Odebrecht Informa
Transcription
Odebrecht Informa
ODEBRECHT #149 • vol XXXVII • jul/aug 2010 I N F O R M A English Edition Aquapolo Project: Recycled water boosts industrial development PVC for homes, the FIFA World Cup and Rio Olympics Contest lets you recount your story at Odebrecht Gaining a profession The challenges for those who believed and achieved today United States, 2010. odebrecht archive Twenty years after arriving in the USA, Odebrecht is carrying out a number of major projects in Florida and Louisiana after working in California and North Carolina (the photo shows Miami International Airport). During those two decades, the company has experienced growth based on long-term relationships established with clients and contractors, and an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the nation’s culture. This has enabled it to become a truly local company in the United States. 04 Recovery of a strip of beach in Sepetiba restores one of the loveliest stretches of RIO’S COASTLINE 06 ETH establishes a new ethanol and power production hub in MIDWESTERN BRAZIL 08 OR’s partnership with Gávea Investimentos bolsters its growth strategy in BRAZIL and OTHER COUNTRIES 12 In Mexico integrated water and power projects are a priority for 2010-2012 15 Odebrecht Informa gives you an opportunity to recount YOUR STORY with the Organization 16 Grooming farm equipment operators is a highlight of ETH’s professional EDUCATION initiatives 18 Acreditar Program will educate over 1,800 workers on the TRANSNORDESTINA Railway project in Brazil 21 Young Partners Program reaches top universities in the capital and interior of Angola 22 Launching the first edition of the Introduction to the Odebrecht Culture Program in the USA 26 Three Odebrecht companies join forces on the AQUAPOLO PROJECT 29 Detailed engineering of Braskem’s GREEN ETHYLENE plant uses 3D technology 30 Fire prevention training center at TRIUNFO, Rio Grande do Sul, is the only structure of its kind in Brazil 32 Braskem invests in building a new PVC plant in ALAGOAS, Northeastern Brazil 35 Comperj project in ITABORAÍ, Rio de Janeiro, involves largest earthmoving operation in Brazilian history 38 The CATOCA diamond mining venture marks 15 years in Angola 40 Construction of platforms P-59 and P-60 in BAHIA involves unprecedented feat of engineering 42 Restoration of MORRO DE SAO PAULO’s fortress in Bahia benefits former maroon communities ODEBRECHT INFORMA 149 Marines Gomes da Silva, a participant in ETH’s professional education program for farm equipment operators. Photo by Guilherme Afonso. sections 02 10 11 24 44 48 online version profile people interview newsroom notes argument 02 w w w. o d e b r e c h t o n l i n e . c o m . b r > online version > video reports > ETH Units are connected to Brazil’s national power transmission system > Moatize Coal project in Mozambique launches Productivity Program > In Dom Pedrito, Rio Grande do Sul, construction of the Taquarembó Dam enters a key phase > blog > Read posts by the magazine’s reporters and editors on the Odebrecht Informa blog written by Cláudio Lovato Filho, Fabiana Cabral, José Enrique Barreiro, Júlio César Soares, Karolina Gutiez, Leonardo Maia, Renata Meyer, Rodrigo Vilar, Zaccaria Júnior and collaborators. ODEBRECHT Founded in 1944, Odebrecht is a Brazilian organization made up of diversified businesses with global operations and world-class standards of quality. Its 92,000 members are present in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe. > Young Partners Program reaches the top universities in Luanda and the interior of Angola > Project restores Morro de São Paulo’s fort on Bahia’s Costa do Dendê > Recovery of a strip of beach in Sepetiba restores one of the loveliest stretches of Rio de Janeiro’s coastline > Braskem now produces polypropylene in the USA > web archives > Access all back issues of Odebrecht Informa > Odebrecht S.A. Annual Reports since 2002 > Special publications (Special Issue on Social Programs, 60 years of the Odebrecht Group, 40 Years of the Odebrecht Foundation and 10 Years of Odeprev) >new > Follow Odebrecht Informa on twitter and get the latest news in real time @odbinforma > Comment on blog entries and participate by sending suggestions to the editors Responsible for Corporate Communication at Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. Márcio Polidoro Responsible for PUBLICATIONS Programs at Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A. Karolina Gutiez Business Area Coordinators Nelson Letaif Chemicals & Petrochemicals • Miucha Andrade Ethanol & Sugar • José Cláudio Grossi Oil & Gas • Daelcio Freitas Environmental Engineering • Sergio Kertész Real Estate Developments • Coordinator at Odebrecht Foundation Vivian Barbosa Editorial Coordination Versal Editores Editor-in-Chief José Enrique Barreiro • Executive Editor Cláudio Lovato Filho • English Translation by H. Sabrina Gledhill • Art/Graphic Production Rogério Nunes • Photo Editor Holanda Cavalcanti • Infographics Adilson Secco • Illustrations Gilberto Marchi • Electronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri Printing 1,340 copies • Pre-Press/Printing by Pancrom Editorial Offices: Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-1778 • São Paulo +55 11 3641-4767 E-mail: versal@versal.com.br Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish. 03 The challenge of grooming teams Brazil is experiencing a period of massive public and private infrastructure investment. And when the country hosts the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics, those two major international sporting events will increase the demand for projects and services. For engineering and construction companies, which play a key role in this context, the biggest challenge is grooming a skilled workforce big enough to meet the nation’s needs. Odebrecht is doing its part to prioritize professional education at its construction sites. This issue of Odebrecht Informa highlights one of the Organization’s initiatives in this area: in the states of Pernambuco and Piauí, where its teams are building the Transnordestina Railway, Acreditar, the professional education program born at the Santo Antônio hydropower plant construction project in Rondônia, is once again proving its effectiveness. Introduced at Transnordestina in March 2010, the program will produce 1,800 skilled workers, including production and earthmoving assistants, steelfixers, carpenters, bricklayers, heavy equipment mechanics, truck drivers, and excavator, grader, tractor and crawler tractor operators. By late May, 766 had already graduated. These are people who now have more than a job; they have achieved a profession. The bioenergy sector is also hard at work in this area. In Goiás, a Brazilian state where ETH is present, the Odebrecht company that produces ethanol, sugar and electricity is carrying out a professional education program for farm machine operators. The selection process took place in December 2009, and 37 of the 40 participants who started the program completed it in June. Thirty-four of them are already operating sugarcane harvesters in the fields near the company’s Rio Claro Unit. The subject of the cover story of this issue of Odebrecht Informa, the training and qualification of Odebrecht’s teams is a daily task for the Organization’s leaders in Brazil and all the other countries where they are present. In Angola, for the first time the Young Partners program has reached major universities in the capital and interior of the country. In Mexico, support for Organization members’ development has garnered acclaim for Odebrecht as a benchmark in that country. In Angola, Mexico and Brazil, the future is being built through the transmission of knowledge, confidence in people’s ability and desire to develop, and a crucial emphasis on the spirit of service. Full understanding and shared experience of these principles form the basis of the alliance between three Organization companies on the Aquapolo Project, which will supply recycled water for industrial use in São Paulo State. The synergistic work of these companies is making an important contribution to Brazilian industry. It is an example of harmonious entrepreneurial operations in the service of Brazil. 04 environment Derci da Silva: he played soccer on the beach with his friends as a teen Paradise regained The restoration of a strip of sand restores one of the loveliest stretches of Rio de Janeiro’s coastline written by Marcus Neves / photos by Américo Vermelho Born in the Sepetiba district of Rio de Janeiro 75 years ago, the retired upholsterer Derci da Silva used to play soccer on the beach with his friends as a teen. He mourns the decline of that area, which was once a favorite getaway for local families and people from other neighborhoods. “Many vacationers had a holiday or weekend home in Sepetiba. When the quality of the beach was lost, they stopped coming. The result was a sharp drop in real-estate values and a blow to local commerce.” So far, Derci’s words are steeped in gloom, but he goes on to express great expectations: “I hope that once the beach is back to what it was before, all this will change,” he says. odebrecht informa Located in the Western Zone of Rio de Janeiro, at the end of Sepetiba Bay, the eponymous district has 40,000 inhabitants. Even Brazil’s royal family used to visit it in the early nineteenth century, before its beaches lost their lushness in the mid-twentieth century due to the constant accumulation of silt brought in by the tide. In May, Odebrecht Infraestrutura teams launched the Environmental Rehabilitation of Sepetiba Beach project, an initiative of the Rio de Janeiro State Department of the Environment, which is restoring that strip of sand. It is a long-held dream for local residents. Carried out by 150 Odebrecht members, the first stage of the project is to clean up the layer of silt, which involves removing debris and solid materials. The remainder will be covered with a permeable geotextile that allows water and gases to flow through. Fresh sand will be obtained from an underwater deposit in the bay, 7.5 km from the beach, and brought in by two dredgers thath will pump it onto the shore. The new strip of sand, which will be up to 400 m wide, will be reserved for leisure and sports, thereby contributing to the growth of new businesses focused on providing services to residents and visitors. The silt deposits on that part of the beach have produced typical mangrove plant life (Rhizophora, From January to October 1973, the Globo Network broadcast the first color telenovela in the history of Brazilian television: O Bem-Amado (The Well-Loved One). Written by Dias Gomes and directed by Régis Cardoso, it has become a classic, starring Paulo Gracindo in the role of the Mayor of Sucupira, Odorico Paraguaçu, and Lima Duarte as the gunman Zeca Diabo. Although the tale unfolds on the coast of Bahia, the soap was shot in Sepetiba. Odebrecht team works to restore the beach in Sepetiba: covered with a permeable geotextile Laguncularia and Avicennia) and a type of crab known as chamamaré. Therefore, before placing the geotextile, as its first mission, the company will collect and relocate 525,000 seedlings of local plants and about 780,000 crabs. “The seedlings are being transplanted on Fundão Island in Guanabara Bay, where the State Department of Environment, our client, is restoring the Cunha Channel by replanting the area with its original mangrove vegetation,” says Odebrecht Project Director Marcos Teixeira. “The crabs’ new home is a beach on the Santa Cruz Air Base, in an adjacent district,” he adds. The restoration project is slated for completion within a year. The Sepetiba community sees it as a watershed initiative that will usher in a new era