The metalworking sector includes productive activities linked to the use of metals, both for the manufacture of pieces, parts or finished products, and is one of the most important sectors within the manufacturing industry due to the number of jobs it generates and its participation in GDP. However, it involves sectors, branches and jobs of various kinds, recognizing within this range from the most dynamic, automated, capital-intensive and formal industries of the economy - such as the automotive industry -; passing through the “white line” light industry (referring to the manufacture of household items and appliances) or machinery for commercial use; to small-scale economic units – SMEs or small workshops – with lower scale production capacity, organic capital and artisanal work. The metalworking industry also includes activities with different levels of complexity and scientific-technical knowledge involved in the production process, including the manufacture of final goods or materials that demand a sophisticated technological base (for example, electromechanics, which uses particular machinery and specific for a type of mass production) (Simone and Bolado, 2009); as well as, low-scale and low-complexity production lines, where the tools and machinery used are usually standardized and with flexible use that adapts to different types of work (Katz, 1986). This complex diversity of tasks, processes and working conditions in the metalworking sector implies different organizational logics in each of the economic units.

First of all, we recognize that the steel industry, on which the metalworking activity linked to iron and steel depends, is highly concentrated ^[2] . This responds, first of all, to the very characteristics and needs of production, which is capital intensive and technologically mature. The large amounts required to install a steel mill and the minimum scale necessary to optimize these investments largely explain the predominance of a small group of companies in the activity (Ministry of Economy of Argentina, 2021). Secondly, local macroeconomic policies tended to deepen this concentration, since during the 1990s the process of economic neoliberalization marked by the convertibility model, financial openness and the attraction of foreign direct investments, together with the policies of privatization, implied a restructuring of the steel sector that towards the new millennium acquired oligopolistic characteristics (Jerez, 2019).

In turn, this economic concentration also conditions and defines a geographical concentration, particularly around the northwest corner of the province of Buenos Aires. Currently, 95% of national production is concentrated in three large companies: Acindar, Siderar and Siderca (Professional Council of Economic Sciences of the Province of Buenos Aires, 2013) located – their main plants – in General Rodríguez, Campana. and San Nicolás, respectively; which leads to an economic framework linked to steel being configured around them (Figure 1). Consequently, metalworking is developed mainly in the Province of Buenos Aires, the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Santa Fe, concentrating 90% of the national metalworking universe. These are small and medium-sized companies with between 10 and 20 people on average and large companies that have more than 150 employees (Secretariat of Equity and Employment Promotion- Government of the province of Córdoba, 2017).

Figure 1

Figure 1 Figure 1 Location diagram of the main steel companies. Figure 1 Location diagram of the main steel companies. Source. Realidad profesional, 2014

Associated with the steel industry, the automotive industry represents one of the most dynamic economies in the metalworking sector and, as expected, industrial and auto parts plants are also concentrated in the productive triangle of Córdoba, Santa Fe and the north of the Province of Buenos Aires. . Within the latter, the Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Citroën and Mercedes Benz terminals operate, which in total have an installed annual capacity of 650,000 units, with highly internationalized production and products destined mostly for export. For example, Toyota exports 80% of its production to more than 30 countries; while Peugeot and Citroën (PSA) regularly export to MERCOSUR countries (Secretariat of Economic Policy, Ministry of Economy of the Nation, 2021). However, the auto parts chain is articulated with various activities that involve a variety of economic sectors, mainly industrial and services (metalworking, metallurgical, textile, rubber, glass, etc.). In this sense, it is strategic for thinking about productive linkages that promote local economic development and regional economic integration.

For the purposes of this investigation, we delimit the northwest of the GBA from the districts of José C. Paz, San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas, which in total concentrate an area of 196.05 km2 and, according to data from the National Population Census, Home and Housing in 2022 house 1,001,921 inhabitants, with similar population proportions.

It is an area strategically linked to the industrial productive belt (Figure 2), which includes the northern corridor from the Port of Buenos Aires and extends to the Provinces of Córdoba and Santa Fe. On a macro scale, the intersection in the north with the national routes n° 9 and n° 8, fluidly link it with the City of Buenos Aires and, particularly with the port. Also the recent construction of the highway “Camino del Buen Ayre” (in coordination with the construction project of the third metropolitan ring road from the completion of the works of the highwayPresidente Perón) open the possibility of greater links with other points of the port system, such as the Port from La Plata (Dzembrowski, Andrieu, Fernández, 2022). On a smaller geographical scale, provincial routes n° 23 and n° 24 structure and guide the economic articulation in its entirety, with the productive nodes of Gral. Pacheco and the El Triángulo Industrial Promotion Area from the north and with the Industrial Parks of Moreno towards the south. Also the proximity to San Martín, the most industrialized district of the city, stimulates the economic activation of the sector.

