March 16, 2021 | Charles Newbery
The pandemic pushed many companies to restructure their debts, even their businesses, as sales declined. Surprisingly, most were successful.
In Godoy Cruz, a small city near wineries and the often-snow-capped Andes in western Argentina, IMPSA churns out generators and turbines. Established in 1907 to make cast-iron parts, wine-making tools and gates for irrigation canals, today the company competes with Austria’s Andritz, France’s Alstom, Germany’s Voith and U.S.-based General Electric to supply power plants around the world.
Yet for the past six years, IMPSA has relied solely on cash flow to finance its operations, a misfortune of the volatility in Latin America, one of its main markets.
After a few clients failed to pay in Brazil and Venezuela, it fell into default in 2014, cutting off its access to capital. The company went on