for their neighborhood. “Especially for local businesses, which have suffered due to the economic stagnation of recent years,” said Paulo Eduardo Dias Sampaio, President of the Artisanal Fishermen’s Association of Sepetiba (Apas), who adds this observation: “Commerce really needs to recover, but it is important for fishermen to build a pier where they can unload their fish and a ramp for boat repairs and maintenance.” There are indeed great expectations in Sepetiba. odebrecht informa 06 bioenergy Power in the heart of Brazil ETH’s Alto Taquari Unit, in Mato Grosso (this page), and Morro Vermelho Unit, in Goiás (opposite, below): sugarcane milling will begin in 2010 ETH’s fourth ethanol and electricity production hub fuels economic growth in the Brazilian Midwest written by Guilherme Oliveira / photos by Holanda Cavalcanti In the second half of 2010, ETH Bioenergy will start up operations at its fourth ethanol and electricity production hub, located on the tri-state border of Goiás (GO), Mato Grosso (MT) and Mato Grosso do Sul (MS). Later this year, two new factories – Morro Vermelho (GO) and Alto Taquari (MT) – will start milling sugarcane, and by 2012, two more will go onstream. All told, these four units will create around 5,000 work opportunities and make ETH one of the leading companies in the sugar/ power industry. Completely mechanized, and equipped with advanced technology, the factories will have another advantage – low maintenance costs. Managing Director Fabiano Zillo underscores the features that set this production hub apart: “The layout of these units will allow greater odebrecht informa use of sugarcane straw as fuel for power generation, even during winter. Another innovation is the highcapacity diffuser to extract the juice.” To adapt the plants to the dry climate of Brazil’s Midwest, in addition to water-free cleaning systems, they are equipped with a gas scrubber that reduces water consumption. Jointly, by 2012 Morro Vermelho, Alto Taquari, and Costa Rica (MS) and Emendada (GO) will have the installed capacity to mill 14.4 million metric tons of sugarcane per harvest, enough to produce 1.3 million liters of ethanol and 1,180 GWh of electricity. To meet its production needs, ETH will plant around 200,000 ha of sugarcane. “It’s a challenge, because the region’s economy is also based on other crops and livestock husbandry. We will engage in an intensive process to qualify suppliers and tenant farmers to become long-term partners of ETH,” observes Fabiano Zillo. The new units will increase income levels and the quality of jobs in nearby towns and cities, and have already begun to heat up their local economies. Fernando Freitas, a merchant Fabiano Zillo and Erico Baracho (below): qualifying suppliers and grooming teams and great-grandson of the founder of the Goiás city of Mineiros, emphasizes: “Developments like these drive the region and benefit the city’s businesses. We will see a major positive change in the services sector in the coming years.” Educating and grooming teams of skilled workers to operate farm equipment is another challenge. “By 2012, we will have 5,000 members,” says Erico Baracho, the People and Administration Manager at the Hub. “Our priorities include educating these workers, adapting them to new technologies, providing conditions for this talent to stay in the company and introducing them to the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO),” he says. He also highlights the importance of good community relations. “We have visited several towns in the vicinity to introduce them to ETH: who we are, what we do, and how we want to partner up with our local municipalities and community members.” By 2012, production at the new hub will represent roughly 40% of ETH’s total output. Although significant challenges lie ahead, Fabiano Zillo is confident. “The team is highly motivated. There are many top-notch professionals here who are team players that identify with ETH and have undertaken the responsibility to help the company become number one in its industry.” odebrecht informa 08 real estate From left, Luiz Fraga, a Gávea Investimentos partner, Marcelo Odebrecht, President and CEO of Odebrecht S.A., Armínio Fraga, President and CEO of Gávea Investimentos, and Paul Altit Joining forces OR partners up with Gávea Investimentos to bolster its strategy of being real estate investors' preferred choice in Brazil and other countries written by Domitila Carbonari Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias (OR), the Organization’s real estate subsidiary, will launch major corporate, commercial, residential and multipurpose ventures in 2010 in all the regions of Brazil where it is present. They will total 5,000 units, representing a consolidated sales volume of BRL 3 billion. These are the real estate company’s highest numbers since its inception. In May, OR announced the arrival of a new partner: Gávea Investimentos, one of the leading asset managers in the Brazilian financial market. “Synergies with other Odebrecht companies on integrated infrastructure and real estate projects enable us to develop outstanding housing solutions for the economical segment, through Bairro Novo (New Neighborhood), and middle- and high-income segment. Now, Gávea will help us achieve our goal of being the preferred choice for real estate investors in Brazil and other countries,” says Paul Altit, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of OR. Founded in 2003, Gávea Investimentos operates in three areas: hedge funds, asset management and private equity. It has a total of about 100 members at its Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo offices, and currently manages assets valued at roughly BRL 10.2 billion. Gávea Investimentos now owns a 14.5% stake of OR, and has two representatives on its Board of Directors. They are Amauri Bier and Ricardo Schenker Wajnberg. "Synergies with other Odebrecht companies enable us to develop outstanding housing solutions" odebrecht informa [ Paul Altit ] OR Housing Solutions Bairro Novo Construction and delivery of Bairro Novo (New Neighborhood) units are continuing at a rapid pace. In 2010, OR’s brand for the economical housing segment launched new stages in the city of Fortaleza and the Jardins do Mangueiral Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the Federal District (Brasilia). Additionally, 5,900 units are being built for Guaranteed Demand projects for families earning from zero to three minimum salaries (one minimum monthly salary = BRL 510 in July 2010). This year, the company has been contracted to deliver over 3,800 units in Peixinhos, Ceará; João Matos, Pernambuco; and São Gonçalo and Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro. Brisas do Lago OR’s latest venture, Brisas do Lago (Lake Breezes), marks the company’s arrival in Brasilia’s high-end housing segment. Carried out in partnership with Antares Engenharia, this project is a 750-room extended-stay hotel. It will be built on a 28,000-sq.m property flanked by the Golf Club and Lake Paranoá. The company sold 80% of its units on the launch date. Murano ≥ An absolute sales success in Santos, São Paulo, with 75% of units sold on the launch date, The Garden, located in the Bairro do Orquidário (Orchid District), is the result of a detailed study that revealed major potential for increasing real estate values in that region. OR has launched a new high-standard development in harmony with environmental principles on the last piece of land available on Icaraí Beach in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. At Murano, apartments will have ample balconies overlooking Icaraí Beach and Canico Mountain. Murano has a GSV (General Sales Value) of BRL 250 million, and 80% of its units were sold in the first month, matching the success of the company’s first venture in Rio de Janeiro, Dimension & Park Office. Launched in December 2009, 80% of its units have already been sold. Reserva do Paiva New launches In the first half of 2010, OR’s clients will be receiving delivery of Morada da Península, an exclusive gated community in Reserva do Paiva. The state of Pernambuco’s newest planned district, it is located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho county. Also in 2010, the company will launch Vila Coral, a 132-unit complex of apartments with areas of 238 to 251 square meters overlooking the sea and the Atlantic Forest. OR is getting ready to launch more developments in the coming months: Vila dos Corais, in Reserva do Paiva, Pernambuco; Hangar and Patamares, in Salvador, Bahia, and new ventures in Campinas and Santos, in São Paulo State, and Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The company has also launched an innovative concept in vacation homes, Quintas Private Residences, on the state of Bahia’s Costa dos Coqueiros (Coconut Coast). The Garden odebrecht informa 10 A cosmopolitan country boy written by Renata Meyer PERSONAL ARCHIVES “Olímpia is the capital of the universe.” Engineer Pedro Mathias talks about his hometown in rural São Paulo State with a touch of humor and nostalgia. Despite his strong roots in the Brazilian countryside, the youngest of seven siblings soon learned to admire different cultures. Married with two children, Pedro has worked in Gabon and the Netherlands. Just over a year ago, he moved to South Korea, where he is Project Director for the construction of drill ships Norbe VIII and Norbe IX. Although it took a while to get used to the local language and cuisine, he guarantees that life in that country has many attractions. “Koreans are wonderful people. They’re very friendly and, like the Brazilians, they love to have fun.” An oil drilling expert, Pedro joined Odebrecht Perfurações Ltda. (OPL) in 1983 and worked at the Organization’s first oil drilling subsidiary until 1997. Then, in May 2009, he returned to join the team at Odebrecht Oil & Gas (OOG), OPL’s recently created successor. Based on nearly 30 years’ experience in the oil business, Pedro views honing people’s skills as one of his biggest challenges at this stage of his career. “We are responsible for grooming professionals who can serve their clients anywhere in the world,” he says. Outside of his busy work schedule, which includes inspections, equipment tests and regular team motivation activities, among other tasks, Pedro visits friends, goes hiking, looks after the family dogs and travels. “My wife, Fernanda, and I have our own personal PA (Action Program), which includes visiting as many Asian countries as possible.” odebrecht informa 11 by eliana simonetti Living non-stop Responsible for five Functional Programs at Odebrecht, including Procurement & Logistics and Finance, MILENA MORENO GIGLIOTI and her partners are carrying out initiatives that expand Organization members’ knowledge. She lives in Santo André, 30 km from the São Paulo office, and travels throughout Brazil to see how programs are being developed and utilized. Her lifestyle is fast paced, and she likes it that way. So much so that, in her spare time, her favorite sport is running. “I’m not one to stand still,” she explains. PERSONAL ARCHIVES Milena’s fast-paced lifestyle Passionate about places and cultures An Argentine national with an engineering degree and an MBA, PABLO BROTTIER joined the Organization in Brazil four years ago. He has travelled extensively in that country, visiting 16 states on business and as a tourist. Now, he is back in his native land, where he is Project Director for the CCR unit being built for the YPF oil company. When asked to describe Buenos Aires, he says, “It’s a city with everything to offer.” And he gives some tips: “I recommend taking a tour of the city. Whatever you do, you must try a parrillada (barbecue) in Puerto Madero or Las Cañitas. But