A The attention of researchers on the topic of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has been drawn to three themes that have a strong interrelationship: 1) the process of creating new companies, especially technology-based ones; 2) local production arrangements (APLs); and 3) business mortality. The high mortality rate is characteristic of small businesses. Diagnosing the causes of mortality is not sufficient to understand the factors that lead to business longevity. If these factors are not understood, part of the efforts aimed at encouraging the creation of new companies will be lost given the high mortality rate observed. International research organized by Kantis et al. (2002) (in which the authors of this text participated, coordinating the Brazil chapter) reveals the profile of enterprises with up to 10 years of life. These already have some longevity characteristics.

Continuing the concern with the theme of business longevity, the authors decided to look for companies with more than 30 years of existence to study them. Many of them are SMEs. The first stage of the project, recently completed (which provided two Scientific Initiation works within the scope of Pibic for two students from the Institute of Economics and another that is being developed as a monograph) was to identify long-lasting industrial companies. To this end, based on data from an industrial registry in the Campinas region, prepared in 1976 by the Centro Técnico-Econômica de Assessoria Empresarial (CTAE) of Unicamp and, using various data sources, we sought to identify those that are still on the market . Comparing the data from the sources we had access to, it was possible to verify that 25% of the companies continue to operate. This means that over the 30 years, which correspond to the period 1976-2006, 75% of the region's industrial companies disappeared.

At this stage, some characteristics were observed that seem to contribute to the longevity of the enterprise. The next stage of the research will consist of an on-site study of these companies (some preliminary interviews have already been carried out) to understand which factors (entrepreneur profile, strategic decisions, technology policy, diversification decisions, use of financing sources, relational and cultural aspects , business succession policy, etc.) contributed to the longevity of the enterprise.

When observing the names of surviving companies, one aspect caught our attention: the familiarity with the names of an important portion of surviving companies. Many of these companies had participated in an extension program that was considered a priority by professor Zeferino Vaz for strengthening the local industrial structure and consolidating Unicamp's image within the local community: the small and medium enterprises program that was developed by CTAE.

Currently, Unicamp's presence is one of the relevant aspects in the configuration of the productive structure of the Campinas region, and is widely recognized as one of the region's strongest competitive advantages. The recognition of the relevance of this presence is due not only to the fact that the University represents an indisputable source of knowledge and provides high-level academic training, but also to the development and consolidation of university/company interactions, without this meaning breaking with autonomy regarding research, extension and teaching. As with other instances in the community, the University's relations with the local productive base have been going on since its early years, through various programs and contributing, through the dissemination of knowledge, to the development of technological and organizational innovations.

One of the pioneering forms of university/company relationships was through the CTAE. CTAE integrated, from 1968 to 1985, the former Department of Economic Planning (DEPE) of IFCH, developing a wide range of activities related to research and teaching (extension and postgraduate), focusing on SMEs industrial. The dissemination of knowledge in the area of ​​structure, management and organizational strategy took place through various courses and seminars, with the active presence of local businesspeople. The university/company interaction made possible by CTAE also led to a significant number of research in the areas of industrial and regional economy.

Research activities made it possible to create the first systematic pictures of the industrial structure of the Campinas region, which were based on field studies that allowed the construction of records on industrial companies operating here between 1974 and 1983 and several pioneering investigations on the industrial structure and the dynamics of SMEs. Teaching activities were developed in the form of extension courses and postgraduate courses. The extension courses, called Technical Courses for Company Managers (CTDEs) covered the areas of production management, cost and price determination, finance and marketing. 36 courses were run with a total of 720 participants, all with the participation of managers or managers of SMEs. The first course, in the area of ​​production management, was taught in Campinas in 1968. Two courses were taught in Manaus (Production in 1970 and Costs in 1971). The postgraduate courses aimed to train specialists in consultancy for industrial SMEs and technicians for Development Banks. Over the course of eight courses, 129 specialists were trained and, through six courses, 120 technicians were qualified. In addition to teaching and research activities, CTAE developed consultancy actions and sectoral programs focusing on SMEs.

The roots of the CTAE's conception date back to 1966. Its creators Osmar Marchese and Eolo Pagnani were part of the first group of experts trained by the Delft Program, developed by the University of São Paulo (coordinating institution), the National Bank for Economic Development (BNDES), as a financing institution, and the RVB of the University of Delft, executing and technical institution, as integral parts of an intergovernmental International Cooperation Program between Brazil and the Netherlands, under the auspices of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The knowledge and experience accumulated with the Delft Program were the inspiring elements for the conception and definition of the project (embryo of CTAE.) submitted to rector Zeferino Vaz, in July 1968, as one of DEPE's programmatic activities.