Finally, while highways and routes organize the circulation of goods and raw materials necessary for production; Railway tracks define the circulation of passengers and labor. In this sense, in San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas we observe good provision of the FFCC, with roads that extend from east-west and that expresses the center-metropolitan periphery link.

Figure 2

Figure 2 Figure 2 Connectivity of the study area. Parties of José C. Paz, San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas. 2022 Figure 2 Connectivity of the study area. Parties of José C. Paz, San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas. 2022 Source. Own preparation

Moving forward in the diagnosis of the area, we recognize the existence of a network of educational and government institutions that contribute to its productive development. In principle, we highlight the presence of the national universities of José C. Paz (UNPAZ) and General Sarmiento (UNGS), and particularly of the institutes and areas dedicated to training in these disciplinary fields and to community outreach and research-based in a territorial work ^[3] . We also recognize a headquarters of the National University of Luján (UNLU) and the University of Buenos Aires - San Miguel Campus. The training offer in trades for the middle level includes 10 Technical Secondary Education Schools (4 in JCP, 3 in Malvinas Argentina and 3 in San Miguel) and non-formal Education programs. At this level, we are interested in pointing out the actions that the Provincial Council of Education and Labor (COPRET) of the Province of Buenos Aires has been developing since 2022, together with the municipal (particularly the JCP Employment Office) and educational agencies. COPRET depends on the General Directorate of Culture and Education and is proposed as a space for articulation between the provincial educational system, in its different levels and modalities, and the sectors linked to the development of production and work, both public and private (Dzembrowski , Goicoechea and Barú, 2023).

Regarding employment characteristics, they are parties with similar unemployment levels, close to the GBA average (which in the first quarter of 2022, according to data from the EPH INDEC, affected 7.3% of the economically active population), but with high informality values. The formal employment density index ^[4] for the GBA in 2019 was on average 127.56 (with parties, such as Vicente López, with maximum levels reaching 441.02); while in José C. Paz it barely reached 34.75, in San Miguel 92.38 and in the Argentine Malvinas, 104.26. Among other data that contribute to the social characterization of employment in the sector, we can point out that the proportion of people with a completed university degree (1.74% in Malvinas Argentinas, 3.88% in San Miguel and 1.11% in José C. Paz), is comparatively low in relation to the total GBA (4.69%).

In general, in economic terms, we identify, based on research background and secondary sources on the composition of the industrial branches and sectors, that although they are parties that generally observe low density of productive fabric, some of the activities linked to the processing and use metals have considerable value. They are important for job creation and there are also experiences of university-business linkages.

Firstly, the good connection with the main metallurgical centers that supply these raw materials (particularly along National Route n° 9 and Provincial Route n° 24), make the northern suburbs (General San Martín, Malvinas Argentinas, San Fernando, San Isidro, San Miguel, Tigre, Tres de Febrero and Vicente López) the most important area in metalworking production. By 2011, it comprised approximately one in every four industrial premises and only the production of common metals and metal products represented one in every five jobs in the region (CERE - UNSAM, 2013).

Secondly, within the studies at the party level, we highlight the Industrial Census carried out in 2018 by the Municipality of Malvinas Argentinas and the University of General Sarmiento in the party. From the results we can infer that of the 280 companies surveyed, 17.85% directly refers to the production of metal goods, equipment and machinery; and 11% to activities that partially include the metalworking sector, such as automotive and auto parts, and construction. Likewise, metalworking directly generates 9.16% jobs; and indirectly, 14.89%.

For its part, we also identify the work of the University of José C. Paz with companies in the area, such as the one that recovers and updates a survey carried out by the Secretariat of Industry and Employment Promotion (SIPEM) of the Municipality of José C. Paz. In this document, the industrial component was studied in 430 economic units of the party, of which 27 are identified as “industrial companies” (due to the intensive and complex use of technology and/or machinery in the production process and because they employ more than five people) (Goren et. al., 2019). Of this subgroup of 27 industrial companies, 43% are linked to the metalworking sector.

