Martinez has been hired by Rann International, a small Tampa-based company that's become a force in the former Soviet-bloc country's fledgling cellular-phone and Internet business. He's also on Rann's board of directors, and it's his job to help Rann raise its profile, deal with the Czech government and drum up needed capital. "Europe is really wireless-oriented, more so than we are," Martinez says. "Eastern Europe is wide open."
It's a new type of venture for Martinez, who, since his tenure as governor, served as President Bush's "drug czar" from 1991-93 and founded Pro Tech Monitoring, a Palm Harbor provider of systems to track convicts on parole and probation. His connections and influence are what interested Rann; with him on board, "the doors open much faster," says Rann Chairman Vivek Rao.
It's also a new type of venture for Rann, which got into telecommunications when President Garry Marler learned through an acquaintance that lucrative licenses were available. The 50-person company secured two regional wireless licenses covering an area of 250,000 people in seven Czech districts. It also bought national licenses for Internet, data and other phone service. The acquaintance, a former Czech government telecommunications consultant, now chairs Rann's Czech operation.
The company, which launched its cellular service in June, hasn't needed to market itself in the telecom-starved country. "Demand is terrific," says Martinez. "There's not enough equipment." And that's a problem: Building the wireless infrastructure in the seven districts will cost Rann $70 million. By late summer, it had raised only $14 million. Rann must develop a business plan that can attract investors. If all goes well, annual revenues could hit $200 million in 1999, according to Rao, up from $7 million in 1996. To raise the hundreds of millions needed to implement national phone licenses, the company will have to go public, he says.
That is quite a leap for a 7-year-old company that started out as an importer of gourmet food from India, which is Rao's native country. Amid the breathtaking changes the company's undergoing, Martinez has been a steadying influence, says Rao. "He's been there to say, 'stay the course,' that things will improve. He believed in the project and liked the people."
Expecting to Fly
South Florida firms respond to the call of Latin American countries striving to meet international air safety standards.
When the head of the Latin American Aviation Association speaks on air safety, he uses a story to show how properly training even the lowliest employee can make the difference between life and death. Two years ago on a moonless night, 70 people died when an Aeroperu Boeing 757 crashed into the Pacific shortly after takeoff from Lima, Peru. The captain radioed that his instruments had failed. "What altitude am I at? Am I over land or sea?" he frantically asked controllers.
While cleaning the outside of the jet, airline workers had placed duct tape over sensors that measure air pressure, altitude and air speed. By mistake, the tape was never removed. With no light or instruments, the captain couldn't land. Poor safety procedures, explains Ernesto Rois-Mendez, killed everyone on board.
The drive for improved aviation safety in Latin America - coupled with economic expansion and rapid industry privatization - is fueling a growth industry in south Florida, long-time home to many aviation firms with Latin customers. Companies and government agencies are seeing a surge in demand for aviation-related training, consulting, services and equipment.
Exporters report Latin demand for components and services is up dramatically this year. At Aviall Inc., a parts distributor in Hollywood, orders from the region were up 20%. The company exports engine and aircraft parts such as lights, wheels and brakes for jets and turboprop planes. Regional manager Don Decker points to the growth of regional airlines in Latin America, greater numbers of aircraft being flown and increased flying hours. "Most of the airplanes heading down there are used airplanes," which tend to require more maintenance, he says. "Brazil has been very good to us as well as Argentina and Chile."
A decade ago, Central and South America had one of the worst, if not the worst, aviation safety records in the world, according to accident data for U.S.-built jetliners. Latin America's accident rate has fallen sharply since then, but remains higher than Europe's or North America's. In July, the Miami convention of Rois-Mendez's organization, the Asociacion Latinoamericana de Aeronautica (ALA), drew more than 600 people from 18 countries. "Safety has been neglected by Latin American aviation authorities and the industry," he says, "but it's the association's main focus."
Just seven weeks after the ALA convention, senior officials from about 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries met with U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Miami International Airport and industry representatives at an aviation safety conference in Miami. The meeting stressed improved relationships among aviation agencies and safety measures. "There's almost a stampede to privatize airlines and airports and get the military out of civil aviation," says Tony Kijek, manager of the FAA's Miami international field office. "Privatization is probably the single biggest factor driving the activity in the region."
Aviation Management Services, a 10-person Miami firm, consults with Latin airlines on management and marketing strategies as well as safety issues. Revenues have shot up 25% this year, compared with 10% to 15% annual increases in recent years, partly because of a new partnership with a high-profile, New York-based aviation consulting firm. "The trend has to do with the demand for air transportation in the region, airline deregulation and the (local) economies," says President Bob Booth, a native of Uruguay and former executive with Braniff and Air Florida. "These economies have improved so dramatically. That's creating more competition, more airline investment and the need for more sophisticated management. It's U.S.-trained expertise that the Latin Americans are seeking here."
There are powerful incentives to tap that expertise. For example, airlines in countries with poor government oversight - there still are several in Latin America - are barred from adding routes or flights to the U.S. Venezuela, for one, doesn't meet international aviation safety standards; its flagship carrier Viasa went bankrupt in 1996. Now, in an unprecedented move, Venezuela is paying all the expenses of an FAA team that will upgrade the nation's aviation agency. The FAA's Miami office recently dispatched a team to Caracas, Venezuela. Since then, two other countries - the FAA wouldn't say which - have asked for similar help.
A poor safety rating "has a dramatic effect on countries trying to expand," the FAA's Kijek says. "But it takes real political will to fund a total system of oversight of pilots and airplanes and airports and air traffic control systems that makes sure airplanes don't run into each other in the sky."
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Global Guide
If you're opening a retail outlet in Santiago, Chile, better bring plenty of chairs. Chilean law requires retailers to place a chair in every department, presumably so employees can get off their feet.
That's just one valuable nugget in the National Retail Federation's new handbook on international business practices. It's not just for retailers; any company that does business in any of the countries surveyed can benefit from the handbook's details on the local labor market, wages, benefits, holidays, vacation and sick leave, minimum wage laws, overtime, equal employment laws, unions and laws governing foreign nationals. The handbook covers Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. Contacts for local retail trade associations are also listed.
The Survey of International Employment Laws and Practices originally was aimed at retailers going global, but the authors saw it had broader applications. "This is really for anyone who's expanding," says Katherine Mance, the federation's vice president for research and education. The handbook can be ordered by calling 800/673-4692 or through the federation's Web site (www.nrf.com). The price is $50 for federation members and $75 for non-members.