In the perception of rector Zeferino Vaz, it was important to insert the young Unicamp within the local community and action with small and medium-sized industrial companies was the chosen path. This is how Eustáquio Gomes reports Professor Zeferino Vaz’s relationship with courses for SME entrepreneurs:

The economic planning courses, for example, were the cornerstone of Zeferino's relations with the business community. He took great pleasure in signing the certificates of completion of these courses. He made a point of being present at the diploma ceremonies. By shaking hands with each graduate, it was as if giving a boost to Brazilian industry. To businesspeople from the international industry, with whom he frequently met to define the curricula of technological courses, he told them that the small and medium-sized business program should also be of interest to them, as they would profit as the peripheral sector organized itself and formed an auxiliary line. efficient. Only once, when the courses were still being set up and it was a matter of choosing a name for the program, did he ask:

— But why “small and medium” and not simply “company”?

Osmar Marchese, the creator of the courses, convinced him with an argument that used to touch him deeply:

— Because it is important to strengthen a business segment with a nationalist connotation” (GOMES, 2006, p. 105)

One of CTAE's most important works was the preparation of industrial registers for the region, with intense and detailed fieldwork and a set of detailed information. The availability of records represents a valuable source for studies on the evolution of long-lasting companies in the region.

Of the surviving companies, around 86% were small in 1976 (PEs), therefore demonstrating resilience and some type of competitiveness, despite the typical weaknesses inherent to small capital. It is therefore possible to affirm that, despite the weaknesses inherent to small capital, some PEs can maintain competitive positions and are capable of consolidating spaces in the markets.

Possible explanations for those that remain in activity, overcoming the phase of greatest risk of mortality, and continuing in the market for many years, must be sought in the history of each company. There is a significant presence of long-lived companies both in sectors with low dynamism and in which competition is predominantly based on prices, and in more dynamic sectors (PEs in specific niches). There are no major differences between the percentage of survival, in general, and that of companies located in APLs. The competitiveness of companies tends to be linked, more and more, to the set of interactions that define the system of interrelations in which the company is inserted and of which it represents only one of the links. At least in the Campinas region, what can be said is that the surviving small companies, despite the difficulties and various crises that marked the economy in the period, demonstrated management capacity and perception of the importance of diversification (which somehow requires innovation capacity, even if generally incremental, in processes, products and even market segments). This allowed not only survival, but also in several cases the transition from a small company to a medium-sized company (and in some cases to a large one, considering the number of employees). The experience accumulated by entrepreneurs/managers and their ability to understand and translate into compatible strategies the opportunities that open up for companies with little capital availability are decisive.

The contribution of the courses (CTDEs) taught by CTAE to SMEs in creating and improving management capacity and strategic vision is widely recognized in many of these companies. These long-lived companies contribute by generating employment and income (and, therefore, ICMS) in the region. In a way, they constitute a stable framework that characterizes local business identity and which, unlike large multinational companies, have their roots and fortunes closely related to the territory where they were born. Unicamp and these companies are part of the same locality and each participate in their specific functions in the evolution of the local productive structure.

Therefore, we consider that at a significant moment such as the celebration of Unicamp's 40th anniversary, long-lived local companies that attest to the university's long tradition in developing relationships with companies, especially smaller ones, must, in some way, integrate the celebrations.

It is with this aim that on December 1st at 19pm, in the IE auditorium, a group of 20 long-lived companies, former students of Unicamp's pioneering extension courses taught by CTAE, will receive a certificate of recognition for their contribution to the community location and its ability to resist adverse conditions. On that day, two CDs will be released, containing one, the teaching material used in CTAE courses, and the other, the research reports published by CTAE. With these two activities we seek to strengthen relations with the local business community and preserve the memory of the academic production of a body that was extremely important in defining Unicamp's profile within the local community. Given the importance that the CTAE industrial register had for the local productive fabric, in an attempt to reissue it, Extecamp (in partnership with NEPP) is maintaining a website that was developed within a project financed by Sebrae, where companies They can, free of charge, register and offer products and find suppliers. The address is www.rededeoportunidades.org.br.

The companies that will participate in the event have an average age of 46 years and account for 4.200 direct and formal jobs in the region (210 jobs on average per company), which highlights their importance for the region.