Business · Companies · 1 hr ago
Cooper Rafael Cabello says skilled-trade succession matters more than AI
Rafael Cabello founded Tonelería del Sur in 2005 in Montilla, southern Spain, after a family business making barrels closed.
He learned the cooper's craft from his father as a teenager and says he sees himself more as a cooper than a business owner.
His company makes barrels and repairs them, including barrels used to age whisky.
The company makes 12,000 barrels and repairs 25,000 each year, and it has 40 employees and revenue of nearly eight million euros.
Cabello says a lack of younger craftspeople worries him more than AI, as fewer young people want to learn the trade.
He says family members should earn their roles through ability and work, and that his children should choose their own futures rather than feel obliged to continue the business.
Rafael Cabello says the shortage of young people entering skilled trades worries him more than artificial intelligence.
Cabello learned cooperage from his father and has worked with wood since he was 15.
He founded Tonelería del Sur in 2005 after the family firm, Tonelería Hermanos Cabello, closed.
The company makes 12,000 barrels a year and repairs another 25,000 in Spain’s Montilla-Moriles region.
Tonelería del Sur has 40 employees and annual revenue of nearly €8 million.
- Who
- Rafael Cabello, founder of Tonelería del Sur.
- What
- He says the lack of generational succession in skilled trades concerns him more than artificial intelligence.
- When
- Not stated.
- Where
- Montilla, Córdoba, Spain; the company operates in the Montilla-Moriles region.
- Why
- Cabello says few adolescents aspire to become coopers, putting the future of the trade at risk.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Cabello began learning to work with wood from his father.
Cabello founded Tonelería del Sur after Tonelería Hermanos Cabello closed.
- Founded
- 2005
- Annual production
- 12,000 barrels
- Annual repairs
- 25,000 barrels
- Employees
- 40
- Annual revenue
- Nearly €8 million
- Location
- Montilla-Moriles, Córdoba, Spain
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What people are saying
La inteligencia artificial no es el enemigo
el apellido no puede garantizar un puesto
Yo me siento tonelero más que empresario