I warn you, there’s no point in asking them to cook thick cuts of bife de chorizo, top loin or vacío well done. That’s impossible!” The joys of country living Rubian and (whenever possible) rural peace and quiet RUBIAN ZILLMER has lived in Nova Alvorada do Sul, in the southeastern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, for ten years, and joined ETH Bioenergy two and a half years ago. A native of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, she has a business degree with a specialization in Human Resources Management. She is responsible for people development, educational and training programs in the operational area of the company’s industrial and agricultural units. Rubian enjoys life in the country, where her children can play safely, but she travels often and can’t always enjoy the rural peace and quiet. “ETH has given me the opportunity to have educational leaders. I work with people from varied cultural backgrounds and have learned the importance of adapting and being influenced by others,” she says. Guilherme afonso Guilherme afonso Pablo, an Argentine who knows Brazil well odebrecht informa 12 mexico Because of people Odebrecht gains recognition in this country for offering growth opportunities to its members written by Leonardo Maia / photos by Roberto Rosa Odebrecht Mexico Members: confidence in youth odebrecht informa For the third consecutive year, Odebrecht Mexico has garnered the title of Socially Responsible Business from the Social Responsibility Alliance (AliaRSE) and the Mexican Center for Philanthropy (Cemefi). By making socially responsible management an integral part of its business strategy, for the second time the company has also secured a place on the list of “100 Best Companies to Work For,” based on a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute that measures the quality of the working environment and the strength of the company’s organizational culture. According to Luis Weyll, CEO of Odebrecht Mexico, these accolades are mainly the result of the priority the company ascribes to its members and community relations. “The application of the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology gives us outstanding management, which is clearly evident in the way our teams work together and interact, and how we deal with communities, unions and other institutions. In addition to all this, our concern for occupational safety and the social and environmental aspects of our operations creates a basis for sustainable growth.” The effort to hone members’ expertise gets special attention on both of the Odebrecht projects now underway in that country - the upgrading and expansion of the General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río Refinery for Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in Mina- General Lázaro Cárdenas del Río de Minatitlán Refinery • PROJECT: two of the six packages of services for the refinery. Package 4: hydrogen, sulfur and diesel units. Package 5: amine, coker naphtha and delayed coking units, with associated gas plant. • LOCATION: State of Veracruz • PERIOD: February 2005 to December 2010 • COMPANY MEMBERS: 2,400 (3,600 at peak) titlán, and the Michoacán Farm Irrigation Project for the State Government of Michoacán. “Mexico is becoming a hub for grooming skilled professionals who go on to work in other markets. Professionals here have similar qualifications to those of their counterparts in Brazil,” observes Luis. In this context, the highlight is the Michoacán project, which currently has 15 members who have taken part in the Young Partners program. They are working on a project with a strong social aspect that will supply water to a drought-stricken region of the country. A dam and two channels will irrigate farmland in that area. Evaristo Martinez, a 25-year-old engineer, is proud to be playing an active role in this process. “Water produces direct benefits for society. The public’s satisfaction is a well-known fact. They offer us fruit to thank us for our work.” Evaristo joined Odebrecht 18 months ago and plans to make his career with the company. “Here, young people are trusted, which makes our responsibility even greater. If more trust were placed in Mexico’s youth, I am convinced that this country would be better. We feel like we own the business,” he says. Tzitziki Del Vale is also 25 and has a degree in Economics. Her eyes shine when she talks about her work at Michoacán. “This is one of the most important projects in the country, and the first job opportunity for nearly all the young partners here. I live at the campsite from Monday through Friday, working alongside different people who all share the desire to develop. This isn’t just a job for me – it’s where I live, make friends and create affinities,” says Tzitziki. Engineer Álvaro Monroy, 28, is also working on the Minatitlán project, and he has ambitious plans for the future. He was pleasantly surprised by the group interview that took place during the hiring process, which is unusual in his country, as well as when the then-CEO of Odebrecht Mexico, Miguel Peres, called him by name on the second day of interviews. “I was the one with everything to gain and I couldn’t even remember his name! That caught my attention and showed how much the company values people. I soon realized that this was a careermaking company.” Speaking excellent Portuguese with a very slight accent, Alvaro reveals one of his dreams: working in Brazil. “My first goal was learning Portuguese. When I joined the company, I saw that it was highly odebrecht informa Michoacán Farm Irrigation Project • PROJECT: building a dam 89 m in height and 268 m in length, and two channels (one 35.5 km and the other 22.5 km in length). • PERIOD: December 2006 to July 2011 • COMPANY MEMBERS: 630 • LOCATION: State of Michoacán. internationalized, and began studying the language. Today my main target is Brazil,” he says. Basis for growth Growth is the watchword at Odebrecht Mexico, which focuses on specific areas to make that market one of the most important ones for the company in Latin America. Investing in people is a top priority. “Our youth is committed and adherence to our culture is strong. People’s education and training will be our springboard for growth. We want to transform ourselves into a mature market by 2012, operating as a local company,” underscores Luis Weyll. The pursuit of maturity is taking place at a time when Odebrecht Mexico is coming of age, with 18 years’ experience in that country. Its track record includes projects that have become national landmarks, such as the Los Huites Dam. “Mexico is experiencing a new stage of growth. It is one of the two largest economies in Latin America, but only has a 2% share of exports from Brazil. Its economy is worth USD 1 trillion, close to odebrecht informa that of the USA, which creates a very attractive market for the operations of several Odebrecht companies,” adds Luis. For example, Braskem is making its biggest foreign investment in Mexico – Ethylene XXI, a USD 2.5-billion petrochemical project underway in Vera Cruz. The majority partner in the venture, with a 65% stake, Braskem will form a partnership with IDESA of Mexico. The plant will go into operation by 2015, producing up to a million metric tons of ethylene and polyethylene annually. “We have a synergistic relationship with Braskem and Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (the Organization’s industrial engineering subsidiary). We are joining forces to benefit both partners. We can’t just be builders. Now we are also investors and want to make projects feasible for this country,” says Luis Weyll. During the three-year period between 2010 and 2012, Odebrecht is focusing on integrated projects in the water supply and energy sectors. This is a market niche that meets the urgent requirements of states like México, Michoacán, Vera Cruz, Campeche and Tamaulipas. “Our plan is to gain ground in each state of the federation. We will partner up with midsize companies and deliver solutions that include financial structuring,” says Luis. “Today, 90% of this country’s energy is dependent on oil. The Mexican Government has plans to shift to 40% renewables. Projects like these will receive special incentives,” he observes. contest 15 Recount your story at Odebrecht This is the name of the contest that will reward the winner with a cover story on issue no. 150 of Odebrecht Informa Everyone has a story. And every story is worth telling. Therefore, Odebrecht Informa is holding the “Recount your story at Odebrecht” contest to celebrate the 150th issue of the magazine, which will be published in September this year. All members of the Organization can participate (except the team that produces the magazine) by writing about their careers at Odebrecht or an interesting incident or watershed event in the course of their professions. The winning story will be featured on the cover of issue no. 150. The other stories will be published online in the magazine’s digital edition. “Our goal is to provide an opportunity for members of all Odebrecht companies to share the stories of their professional careers," says Karolina Gutiez, the officer Responsible for Odebrecht’s Publications Programs. “By enabling people to tell their own stories, this contest is also Odebrecht Informa’s contribution to the retrieval, dissemination and preservation of our corporate memory.” Remember the deadline To participate, members must submit their stories at the following web address: www.odebrecht.com/ contesuahistoria. The writing style is left to each author’s discretion, but pay attention to the length requirements: entries cannot be less than 3,000 characters (including spaces) or more than 4,000 characters (including spaces) long. The essays must be submitted in Portuguese, English or Spanish. Members who write in other languages will have to have their story translated into one of these three languages before submitting their entry. If they like, members can also send in JPG photos that represent their careers at Odebrecht. The images should portray situations, places or people related to the story, avoiding pictures that are out of context with the subject matter. Entries can be submitted between July 9 and 5 pm GMT on July 30, 2010. The winner will be chosen by a judging panel and announced on August 16 at www.odebrecht.com/ contesuahistoria. odebrecht informa 16 professional education The courage to change and grow The Training Course for Farm-Machine Operators and other professional education initiatives are creating life and career prospects for residents of the communities where ETH is present written by Guilherme Oliveira / photos by Guilherme Afonso I heard about it from a sound truck and realized I had the wrong sort of job,” says Lucelma Binatti. “I wanted to get ahead.” ETH Bioenergy’s open invitation to the communities of Caçu and Cachoeira Alta, in the Brazilian state of Goiás, made Lucelma, who has a Nursing Certificate, apply for a place in the company’s training program in December 2009 and leave the profession she had followed for nearly 20 years at Caçu County Hospital. She was determined to join the class of 40 people taking the Training Course for Farm-Machine Operators, one of the professional education programs ETH is offering in its units’ local communities. The program made available to Lucelma and her classmates took 500 class-hours, including theory and practice, and ended in June. Thirty-seven of the 40 students graduated and 34 are already operating harvesters in the cane fields near the company’s Rio Claro Unit. “The sugar/power industry is mod- odebrecht informa ernizing and growing very quickly, but it lacks skilled workers. We must help the community obtain the necessary job