“We started with 7 payrolls and this month we have reached around 70”

In 2021 Surtruck had a turnover of 5.8 million and is forecasting growth of more than 35% this year

He arrived at Surtruck when the company was still in its infancy, in December 2014. And his task was clear: his challenge was to set up the finance and administration department. Nothing had been done and he had to set the procedure and design the financial policy for the different projects that arose and for the company itself. Sometimes it was difficult to adjust the numbers and provide a forecast for decisions to be made. But that was the job he was given and he did it when he knew the way, or sought information when complications arose.

Time went by and there were no longer eight payrolls, but many more. This month they have been close to 70 in a company that does not stop growing. Ana Jesús Reyes knows this and is grateful that she has gone from being alone to managing her team, with three other people. But the professional path travelled by this graduate in Business Administration and Management born in Ayamonte has not been easy. And perhaps sometimes she is glad she did that MBA at the EOI with which she completed her training and found a job in a business consultancy. But although he learned a lot there, going from working in a multinational to creating the financial department of an SME was something of a triple somersault.

“What was the difference? Well, everything. From having to call someone when you had to solve a problem, to having to solve everything yourself and find your own way. It’s complicated, but you learn a lot,” Ana explains, recalling those moments. Also for someone with such high self-esteem, it was a time to see where she needed to improve. “I saw my gaps in my work and I trained myself to have all the knowledge I needed,” she recalls.

 RESULTS ON THE RISE

Although she doesn’t say so, the brilliant economic results are evidence of her tenacity, her foresight and her good work.  “This is a very rewarding job if you get it right, but if you get it wrong, it’s also very noticeable,” she says. But this must not have been the case because Surtruck’s figures for 2021 were 5.8 million euros in turnover, and 876,000 euros in Ebitda, the financial indicator that shows the gross operating profit calculated before the deductibility of financial expenses. And by 2022 the figure will grow by around 35%, an outstanding increase that is evidence of the efforts of the entire team and the good financial management of the business project.

“What am I most proud of? Of our credibility with third parties and the formality we have when we negotiate. Agreements are sacred and we are clear because what we say, we will honour,” she explains proudly.

And perhaps the hardest thing is sometimes having to say no, or to illuminate the small print that a priori was not visible: “There have been projects that seemed great, but had too much risk and should not be signed because sometimes, when you are aware of everything you have to take on, you discover that it may not be worth it,” he explains. Covid has also brought complicated situations. “Everything was constantly changing and you had to be aware of the many changes in regulations. It was a tough time because we knew that a bad decision would cost us dearly.

LOYALTY

Although at times she may feel like running away and enjoying her family and her two beautiful girls, Ana Reyes is very proud of the department that has been created, of the company culture that has been created and of the main value, for her, in all this: loyalty. Loyalty with clients, with workers, with colleagues, with investors… “things can go well or badly, but they are said”, she explains… Perhaps that is why she does not mind working long hours or facing difficult challenges… Because when something goes wrong, there is always a solution… and because you reap what you sow…