Finally, we highlight a recent work from the Sectorial and Territorial Development Laboratory of the National University of La Plata, where the productive chains are identified by municipality, for the entire province of Buenos Aires based on 2016/2021 data (Lódola and Pitetti , 2023). We found that in José C. Paz the services sector is the majority, with a municipal gross added value (GVA) contribution of 55%. The manufacturing industry contributes in second place with 36.8%, however, the productive chain that contributes the most within that sector is the automotive and auto parts industry (7.2% of the municipal GVA). In the case of San Miguel, a similar composition is observed, since 63% of the municipal GVA corresponds to services while 29.3% corresponds to the manufacturing industry (and within this, automotive and auto parts activity is the majority productive chain. , providing a municipal GVA of 6%). In other words, although these are parties with a low level of industrialization, the automotive and auto parts chain (closely linked to metalworking) has a predominant role for the local productive structure. In the case of Malvinas Argentinas, despite its industrial tradition, the greater proximity to the industrial nodes and containing the Promotion Triangle; The updated data show similar values to the other two parties: the chains that make up the services category are the ones that present the highest contribution of GVA (55.8%), while those associated with the manufacturing industry barely reach 37.9% (where the automotive and auto parts chain leads with 9.2% of the municipal GVA).

A first approach based on own surveys on the activities linked to the metalworking sector in the area, allows us to verify the presence that it has in the northwest of the GBA and understand some of its characteristics. At the moment, 119 economic actors associated with the sector have been identified; of which 87 are companies that integrate different instances in the metal production chain and are located: 32.2% in José C. Paz, 43.7% in Malvinas Argentinas and 18.4% in San Miguel. Additionally, 5.7% of companies in the sector were identified in the Moreno industrial parks, which could have dialogue with the productive chain to be studied due to their connection with PR 24. The rest of the economic actors correspond to profiles of related trades (welders, blacksmiths, metal carpenters) who offer their services independently to direct consumers, having identified a total of 32.

In an initialdescription of the activities they carry out, we initially highlight 2 companies that carry out metallurgical processes of metal casting.The companies dedicated to the manufacturing of goods and supplies are majority (44.8%) and then, the machinery (13.8%). Within this group we identified a varied composition of companies with different levels of complexity, size and scale: from the manufacture of bolts, screws and nails; cables; spectacle frames; technological metal chests, safes and containers for servers; cabins for cars and bodies; dough mixers and bakery ovens; safety valves for CNG and hydraulics; machinery for the metalworking industry; arrays; minibars and refrigerators; sterilizers for medicinal use and thermoses, among other products and machinery.

The productive network is also extremely heterogeneous, since it includes everything from small workshops, family businesses with more than 30 years of experience in the field (many of these managed by second or third generations), to large companies such as Lumilagro and subsidiaries of large multinationals, such as Visteon, Cembrass, Ferrosider Parts S.A (from the RB Group). This constitutes the basis of what Piore & Sabel (1994) recognize as flexible specialization, a social fabric that offers a variety of forms and production ties.

We observed a certain association with the automotive industry, and in fact we were able to verify that 26% of the companies carry out activities or produce goods in direct coordination with it (although not necessarily linked to the manufacturing process). We understand that this is an expected feature of the territory, given the strong presence of automotive companies in the neighboring town of Gral. Pacheco and surrounding areas.

Finally, we also recognize a category of Mechanical Workshop without specification, which comprises 24.1% of the companies and refers to those companies dedicated to mechanized, turning and rectification services, without specifying a particular destination.

The survey has focused especially on those economic units involved in production, however we were also able to verify the existence of other actors that make up the metal buying and selling circuit, as well as in the collection of metal waste. In total, they currently represent 13.8% of the cases, but in future research it is planned to continue with their identification, since they play a strategic role in thinking about instances of productive linkage with social integration (Table 1).

Table 1 Table 1 Metalworking companies surveyed in the northwest region of the GBA, according to type of activity carried out. José C. Paz, Malvinas Argentinas and San Miguel, 2022.