skills,” explains Cláudia Ajbeszyc, the ETH officer Responsible for People Development. A month before the group graduated, the same story unfolded once again: ETH announced that there were 180 more openings for seven groups of students who would take courses totaling over 1,600 class-hours. This time, the invitation was extended to company members working at the Rio Claro Unit as well as the local communities. “It’s important to offer in-house growth opportunities and show our members that they have career prospects. We must ensure the continued growth of these professionals,” Cláudia observes. One company member who seized that opportunity with both hands was Uilane Melo, age 22. Born in Mirangaba, Bahia, early this year she moved to Cachoeira Alta along with her husband and father, who roam Brazil in search of work, season after season, manually harvesting sugarcane. After weeding the fields for three months, she got a job directing traffic at the Logistics yard. The following month, Uilane signed up for and was selected to take the Farm-Machine Operators training course. She will soon be back in the fields, this time, at the wheel of a harvester. The classes are being taught in partnership with the SENAI (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service). Students in programs like these do not just learn to operate equipment. “They learn about parts, the engine, mechanics and the cause of every problem that could arise,” explains Edson Silva, a student in the tractor operator class. “Even people who have been operating equipment for a long time should learn these things!” Edson had been working as a cane cutter since he was 13 when he put down his machete and enrolled in the course. “After 120 hours of study and training, there’s no way you won’t become an excellent operator. I’m studying hard so I’ll be hired before the course is over,” he says hopefully. Lucelma, Uilane and Edson come from different backgrounds but are on the same track. Driven by the courage to change their lives, they have found the career opportunities they needed in the cane fields. Rio Claro Unit in Caçu, Goiás odebrecht informa 18 professional education Making dreams come true At the Transnordestina Railway works, the Acreditar Project is a way to get a profession written by Cláudio Lovato Filho / photos by Élvio Luiz odebrecht informa Genicleide, Thiago and Elisângela. Three Brazilians in search of a profession. They found one in the backlands of the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco, where the Transnordestina Railway is being built. Genicleide and Elisângela have become truck drivers and Thiago is now a carpenter. All three look forward confidently to a bright and rewarding future. They all achieved this through the Ongoing Professional Education Program, or Acreditar (Believe), which arrived in Salgueiro, Pernambuco, in March 2010, bringing work opportunities and income to a region whose economy relies on agriculture and has historically faced major challenges. That is where the program got its start on the Transnordestina Railway works. One of Odebrecht’s bases for that project is in Salgueiro, where its teams are building the stretch linking the Port of Pecém in Ceará with the Port of Suape in Pernambuco. In April, the program was introduced at another Pernambuco jobsite: Serra Talhada. In May, it was the turn of Paulistana, in the state of Piauí. By the end of that month, Acreditar had graduated 766 workers out of the 3,706 students enrolled, 708 of whom are participating in the Federal Government’s Bolsa Família or Family Grant program. One hundred and RAILWAY WILL LINK THREE STATES Built through an alliance contract between Odebrecht and Transnordestina Logística S.A., a subsidiary of Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), the Transnordestina Railway will be 1,728 km long and connect three states: Ceará, Piauí and Pernambuco. Odebrecht is responsible for the construction of the 1,100 km section between Eliseu Martins, Piauí, and Suape, Pernambuco, which is slated for completion by 2012. Elisângela: breaking a taboo Genicleide: “I want to make this my career” seven of the graduates were hired to be production and earthworks assistants, steelfixers, carpenters, bricklayers, heavy equipment mechanics, truck drivers, and excavator, grader, farm tractor and crawler tractor operators. And 238 of the graduates are women. Genicleide da Conceição Santos, 31, is the mother of three. She used to work in sales, but wanted to drive a dump truck. Her father, a farmer, had owned one, and as a child she used to take the wheel now and again. She signed up with Acreditar as soon as the program arrived in Salgueiro. In just 12 days, she had taken the basic, theoretical and practical modules taught by SENAI (National Industrial Apprenticeship Service) instructors. She completed the course on May 28. Now she is waiting to be called in to work at the jobsite. “I want to make this my career,” she says. She already has her sights on her next target: “I'm going to learn to operate an excavator.” odebrecht informa Thiago Bruno Costa, 21, also hoped to get a job at the railway works and his story already has a happy ending. He graduated from the carpentry course in April and started work on May 19. “This here is everything I imagined!” he says. His stepfather and older brother are carpenters, and Thiago made his own toys as a child. Today, he is helping build a railroad that is over 1,700 km long. Geraldo Jerônimo da Silva listens to Thiago’s conversation with the Odebrecht Informa team with an air of satisfaction. The general supervisor in charge of rail bridges, he has been with Odebrecht for 35 years, and spent the last seven in Angola. “He’s got to say if he wants to be a professional or not,” says Geraldo, referring to Thiago. He explains in the words of a leader: “It takes dedica- tion and patience on our part.” Jorge Raffide, the engineer responsible for rail bridges, adds: “Acreditar is an investment. We mentor the people who join our team. The results will come in a few months’ time.” If it depends on the new professionals’ motivation, the results will exceed expectations. “I’m here because I like driving and because there’s a lot of prejudice against women drivers,” says Elisângela Rodrigues Chaves, who graduated as a dump truck driver. “I want to help break that taboo.” She started driving at age 9, behind the wheel of her father’s truck. “We have some terrific life stories here,” says Luiz Antonio de Freitas, Odebrecht’s Administrative Officer in Salgueiro. Expectations are that Acreditar will produce another 1,800 skilled work- ers at the Transnordestina works. This is the first time Odebrecht has implemented the program in partnership with another company, Transnordestina Logística S.A. The two companies are building the railroad under an alliance contract. “As entrepreneurs, we are committed to empowering workers to play an active role in these works and future projects in the region,” says Odebrecht Project Director Pedro Leão. In another first, the Acreditar program is being carried out in two states at the same time on the same project, in Pernambuco and Piauí. “The involvement of local partners, such as municipal governments, churches, trade associations and the media, has been crucial to the results we are achieving with Acreditar,” says Pedro. Geraldo and Thiago: generations working side by side at the jobsites odebrecht informa angola 21 Young Partner participants in the edition begun in 2009 and the one held in 2004: professional growth Reaching out to youth Young Partners program grows and reaches Angola’s top universities in the capital and interior written by Fabiana Cabral / photo by Eduardo Barcellos In 2009, Odebrecht Angola’s Young Partners Program included all the major universities in that SouthwestAfrican country for the first time, and had a surprising number of applicants – 1,345. A total of 151 young people were pre-approved and 16 began working on several projects in early 2010, including civil engineer Belter Cordeiro da Silva. “I wanted to acquire professional experience that can’t be found in books,” he says. Odebrecht’s partnership with educational institutions affords a continuous exchange of experiences and enables students to visit the company’s projects in Angola. “Thanks to the expansion of the program, we want to be students’ first choice,” says Diana Ortiz, the company’s officer Responsible for People and Organization. One afternoon in April, the current Young Partners and four Organization members who participated in the program in 2004 (held at Agostinho Neto University) got together in Luanda. Their meeting with the Odebrecht Informa team gave these former and new young partners an opportunity to trade information. “We are contributing to the nation’s development by working for an Organization that values education and training,” said Agílio Campos, who joined Odebrecht as a Young Partner and is now the Equipment and Industrial Plants Manager at the Huambo and Malange projects. Young Partner Nanucha Miguel listened attentively to Agílio’s comments before observing: “Youth is the lifeblood of society.” When enrollment begins in August 2010, the program will include educational institutions in even more Angolan cities. “Investing in young people’s professional development is a commitment that Odebrecht has undertaken with this country," says Diana Ortiz. odebrecht informa 22 united states Transforming lives In-depth knowledge of TEO and its application in the USA changes people’s daily lives inside and outside the workplace written by Leticia Novis Villasboas photos by Denise Cruz "TEO is a philosophy of work and life unlike any I’ve experienced" odebrecht informa [ Gregory Hal Newman ] Larger photo, participants in the first US edition of the Introduction to the Odebrecht Culture Program in Miami. In the other photos, Gilberto Neves (at the microphone), the Odebrecht CEO in that country, with Renato Baiardi, a Member of the Board of Odebrecht S.A., and Jairo Flor, Odebrecht’s Planning, People and Finance manager in the United States, giving a presentation to program participants: spotlighting leader-team member relations Odebrecht arrived in the United States 20 years ago. Through the Introduction to the Odebrecht Culture Program, whose first edition in that country (and in English) began in Miami on May 7, the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO) is reaching the Organization’s American members with an emphasis on productive study and the discussion of the principles that have characterized Odebrecht since its inception. Celia Sherwood, Sam Ballan and Gregory Hal Newman, young Odebrecht members in the USA, are among the 45 people in the class taking the first edition of the program, which will run until August 2. For Celia, Sam and Gregory, this is an opportunity to heighten their perceptions and knowledge of TEO, as well as to make discoveries about their own professional and personal lives. Sam is an engineer who joined Odebrecht 15 years ago and is now working on the project that will connect Miami Airport to the city’s metro system. Thanks to the introductory program, he realizes that TEO has always permeated the relationships within his team. “Learning about the Odebrecht Culture invariably depends on the ‘student’s’ active efforts,” he says. “TEO is a tool for growth within the Organization. You’re not an employee, you’re a partner. What we have here is not just a job, it’s your business, your project,” he adds. Gregory, an engineer who joined Odebrecht two years ago and currently works on the pumping plant projects in Jefferson Parish, in the New Orleans metropolitan area, observes: “TEO is a philosophy of work and life unlike anything