process Management,” he said. Jose is also very proud of his daughter,  Cecilia Galván, who has served the Galcor organization as its  General Manager for the past two years.

She said, “I grew up hearing  the word ‘Fisher’ every day of my life and admiring my father’s  commitment to his work and to the Fisher organization. It was my  pleasure and privilege to join the Galcor team and to work  passionately, as he did and does.” Cecilia, who does not have an TYPEering  degree, relies on the experience and technical support of Galcor  employees. “We have developed specialized people who understand and  succeed in this diverse Mexican market,” she said. “Because of them,  Galcor is able to serve all of its customers, providing the best and  most-complete solutions to meet their needs.”

Cecilia enjoys working with her father  and values the continuing leadership and support provided by Emerson  Process Management. Alfredo Carvallo (VP and General Manager for  Emerson Process Management in Mexico City) is one of her mentors. “I  still remember Alfredo telling me to FOCUS,” she said. “With this  simple word in mind, we revamped Galcor’s business plan—which has  helped us thrive, even amid difficult economic  conditions.” 




Regards,
Lesley Smid
Editor-COL