ACTIVIDAD	EMPRESAS	%
Metallurgical processes (melting)	3	3,4
Manufacture of supplies and metal goods	39	44,8
Manufacturing of metal machinery	12	13,8
Metalworking workshop without specification	21	24,1
Purchase and sale of metal goods	2	2,3
Purchase and sale of machinery	2	2,3
Purchase and sale of metals and supplies	8	9,2
TOTAL	87	100

Source.Own preparation.

The georeferencing of economic actors (Figure 3) allows us to identify the concentration patterns of the sector, articulated to the steel production nodes through national routes n° 8 and n° 9. Particularly at the intersection of both routes, in the Area of Promotion El Triángulo, is where we find companies dedicated to metallurgical foundry processes. Around this center-periphery axis, as well as the one formed by the provincial Route N°8, is where the metal machinery factories are mostly located (between Malvinas Argentinas and José C. Paz); while the companies dedicated to the manufacture of goods and supplies seem to be more in dialogue with the internal circulation axes of the area (in a north-south direction) through provincial routes n° 23 and n° 24. For their part, the jobs related to the metalworking sector seem to be distributed in the urban fabric of the area without a specific hierarchy. The railway roads do not determine the location patterns of companies, as we could see with the main routes and highways that support automotive transport. Following the categorization of actors of Arocena (1995), it remains to investigate the presence and actions of the chambers and other actors of the union and business sector, identifying at the moment the Association of Mining, Metallurgical and Metalworking Supervisors (ASIMRA), the Metallurgical Workers Union - San Miguel section and the Business Chamber of the Malvinas Argentinas Industrial Park (CEPIMA).

Figure 3

Figure 3 Figure 3 Location of economic actors in the metalworking sector. Parties of José C. Paz, San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas. 2023 Figure 3 Location of economic actors in the metalworking sector. Parties of José C. Paz, San Miguel and Malvinas Argentinas. 2023 Source.Own preparation.

Here we present some preliminary impressions and reflections derived from ongoing field work, started in 2022 and consisting of visits to metal-mechanical companies, observation and in-depth interviews with the owners/responsible. With this section we try to attend to the cultural and idiosyncratic dimensions around work and specific knowledge that, as we maintained in the theoretical framework, represent a fundamental element for local development. The companies analyzed below work in: manufacturing and maintenance of equipment for the baking sector; manufacturing of truck trailers; production of matrices and components for cryogenics and, finally, a metallurgical company dedicated to the manufacture of parts for the automotive industry.

Of the four cases surveyed so far, we observe that they all present similarities in their origins and trajectories in the area. They are family businesses established under the management of a family member, and where continuity occurred within the framework of a generational change in which management and work spaces were maintained, even expanding. A characteristic feature present in all the stories is the appreciation of in situ learning, as an inheritance of knowledge and expertise. Although in most cases the current managers have university or tertiary studies related to the sector, they recognize the importance of the family legacy. As Oscar ^[5] explains:

Aquí presentamos algunas impresiones y reflexiones preliminares que se derivan de un trabajo de campo en curso, iniciado en 2022 y que consiste en la visita a empresas metalmecánicas, observación y entrevista en profundidad a los dueños/ responsables. Con este apartado procuramos atender a las dimensiones culturales e idiosincráticas en torno al trabajo y los saberes específicos que, como sostuvimos en el marco teórico, representan un elemento fundamental para el desarrollo local(Oscar, personal communication, 09/06/23).

​This way of conceiving learning also affects the decisions when deciding to hire new workers. Those attitudinal aspects are prioritized, considering that the specific and technical knowledge applied to the production process is later acquired with the practice itself. They highlight their own work experience in the field and the transmission of techniques interpersonally in the workplace. This complex situation, although it constitutes an asset for collective learning, also represents an obstacle to technological innovation and conditions the possibility of making production processes more complex that increase added value.

Another element present and reiterated in the review of the origins and trajectories of the companies are the stories that intersect particular political and economic contexts in the future of the country (economic crises, hyperinflation, devaluations, political measures with restrictions) and history itself: opportunities, responses, strategic decisions to alleviate or take advantage of an opportunity. These experiences configure a flexible work logic that characterizes SMEs. For example, Oscar said that he began doing machinery repair and maintenance. Then, at the end of the nineties, the context of the economic crisis allowed them to acquire used machines (at auction or at very low prices) that they repaired and sold. By 2003, when the national economy improved and they noticed that people did not want used or repaired machines, they began to produce new machinery. For his part, Sebastián, responsible for another of the factories, also summarizes a similar trajectory with the expression: “We have grown and we had to shrink, you saw: growth, crisis, growth, crisis…” (Sebastián, personal communication, 05/10/ 22).