I’ve experienced at other companies.” He also notes that his contact with TEO has broadened his horizons and enabled him to set new standards for analyzing businesses in general. By participating in the program, Celia, who has been with Odebrecht for 14 years and is now on the company’s Planning, People and Finance team, realized that through her leader’s encouragement she has come to believe she can always overcome her own limitations through a “constant cycle of recommencing and overcoming.” For Odebrecht members in the United States, the experience of TEO has been reflected in changes in people’s professional and personal attitudes. Celia clearly remembers when, shortly after joining Odebrecht, her leader told her what he expected of her in terms of performance. Celia thought, “My God, is he really going to want me to do all that?” Later on, she understood that his expectations were imbued with “Planned Delegation” and “Trust.” Celia took those lessons home and decided to complete her studies to set an example for her children in what she calls a demonstration of the concepts of “Leadership” and the “Pedagogy of Presence.” Now she is working hard to get her kids involved in volunteer projects to encourage them to practice the “Spirit of Service” within their family. odebrecht informa 24 interview Cultivating leadership “It’s critical to have a clear vision of a motivated, competent and aligned team.” This statement by José Carlos Grubisich, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of ETH Bioenergy, gives a good idea of how this native of Itatinga, São Paulo, leads the company whose goal is becoming a leader in the bioenergy market by 2012. “Hard work and discipline are also key,” he adds. An Odebrecht subsidiary, ETH focuses on integrated production, marketing and logistics for ethanol, electric power and sugar. In this interview, José Carlos Grubisich tells Odebrecht Informa about the major transformation that is underway in the sugar/power industry, both in terms of operations – with upgraded and more automated technology – and consolidation, which is giving rise to robust groups that can grow even faster and more competitively. written by Zaccaria Júnior photo by Holanda Cavalcanti odebrecht informa Odebrecht Informa – Brazil is now the global leader in the sugar/ethanol industry. What stages of development were required to attain that position? José Carlos Grubisich – First, Brazil has a historical tradition of sugarcane and ethanol and sugar production. We have experienced three major periods. The first was the arrival of sugarcane in this country for the production of sugar and cachaça. It was originally planted in the Northeast and later came to the Central South. There was a second period of major investment and growth associated with the use of ethanol as an alternative fuel through the Proálcool program (launched in 1975 under President Ernesto Geisel), which appeared to give the country a certain energy independence during the oil crisis. The third period began with the creation of the Flex engine, which has completely changed the industry’s dynamics. OI – Why is the Flex technology having such an impact on the industry? Grubisich – Flex technology, which was launched on the Brazilian market in 2003, is very creative, allowing the consumer to decide which fuel to use based on price or environmental awareness. The introduction of the Flex engine has radically impacted the growth curve for ethanol production. OI – How much has ethanol production grown in Brazil? Grubisich – To give an idea, ethanol consumption in 2006 was around 12 billion liters. By 2009, reported consumption growth was twice that – 24 billion liters. Ethanol has proven to be a clean renewable fuel that is also competitive, as it ends up being cheaper than gasoline in most Brazilian states. OI – And compared with other fuels? Grubisich – In recent years, due to the major changes underway in this industry due to investment and modernization, the cost of ethanol production has fallen significantly and its sales price has been very competitive compared to gasoline. In 2009, more ethanol than gasoline was sold on the Brazilian market for liquid fuels. OI – Is the global market following the same consumption trend? Grubisich – Increasing consumption of ethanol in the United States, Europe, Japan and China, countries that have researched the matter further, has the advantage of reducing dependence on oil. Oil prices have not risen as much as they would have under normal conditions, and the big advantage, in addition to energy security, is to have a fuel that reduces emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It offers the hat-trick of energy security, competitiveness and sustainability. Ethanol, which is already a reality in the Brazilian market, has also attracted the attention of major fuel consumers around the world. OI – Is ETH prepared to meet this demand? Grubisich – The industry has changed a great deal. Factories are bigger and have added more technology and automation. Farming is entirely mechanized, from planting to harvesting. ETH started out with the aim of achieving complete mechanization in its operations. All our units (nine all told, with production hubs in the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Goiás) have the requisite scale: they each produce 4 million to 6 million metric tons of sugarcane, which is two to three times more than the Brazilian average for this sector. The social and environmental conditions at our company are also considered the most advanced in the industry. OI – What is the biggest challenge facing ETH today? Grubisich – It is linked to our ability to carry out the projects that are already underway. Based on a total investment of BRL 7.3 billion, by 2012 we want to become a bioenergy leader, producing 3 billion liters of ethanol and 2,700 GWh per year of electricity from sugarcane. This year, in addition to the expansion of our existing units, two new ones, Morro Vermelho and Alto Taquari, will go into operation (see article on pages 6 and 7). OI – How are the company’s teams tackling this challenge? Grubisich – One of the cornerstones of our culture is having confidence in people and grooming them so they can fully take on their responsibilities and entrepreneur the business. The Odebrecht Organization’s culture is revolutionizing the industry. OI – Now that the industry has been consolidated, professionals’ qualifications must also be brought up to par. Do you agree? Grubisich – Yes, I do. In the last harvest season alone (2009-2010), ETH invested about BRL 500,000 in educational and training programs. Every month, 22% of ETH’s approximately 8,000 members go through some kind of training, either technical, health and safety, or leadership development. All these programs are aligned with the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology. This makes a very big difference in the way we operate. We want to become the number one company in the bioenergy sector, both in ethanol and power production, using biomass as fuel. The key is always combining sustainability and competitiveness. odebrecht informa 26 water & sewer Team spirit Foz do Brasil, Quattor and Odebrecht Infraestrutura partner up on a project to supply recycled water for industrial use written by Marco Antônio Antunes / photos by Guilherme Afonso The aim of the Aquapolo Project, being carried out for Sabesp (the São Paulo State water and sewer company) in a 15,000-sq.m area on the grounds of the ABC Sewage Treatment Plant (ABC STP) at the boundary between São Paulo City and São Caetano do Sul, is to provide water recycling services to Greater São Paulo’s main industrial district. It is also the best example of what could be called full synergy among three subsidiaries of the same organization. Three Odebrecht Organization companies are taking part in this project: Quattor, a subsidiary of Braskem, Foz do Brasil, which operates in the environmental engineering sector, and Odebrecht Infraestrutura, which is responsible for building the infrastructure facilities. odebrecht informa The result of a BRL 253-million investment, this project will supply recycled water to companies based at the Capuava Petrochemical Complex in the ABC Paulista region. The water will be transported from the Industrial Water Plant in São Paulo City to the industrial district via a 17-km steel pipeline that will run through Santo Andre and São Caetano counties. The main client will be Quattor. Investments and operations will be carried out by Aquapolo Ambiental, a Special Purpose Company (SPC) set up by Foz do Brasil (51%) and Sabesp (49%), through a 34-year contract that will extend until 2043. The raw materials for the plant will be supplied by Sabesp’s STP, which collects and treats sewage from the ABC region and the East Zone of São Paulo. After undergoing primary and secondary treatment, it will be returned to Ribeirão do Meninos, a tributary of the Tmanduateí River, which flows into the Tiete. The Aquapolo plant will ensure that much of this water receives tertiary treatment, thereby making it suitable for industrial use on a large scale. São Paulo Governor Alberto Goldman observes: “This will be the largest plant of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere and the fifth largest in the world.” Aquapolo will produce up to 1,000 liters per second of treated water. “Through this new venture, Sabesp is fulfilling its goal of being an environmental solutions business,” says Gesner Oliveira, the President of the state-owned water and sewer company. In addition to benefiting the industries that use water in their processes, which will no longer run the risk of shortages, the project has another important advantage: Sabesp will increase the supply of treated drinking water for the São Paulo metropolitan area, where water sources are becoming increasingly scarce. The amount of first-use water that will no longer be consumed by industries is large enough to continuously supply a city of 350,000 inhabitants. The Aquapolo plant will sup- ply up to 650 l/s of water for industrial use, but its design allows for further expansion to over 350 l/s, to meet the demand from potential clients in São Paulo, Santo Andre and São Caetano. “Through this project, we are ensuring the perpetuity of the petrochemical complex, which will no longer depend on water from the Tamanduateí River and first-use water from springs,” says Guilherme Paschoal, Foz do Brasil’s Project Director at Aquapolo Ambiental. “Without a guaranteed supply of water for their long-term projects, these companies would certainly lose competitiveness,” he adds. Currently, companies at the petrochemical complex obtain water from two sources: a treatment plant at Petrobras’s Capuava Refinery (RECAP), Petrobras, which uses water from the Tamanduateí, and additional sources, totaling 380 l/s, and Sabesp, which produces potable water at a rate of 191 l/s. Fadlo Eduardo Haddad, Process Engineering Manager at Quattor’s Basic Chemicals Units and the company’s Manager for the Aquapolo Project, points out: “Of all the projects the company had studied over the past years, this was the one that was most guaranteed to achieve two basic goals: sustainability and reliability.” In addition to synergy and sustainability, Emyr Costa, the Project Director for Odebrecht Infraestrutura, underscores an essential factor for the project’s success: “the state-of-the-art technology being used.” The water treated by the ABC STP will first use an ultrafiltration membrane called a Tertiary Membrane Bio-Reactor (TMBR), with some of the output going through reverse osmosis membranes, similar to the process ABC Sewage Treatment Plant, where the Aquapolo Project is underway: recycled water for