MC-Bauchemie Spain celebrates family day

About entrepreneurial dreams and how they came true

In his welcoming speech, Carlos Safranez Jr. praised the founders of MC-Bauchemie and Isocron, the original Spanish company with which MC did a joint venture in 2007 and which was fully acquired by MC in 2011: “Today I wanted to pay tribute to the people who have made it possible for us to be here together today. Heinrich W. Müller and my grandfather Carlos Safranez, the founders of MC and Hidrol, the predecessor company of Isocron, had the dream of creating their own company. They wanted to contribute with their expertise and professionalism to the betterment of society. They started from scratch, but with their effort, dedication and strategy they managed to grow two companies that have borne great fruit and created so many jobs.” They made their dream come true, had been very successful and passed the baton on to the 2nd and 3rd generation that kept the initial flame of both founders alive. Another dream came true when both companies, MC-Bauchemie and Isocron, merged. “This is closely linked to Dr. Bertram R. Müller who became aware of Isocron and believed in a common future,” said Carlos Safranez Junior and added, “Dr. Bertram R. Müller was the one who dreamt of having a presence in Spain. He was the one who noticed Isocron and who decided to acquire the company and thus ensure the continuity and future of our company as MC-Bauchemie Spain.” He continued to thank his employees and their families for their effort: “But all these dreams go hand in hand with the great commitment made by the people who have joined the project. Without the passion and effort of all of you, this dream would not have been possible.”

Decades of success and cross-generational continuity

After the welcoming words of Carlos Safranez Jr., Managing Partner Nicolaus M. Müller held a speech in excellent Spanish about the history of the MC-Bauchemie Group and its 60th anniversary as well as the findings from three generations of the owner family Müller that made MC very successful throughout more than six decades of existence – beginning in Germany, expanding in Europe and, from the 1980s on, growing more and more worldwide. He also remembered his father's younger brother Dr. Bertram R. Müller: “Thanks to him, Isocron, the Safranez family and the MC family have merged into one family. He loved the Spanish culture and food. Unfortunately, he died too young in 2012 to see the good development of MC-Spain, but I'm sure today he would be proud to see what you all have made of MC-Spain.” He finished his speech with a heartfelt thank you to the team of MC-Spain and said, “You all contribute every day to making MC one of the important players in the Spanish market. Without your commitment, this would not have been possible and I am very grateful for that. And not only to our employees, but to your families, too, who every day contribute to our successful development.” Finally, he thanked Carlos Safranez Senior and Junior for placing so much trust in this fruitful relation.

Origins, history and future

Then, Carlos Safranez Senior gave an interesting speech about the history of Isocron, its previous history as well as the development of MC-Spain until today. He remembered also his father who was born in Ukraine 1900, came to Hamburg, Germany, with his parents, studied Civil Engineering in Berlin, and made a name as a profound concrete expert especially in hydraulic construction in Germany. He immigrated to Spain because at that time many investments had been made in new dams there and founded 1932 his company named Hidrol, the predecessor company of Isocron, and signed an agreement with a German company in 1952 called Chemische Fabrik Grunau. “My father always worked with German technology, which was very popular in the Spanish market,” said Carlos Safranez Senior. Hidrol specialized in waterproofing projects with asphalt sheets and mastics. “In 1962, I joined the company. At that time, there were a large number of nuclear power plant projects in Spain. These projects required a great deal of technology that came from Germany and was introduced by us into the projects, so we were able to participate in large projects”, remembered the Senior Managing Director.

In 1973, there was a big crisis with derivated products from petrol in Spain and this meant that Hidrol could not continue its work. “When the economic situation returned to normal I founded Isocron in 1982,” explained Carlos Safranez Senior. Isocron's main markets in those years had been the expansion of ports, roads, tunnels, sewage treatment plants, etc. and its main task was to advise the designers and planners of these large projects with admixtures and additives for concrete and waterproofing technology. In the following decades, the company adapted more and more to the needs of the Spanish market, always using and selling products from German companies. Consequently and from the retrospective, it was clear that it would merge one day with a German company. “The merge of MC-Bauchemie and Isocron was very important. So, we were able to get more know-how and products and secure our future in the field of construction chemicals,” emphasized Carlos Safranez Senior. He also spoke about the good relationship between the Müller family and the Safranez family, remembered Dr. Bertram R. Müller and the signing of the agreement in 2011, and concluded his speech by saying: “The most important thing for a company is to take care of its customers and its employees, otherwise companies do not grow. I would like to thank my father, the Müller family and all the employees who make the dream of this company possible.”

Lots of fun with family games

Before starting the fun part of the family day, Pedro Hernandez, Head of Infrastructure & Industry at MC-Spain, took the opportunity to explain to all the present children what work their parents do at MC-Spain and why they are so important for the organization.

Next item on the agenda were the family games. All guests played 3 hours in 10 mixed teams consisting of different families. They had to dance together, fight with plastic axes, memorize pictures with Junior Memory and race with a big ball etc. “It was very fun and exciting because we were assaulted by a ‘medieval group’ led by horses and druids looking for the origin of chemistry and all its secrets,” explains Carlos Junior with a smile on his face. Great fun! Games like this make you hungry … so everybody was happy to get a lunch with typical Valencian food including, of course, the famous paella that was cooked live for all guests.

After all guests strengthened themselves, the children had a special moment to practice how to model figures of concrete with MC’s “Bastel Beton“ (arts and crafts concrete). They also had the opportunity to see the concrete and resin laboratory. At the end of the family day, all the guests lined up on the outdoor grounds to shape the number "40" in order to take a picture with a drone and went into MC-Spain’s warehouse for a final family photo. The unanimous conclusion of all participants was that it had been a very successful and amusing family day with interesting and exciting insights as well as a lot of fun.