Another aspect that we are interested in addressing is that linked to the organization of production processes, the designation of functions and management of personnel. We did not find a common form in the four cases, there being structured schemes with defined functions and hierarchies, as well as flexible logic with rotating positions. Of course, the differences respond to the type of activity and complexity, whether they have standardized production or it is project-based, and the scale. In cases with several people responsible (siblings in association), the tasks are usually delimited in terms of powers and scope. Although it constitutes a valid organizational strategy and is widely used in companies, in the cases of family businesses it also has the purpose of restricting joint decision-making instances. As Sergio explains, in his company dedicated to the manufacture of domes and truck boxes: “I am in the assembly. My brother gives me the merchandise and I make it for him. Family business, imagine... With all the complications of a family business. We get along very well, eh, but it's not easy." (Sergio, personal communication, 09/06/23)

The managers interviewed work alongside the employees, while planning and supervising the activities. In cases where a design and preparation of plans is previously required, they are also the ones who carry it out (sometimes assisted by other workers). Finally, all the cases coincide in being jobs composed exclusively of a male workforce, while the presence of women is only due to the fact that they are family members and their roles are reduced to administrative and accounting tasks.

With respect to the territorial registration that these companies maintain and their relationship with the productive chain, we observe that, in terms of market and commercialization, they operate mainly in the area of their geographical location, that is, the scope of their sales is limited to the northern and western area of the Buenos Aires suburbs. Most usually have a large client that provides a certain regularity to the workload, and then a traveling clientele that complements and strengthens the production dynamic. As they are all companies with a history of more than 20 years, they have recognition in the market that guarantees sales and do not plan strategies to open new markets. For example, the company specialized in cryogenics has as its main client the industrial gases engineering company Linde, an international economic group that has an Argentine subsidiary in the Tigre District. Likewise, the company dedicated to the manufacture of parts for the automotive industry has Toyota outsourced companies as its main clients.

The acquisition of raw materials also responds to the local circuit, to a greater extent. As we pointed out at the beginning, proximity to the main steel plants conditions the market. In practice, they buy the steel from a wholesaler who distributes the monopolistic production carried out by Siderca and Tenaris. Although they do not produce serially, it is usually a common practice to stock up on raw materials, more for financial reasons - to be covered against possible increases (remember that steel has an international price) - than for productive reasons.

On the other hand, companies do not maintain stable links with the municipal public sector or with other public institutions in the region. One of the businessmen participates in the SME Forum, formed in 2017 at the initiative of UNPAZ; another commented having been a member of the San Miguel Chamber of Commerce and Industry, but they do not give much importance to the impact that such participation has on the development of the company.

They are aware of several of the programs promoted by the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security of the Nation through the municipal offices, they are even aware of the tax credit initiatives and help in hiring new jobs (Program Te Sumo) and in some cases they access them, but then they point out that the benefit is not significant.

Finally, a last aspect that we are interested in addressing, and that we consider constitutes a core part of any analysis of the action of the subjects, refers to the reflection on the meaning that they give to work (Touraine, 1987). Our work problematized the meaning of action from the vision of the SME entrepreneur, seeking to reflect in a reflective manner the perspective proposed by those in charge of managing the productive units. The discourse of entrepreneurs in terms of how they conceive their role translates into the recognition of their responsibility as organizers of the work process. The work is presented to them from a double consideration, which contemplates their own and that of others. The justification they try as a key to understanding the development, evolution and permanence of their companies in the market is linked to the experience they have, the effort they dedicate and persistence in the task. As Raul argues:

…I will be an entrepreneur the day we can organize ourselves, that I don't have to come here, that I don't have to work. The day we say that the business can be managed on its own without me having to be here every day. The day you have sales teams assembled, purchasing and administration teams, a workshop manager, a technical service manager... There you can say that I have a company and I come every other day, from time to time. If you can't organize yourself that way, you're not a real businessman (Raúl, personal communication, 03/28/23)

They work daily alongside their employees, they recognize the importance of the effort they make together, but they do not recognize themselves as entrepreneurs within the imaginary in which they place their role. For them, being an entrepreneur means organizing production and work in such a way that they do not have to be in the factory every day, not having to work so much.