industries at the Capuava Complex odebrecht informa Environmental Engineer Amanda Cavalhero: controlling water quality. Smaller photo: the ultrafiltration membrane of desalinating seawater. This additional step is designed to ensure the desired level of purification. “The magnitude of this investment, the amount of water to be produced and the technology being introduced represent an unprecedented scale for the Southern Hemisphere, so Aquapolo is breaking several paradigms at once,” says Fernando Santos-Reis, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of Foz do Brasil. Another major challenge is the construction of the pipeline, which has already begun, in an area as densely populated as the ABC region. The methods chosen to avoid overbreak on the surface include pipe jacking, which employs a hydraulic jack to drive a concrete shield with a diameter of 1.5 m into a service tunnel, where the pipeline odebrecht informa will then be inserted. The other is the tunnel lining method, which is excavated manually and uses 1.4-m diameter steel shields, which are assembled step-by-step to facilitate the insertion of the pipeline. In some less populated areas, the pipeline will be laid in open trenches, and other sections will be installed above ground, supported by concrete blocks. According to the contract signed by Aquapolo Ambiental and Sabesp, the Aquapolo system can store recycled water in four large tanks that the STP is not using. A pilot plant has been installed next to those tanks to simulate the processing stages that will be used at the future treatment facility. It processes sewage treated by Sabesp through the combined systems – ultrafiltration membranes and reverse osmosis producing recycled water with the same characteristics that the actual plant will deliver. Amanda Cavalhero, 26, an environmental engineer who joined Odebrecht a little over a month ago, is responsible for supervising the tests at the pilot plant, which was installed by technicians from Koch Membrane Systems of the United States. A wastewater treatment expert, Amanda says her main job is to check whether the water produced at the pilot plant complies with the client’s specifications in order to confirm the parameters used at the Aquapolo Project. “We can safely say we have achieved excellent quality water that is nearly as pure as drinking water, even if it’s just for industrial use,” she explains. Foreground, from left: Hacy Rodrigues Filho, Nelson Endo, Leonardo Cittadella, Emyr Costa and Edgar Nunes; rear, Carlos Cezar de Albuquerque, Jair Campos da Silva, Reynaldo Moreira Júnior, Frederico Marcos de Barbosa, Fadlo Haddad and Guilherme Paschoal: complementary expertise petrochemicals 29 Eduardo Turchet and the Green Ethylene plant: “You can work with design changes more effectively” From 3D to real life New software technology enables engineers to design petrochemical plants in 3D. The Paulínia Unit was the first written by Júlio César Soares / photos by Ricardo Chaves José Carlos Aversa and Gilberto Yoshida can’t hide their enthusiasm. “You see the finished project, you can walk through it and talk it over with your partners,” says Aversa, the Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (Industrial Engineering) Project Director for the construction of the Braskem Green Ethylene plant in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul. “You can see every change made in the design – when one pipeline crosses another, and where there is underground wiring,” adds Yoshida, who was Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial’s Engineering Coordinator for the construction of Braskem’s polypropylene unit in Paulínia, São Paulo, which opened in 2008. They are referring to a new tool called Smartplan – software technology that makes it possible to design plants in 3D: buildings, pipelines, all the electric and water and sewer systems – everything. The Paulínia plant was the first project in Brazil to be designed with Smartplan, a computer program developed by the US company Intergraph and distributed in Brazil by Sisgrap. Genpro Engenharia, Odebrecht’s partner on this project, uses it to produce blueprints for the plant. Gilberto Yoshida explains that, compared to conventional methods, the amount of time saved thanks to Smartplan is about four months. “The benefits go beyond the visuals,” he argues. “With Smartplan, you have a database of parts and equipment at your disposal that is replenished with every project.” Completed in April, the detailed engineering of Braskem’s Green Ethylene Plant in Triunfo was the second project to use this tool. “Today’s engineers have assimilated the program and already gained more design knowhow,” says José Carlos Aversa. He adds that one of Smartplan’s main advantages is enabling engineers to visualize the project before ground is broken. Eduardo Turchet, the officer Responsible for Engineering on the Green Ethylene plant construction project, has only used two-dimensional designs in college, from which he recently graduated. Since he joined Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial three years ago, he has only worked with 3D tools on the company’s projects. “In 2D, you have to imagine the project, whereas with Smartplan, you have a spatial view of it, which lets you work with any design changes more effectively.” The next project to be designed in 3D with Smartplan will be Braskem’s new PVC resin unit, which will be built at the Marechal Deodoro Industrial Complex in Alagoas. odebrecht informa 30 petrochemicals Firefighter starts putting out the flames during a test conducted at Triunfo: strict standards ensure safe driving Trial by fire The training center for fighting fuel tank fires is a benchmark for Brazil’s auto industry written by and photos by Luciana Moglia "Safety, space and design are the most important factors for clients in the automotive market" odebrecht informa [ Marcos Celestino ] It is the only structure of its kind in operation in Brazil. Housed in the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the Braskem Fire-Fighting Training Center has a specific area for fire tests of passenger car fuel tanks made with a special type of plastic that Braskem supplies to the auto industry. The tests meet this country’s official technical requirements and are performed with the use of a large container, which is ignited during testing, and a crane, which lifts the car to be exposed to the flames. The area is cordoned off with concrete walls, and fire-proof glass windows protect the people monitoring the test at a minimum distance of three meters. During the trials, the fuel tank is attached to the vehicle and filled to 50% capacity. After one minute, the burning container is moved using a mat, and placed under the fuel tank, which is directly exposed to the fire for 60 seconds. Then, a brick screen is placed between the flames and the tank for another minute. Finally, the container is removed and firefighters extinguish the flames. “This test has to be carried out on every car model using at least three tanks, so the product is technically approved without having any sort of leak,” says Marcos Celestino, the Braskem application engineer who oversees all tests performed at the company. The last test was conducted in April on the tank of a new model that will hit the market in September 2010. The product was manufactured by IPA, South America’s leading manufacturer of plastic fuel tanks. IPA became a Braskem client two years ago. During that period, the two companies have already partnered up to conduct other fire tests for tanks used in the Honda Fit, Honda Civic and Citroën Crosshair, explains Luiz Cláudio Pascon, Industrial Director of IPA. He stresses the importance of maintaining a close relationship with Braskem. “We must always seek joint solutions to make adjustments and innovations,” he says. According to Harley Bueno, a Director of the Brazilian Automotive Engineering Association (AEA), automakers are increasingly concerned about the safety of their vehicles, and preventing fuel tank leaks is essential. Therefore, they are subjected to pressure, thermal and leak tests, in which their efficiency is also determined by applying force. The advantages of plastic as raw material for fuel tanks have led to that application’s rapid growth in recent years. “The properties of polyethylene make it more resilient and ensure greater impact absorption compared to metal,” observes Marcos Celestino. “Safety, space and design are the most important factors for clients in the automotive market. The properties of plastics cover all these requirements,” he says. Harley Bueno stresses the malleability of the raw material as an asset. “Plastic tanks can fit in ever-smaller spaces without interfering with the vehicle’s autonomy. For example, a fuel tank installed under the seat is less likely to be damaged in an accident than if it is at one end of the vehicle,” he explains. Braskem is the leading supplier of plastic resins used to make light and heavy vehicles in South America. For that market, the company produces a family of special High Molar Mass HighDensity Polyethylene products (coded as GM 7746 C and GM 7746 CA). Ressoi Schubert, Braskem’s Account Manager for Performance Products, notes that 66% of the passenger cars made in Brazil in 2009 were equipped with plastic tanks. “The expectation is that this percentage will reach 74% in two years,” she says. One hundred percent of vehicles made by manufacturers like Honda, Toyota, Renault and Peugeot already use plastic tanks; the figure for GM is 95%, and for Volkswagen and Ford, 85%. odebrecht informa 32 petrochemicals The shape of the times Braskem’s projected business volume for the next few years leads the company to make new investments in PVC production, including a new factory in Alagoas written by Thereza Martins / photos by Lalo de Almeida Bungalows and townhouses built in São Luís do Piraitinga, São Paulo: the historic town was hard hit by a flood in early 2010. The photos on the opposite page show the steps involved in building a new house odebrecht informa "These homes will meet the needs of the families that registered for housing and whose situation worsened earlier this year" [ Ana Lúcia Bilard ] Braskem will invest BRL 920 million to increase its PVC production capacity by 40% by 2010. That amount, which the company recently approved, will make it possible to build a new factory next to its Marechal Deodoro Unit in the northeast-Brazilian city of Maceió. Braskem currently produces 510,000 metric tons of PVC annually, of which 260,000 come from Marechal Deodoro and 250,000 from the company’s unit in Camaçari, Bahia. As of May 2012, the date set for the official opening of the new plant, its capacity will total over 200,000 metric tons per year, providing the necessary boost to meet domestic demand. "At the current pace of growth in Brazil, the domestic market will absorb 980,000 metric tons of PVC by the end of 2010,” says Vinyls Business Director Marcelo Cerqueira. “There is a balance between supply and demand in the Brazilian market, but considering the turnover projected for the coming years, those figures require investments in added capacity.” The construction industry accounts for nearly 60% of the use of PVC in pipes, fittings, shapes and frames. That segment’s performance improves when the economy is doing well, as it is now, when estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth ranges from 5% to 7% by the end of the year. In addition to construction, the infrastructure sector also generates good business for the plastic resin in its various applications – from water and sewer pipes used in public sanitation to compact sewage treatment plants and buildings, which are designed for the use of PVCConcrete. A construction system introduced in Brazil nearly a decade ago, it offers solutions for towns like São Luis do Paraitinga, São Paulo. A historic town that lies in the Paraíba Valley, São Luis do Paraitinga was hard hit by a flood in early 2010. Now, 45 bungalows and 106 townhouses are being built with PVC-Concrete. Their future residents are some of the people who lost everything they had when the Paraitinga River overflowed its banks. After several days of heavy rain, well above normal levels for that season, the river had flooded, destroying churches and houses built with clay bricks, a construction method typical of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The construction of these new homes is the responsibility of the São Paulo State Housing Authority or CDHU. The municipal government had earmarked the land for public housing a month before the flood. The emergency required a solution that combined quality with speed of execution. “These homes will meet the needs of the families that registered for housing and whose situation worsened earlier this year,” says Ana Lucia Bilardo, Mayor of São Luis do Paraitinga. “During the second stage of this program, we will build houses to resettle families now living in Permanent Protection Areas (PPAs).” odebrecht informa São Luís do Piraitinga: PVC-Concrete Construction System’s advantages include quick execution, and the durability and practicality of PVC The contract for the construction of 151 buildings was signed by CDHU and Royal do Brasil Technologies, a Braskem client. The PVC-Concrete Construction System is a method that Royal developed in Canada, and uses lightweight PVC shapes that fit together as modules, leaving a hollow space free to be filled with concrete and structural steel. In Canada, it is known as the “PVC House” system. The name PVC-Concrete was created by another partner, the Brazilian Portland Cement Association (ABCP). Royal has its own team in São Luis do Paraitinga, composed of architects, engineers and technicians, along with 66 workers recruited and trained locally (fitters, masons, carpenters, electricians, carpenters and assistants). “We have been active in Brazil since 2002 and have built homes, schools, clinics and gas stations, in addition to sanitation projects and works in other segments,” says Carlos Eduardo Torres, Royal’s Director General in Brazil. Listing the advantages of the PVC-Concrete Building System, Torres stresses rapid execution, the durability and practicality of PVC (easy cleaning and maintenance), and lower consumption of water odebrecht informa and power at the construction site. “We started the project at São Luis do Paraitinga on March 17 and we already have 45 houses ready or nearing completion.” The buildings are, on average, 65 sq.m in area. PVC-Concrete is also being used in another major venture focused on building houses in flood-ravaged areas, in this case caused by the rains of 2008 in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Braskem’s partner on this venture is Global Housing, a supplier of PVC shapes and panels. The funds being used to build about 300 houses were donated by Saudi Arabia. FIFA World Cup and Olympics Brazil is getting ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which will mobilize billions of dollars in investments. For the World Cup, for example, studies and estimates show potential economic impacts of about BRL 180 billion, of which 26% will be invested directly, including investments in infrastructure, and 76% indirectly. The same studies indicate the possibility of creating 330,000 permanent and 380,000 temporary work opportunities. The selection of projects and contractors is already underway. Odebrecht participated in the tenders for three stadiums to be built according to the new stadium-arena or multifunctional stadium concept. They will seat up to 50,000 persons and, in addition to football, they will be used for concerts, conferences and other events, bringing in extra resources for their maintenance. Odebrecht has won two of the three tenders: one for the reconstruction of Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador, and another to build a new stadium in Recife. “We are reviewing proposals for partners for these projects. Braskem is among them, as a supplier of PVC and other thermoplastic resins for seats, facade elements, roofing, rainwater collection systems for reuse and other construction items,” says Eduardo Martinez, Odebrecht’s World Cup Projects Director. This vast range of business opportunities for PVC guided Braskem’s decision to build the new plant in Marechal. Carried out through an alliance with Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (Industrial Engineering), the project will break ground in July. It will create about 2,000 work opportunities during the construction phase, hiring local professionals whenever possible. industry 35 One of the 850 pieces of heavy equipment used on the project: fastpaced work at Comperj As far as the eye can see Construction of the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex involves the largest earthmoving operation ever carried out in Brazil written by José Enrique Barreiro / photos by Marcelo Pizzato It is the largest earthmoving project in Brazilian history. Not even the construction of the Itaipu or Santo Antonio hydropower plants, or the Camaçari or Triunfo Petrochemical Complexes were nearly as large as the operation being carried out in the area where the Rio de Janeiro Petrochemical Complex (Comperj) will be built in Itaboraí county. “They are moving 220,000 cubic meters of earth per day,” says Carlos José Cunha, Project Director at Odebrecht Infraestrutura, the Organization’s infrastructure subsidiary. The total area of Comperj is 45 square kilometers, of which 25 sq.km are being bulldozed by CTC – Consórcio Terraplenagem Comperj, a joint venture of Odebrecht Infraestrutura and contractors Andrade Gutierrez and Queiroz Galvão. The construction of Comperj is an initiative of Petrobras, which is once again making direct investments in the petrochemical industry. Slated to begin operations in 2013, the complex will house a refinery and petrochemical plants producing upstream products (ethylene, benzene, propylene, butadiene and others) and downstream products (polyethylene, polypropylene, styrene, ethylene glycol and others), as well as auxiliary buildings. The state-owned oil giant plans to invest up to BRL 25 billion in the project, of which BRL 5 billion is for civil construction works and BRL 20 billion is for industrial installation. The most innovative aspect of Comperj will be the production of petrochemical FCC, a new method of producing basic petrochemicals that is adapted to the characteristics of Brazilian oil, replacing naphtha and natural gas imports. odebrecht informa Big numbers at Comperj “The area of this project is three times the size of the Duque de Caxias Refinery and six times as large as Rio’s Copacabana district,” says CTC Production Manager Mário Almeida, from Odebrecht. All the numbers are big at Comperj: every day, the project uses a thousand pieces of equipment (including 850 units of heavy machinery). They consume 200,000 liters of diesel daily. “A very busy gas station sells 500,000 liters of fuel per month,” observes Leandro Cerqueira, also from Odebrecht, CTC’s Administrative and Financial Manager. To enable all those vehicles to move about safely, there are 100 traffic signaling stations on the jobsite, each with a worker on duty 24 hours a day. “Our signaling and signposting plan, which directs all vehicle traffic, is reviewed daily,” says Mário odebrecht informa Almeida. “The signs are manufactured at the jobsite, and the maximum speed is 40 km per hour.” The 3,300 members working in various areas of the project have the support of six Fiorino cars, whose occupants drive around all day, distributing water and replenishing everyone’s supply. The cafeteria serves 130,000 meals per month. There is even a bakery that furnishes fresh bread on a daily basis. “What we have here is a 45-squarekilometer town,” says Leandro. Rain and its consequences Rainfall is heavy in the region where Comperj is being built. When it rains, the earthmoving stops and only resumes three days later, after the work has been inspected and reorganized. Rain and moisture pose risks to workers and equipment. The biggest is overturned vehicles. “Petrobras is very demanding in this regard and does not allow earthmoving Aid for landslide victims In April, heavy rain caused havoc, destruction and death in Rio de Janeiro State. One tragedy, in particular, moved everyone: the landslide on the night of April 6, in the Jardim Viçoso district of Niterói, where about 400 families lived. Fifty homes were destroyed and 90 people died. That night, Odebrecht Infraestrutura received a request from Rio de Janeiro Governor Sérgio Cabral to help the Civil Defense service and Fire Department dig through the rubble and rescue victims of the landslide on Morro do Bumba. Two hours later, 24 trucks, four bulldozers, one loader, a truckshop, several lighting towers and 80 company members, including engineers, supervisors and operators, were at the site. The entire Comperj project was transferred there. For three weeks, Odebrecht teams and equipment worked at Morro do Bumba around the clock, helping rescue 49 victims. on rainy days or in less than optimum conditions,” explains Carlos José. “The problem is that, when it rains, it comes down so hard that we haven’t been able to work 10 straight days since we broke ground in April 2008.” The stop-and-go pace makes it difficult for the work to move ahead quickly. The logistics, planning and engineering have to be reviewed constantly. Every time the work stops, the equipment is taken in, checked and redistributed. “Every day, at 7 am, Petrobras inspects the area and decides whether or not to authorize the work to start," says Leandro. “Luckily,” adds Mário, “the area is so large that sometimes it rains in one part but not another, so we can keep working there.” Despite the rain, which exceeded all forecasts in the first quarter of 2010, in April CTC reached the milestone of 35 million cubic meters of earth moved, a first for Brazil. The remnants of the Franciscan Order’s St. Bonaventure Convent, which dates from 1670, in the Comperj region. In partnership with the Brazilian National Trust (Iphan) and the State Cultural Heritage Institute (Inepac), Petrobras is shoring up the ruined building. There are 22 archaeological sites in the Comperj area, in which 5,000 ceramic, iron, glass and stone artifacts from the Paleolithic period have been found and are being catalogued by the Society of Friends of the National Museum (SAMN). odebrecht informa 38 memory Historic jewel The Catoca diamond mining project marks 15 years in Angola written by Fabiana Cabral / photos by Eduardo Barcellos In November 1994, Angola celebrated the signing of a peace agreement that would stop the civil strife begun in 1975. In January 1995, a technical team from Endiama, Angola’s state-owned diamond company, arrived in Saurimo, the capital of Lunda Sul Province, to do preliminary work at the Catoca kimberlite, a complex system of diamond-bearing rock. The newly formed Sociedade Mineira de Catoca’s first steps were surveying and conducting hydrogeological studies, and recruiting and training local workers. The region was first studied in 1965 by Companhia de Diamantes de Angola (Diamang) when the area was exploited by artisanal mining. In the 80s, Endiama was formed to replace Diamang and continued with feasibility studies for the commercial exploitation of the kimberlite. After signing a partnership agreement with Russia’s Alrosa S.A. to form a mining company in 1993, Endiama decided to seek a new partner to take over the management of the project. “We had the technology the Soviets introduced, but there were shortcomings in management and administration. Odebrecht was building the Capanda hydropower plant and had been working in Angola for nearly a decade, so we decided to bring them on board,” says Ganga Júnior, odebrecht informa then the Endiama director in charge of mining and now Director General of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca. Odebrecht Angola Mining Director Júlio Cruz recalls that the company’s initial operations demonstrated the Organization's staunch confidence in Angola’s future. “Catoca’s main asset is the knowledge its members have accumulated over the course of 15 years. This is the decisive factor for surmounting the next challenge, which is increasing production.” The company’s facilities and the town that would house its members were built amid resumed civil conflict. In addition to their daily activities, the workers were always on the lookout for any unusual activity in the kimberlite area. “The war gave us a constructive spirit. We Also known as “mother rock for diamonds,” kimberlites are complex rock formations of volcanic origin produced by magma that did not overflow. Eruptions formed outcrops on the earth’s surface, where the magma cooled and remained for thousands of years. Their classic shape is known as a “chimney,” something like an inverted cone. Kimberlites are mined on the surface and at depths of up to 600 meters. The dimensions of the Catoca kimberlite are 900 m x 915 m. were confident and never retreated,” says João Salvador, Head of the Personnel Department. Catoca was the only mining operation that was not invaded during that period. In 1997, the year when the first processing plant went online, an Israeli firm, Daumonty Financing BV (now the Lev Leviev Group) became a partner in the company. “Together, Endiama, Alrosa, Lev Leviev and Odebrecht contribute the strong points of each company and culture,” observes Ganga Júnior. Thanks to constant technological advances, from 1997 to 2003 the mining company’s ore processing capacity rose from 1.8 million to 4 million metric tons per year. The head of the Mining Planning Division, Rômulo Angelino Mucase, took part in the development of those processes, which intensified in 2005, when the second processing plant went online. Romulo joined Sociedade Mineira de Catoca in 2001, after winning the Odebrecht Engineering Award. He says that mining engineering is an art. “It’s the art of extracting subsoil resources and making them available to the company in a responsible fashion,” he explains. In addition to focusing on technological innovation, the company runs a professional development training center in the town where its members live. Facilities of Sociedade Mineira de Catoca, in Luanda Sul Province: technological innovations and development Joining forces In 2009, the turbulence in the global economy reduced production and sales figures. According to Ganga Júnior, “We have kept on the workforce, which is our most important asset, and restructured in a transparent manner. We reached maximum capacity in the first months of 2010.” Antonio Carlos Sumbula, Chairman of Endiama, observes that the company is showing positive financial and operational results. “Despite the crises the industry has experienced, this company is a national and international benchmark due to its expertise, effiency and profitability.” Sociedade Mineira de Catoca is the fourth-largest diamong mining company in the world and the fifthlargest company in Angola. “We have 2,340 workers from several countries,” says César Marianetti Braga, an Odebrecht Member and the mining company’s Human Resources and Administration Director. Sociedade Mineira de Catoca carries out projects focused on education, sports, culture, leisure and health in Saurimo and the communities near the kimberlite that benefit about 2,500 people. The School Snack Program, carried out in partnership with the City of Saurimo, ensures that 2,000 primary school students receive a daily supply of soy milk and bread. The Community Farming Program encourages the creation of farm cooperatives with guidance for planting and help in obtaining equipment. In addition, schools, community jangos (a sort of auditorium), daycare centers, water wheels and solar lighting have been built or installed in local communities. odebrecht informa 40 technology Miniature models, major progress The use of scale models in the lab enables teams to find the best way to launch offshore platforms written by Edilson Lima / photos by Eduardo Moody At a shipyard in São Roque do Paraguaçu, in Maragojipe county, Bahia, 1,700 workers since September 2008 have been building two self-raising jack-up platforms for Petrobras, christened P-59 and P-60. The project is the responsibility of Consórcio Rio Paraguaçu, a joint venture of Odebrecht, Queiroz Galvão and UTC Engenharia. Each rig will cost BRL 370 million. As construction moves ahead at the jobsite, some important procedures are being carried out far away, including tests of scale models in Rio de Janeiro, which will enable the joint venture to implement an engineering solution that is unprecedented anywhere in the world. From June 2009 to March of this year, Mario Moura and Jacques Jacques Raigorodsky (left) and Mario Moura discuss the project. Larger photo, rig under construction at the São Roque do Paraguaçu yard: unprecedented operation odebrecht informa Raigorodsky, respectively the project’s Field Engineer and Technical Consultant, headed up studies of methods that could be used to launch offshore oil platforms. The three main methods currently employed are fixed ramps, using a sloping structure at the yard to slide the rigs into the water; building the rigs in dry dock, also at the yard, where the platform is built (in the end, the dry dock is filled with water and the platform floats through the main sluice) and, finally, a submersible barge, which docks at the yard where the platform is loaded onto it. Then the raft sinks until the structure floats free. As there is neither a fixed ramp nor a dry dock at the São Roque do Paraguaçu yard, and nobody in Brazil owns a submersible barge, the solution would be to build the ramp or dry dock, or even import a barge. None of these solutions would cost less than USD 6 million. Therefore, the joint venture proposed an alternative method to Petrobras: launching the rigs with the BGL-2, the state-owned oil company’s non-submersible barge. “The point is that nobody in the world has never launched a jack-up platform from a floating structure,” says Jacques. “We will carry out an operation that is unprecedented worldwide,” he adds. To prove the feasibility of using the BGL-2, tests were performed with scale models at LabOceano, a laboratory specializing in ocean engineering in Rio de Janeiro. First, a miniature version of a rig was launched from a fixed ramp. The goal was to obtain data on the platform. Then the rig was tested with a scale model of the BGL-2. It was time to get to know every inch and detail of the relationship between platform and barge. The resulting information was conveyed to the appropriate software. After comparing data from the scale models with the computer program the team started the third phase of tests, which aimed to achieve the most ideal launch possible, with maximum safety. “When the tests were completed, we found that the closer we can position the platform to the stern of the barge, the lower the risk of damage to the hull of the BGL-2 and the rig,” says Mario Moura. “Now that the testing has been done, everyone feels confident," he stresses. “We are proud to be a part of this landmark moment,” says LabOceano Engineer Cláudio Rodriguez. Because of their weight (7,700 metric tons each), P-59 and P-60 will be released half-finished into the Paraguaçu River and towed back to the shipyard’s dock to complete their assembly. They are slated for launch in December 2010 and April 2011. The units will be completed in June and October 2011. odebrecht informa 42 cultural heritage Battling to save a historic fort A restoration project is underway at Morro de São Paulo’s 17th-century fortress written by Gabriela Vasconcellos / photos by Almir Bindilatti The fortress at Morro de São Paulo is located on Tinharé, part of the chain of islands in Cairu county. It is an important tourist destination on the Costa do Dendê (Palm-Oil Coast) in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Its construction began in 1630, but the fortress was only completed in the following century. The scene of many battles during Brazil’s colonial period, it defended the entrance to Todos os Santos and Tinharé bays, as well as ensuring that supply ships got through to the city of Salvador. Part of one of the largest fort complexes in Brazil, its 678-m wall has been dam- odebrecht informa aged over the years by wave action. As a result, an emergency restoration project got underway on that site in January 2010. Completed in July, the first stage of this BRL 2.8-million project involved the restoration of a 450-m section of the wall. The partners funding this initiative are the Ministry of Culture, through the Cultural Incentives Law, the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and the Institute for the Sustainable Development of the Southern Bahia Lowlands (IDES), an organization linked to the Program for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Mosaic of Environmental Protection Areas in the Southern Bahia Lowlands, established by the Odebrecht Foundation. The IDES focuses on promoting Ethnodevelopment and Sustainable Tourism in that region. The project’s partners also include the Federal Heritage Department, the Bahia Department of Tourism and the Municipal Government of Cairu. The second stage, which includes the full restoration of the wall, is currently being negotiated. Eduardo Mendes, the BNDES Manager of Historic Heritage and Collections, observes: “People walk past them and have no idea of how valuable these monuments are. We have to leverage our supply capacity and thereby help ensure a year-round influx of visitors to the site.” The first phase mobilized about 60 workers from Salvador and the Southern Bahia Lowlands. “The procedure is basically fairly simple, but it is being carried out under difficult conditions because it is subject to sea conditions,” explains architect Marcos Galindo, who is running the project. Supervised by the Brazilian National Trust (IPHAN), an agency of the Ministry of Culture, the restoration work is being done with a view to preserving the monument’s original structure as much as possible. “If you take into account its length and the fact that the fort has been listed as a federal heritage site twice, you can see how important it is for Brazil,” underscores IPHAN architect Francisco Santana, who is overseeing the project and providing technical advice. Once it is restored, the monument will be open to the public and used for presentations of quilombola (former maroon community) cultural expressions, with an emphasis on promoting “agriecotourism.” This is a model for green, sustainable agritourism that is being implemented in the Southern Bahia Lowlands through programs supported by the Odebrecht Foundation in partnership with civil society, the government and private enterprise. “The IDES is carrying out a Heritage Education program to strengthen the culture that already exists in this area,” says Liliana Leite, Executive Director of the institute. “Our challenge is to make it more than a tourism program,” she says. Workers on the wall: the project is subject to sea conditions odebrecht informa > read more news on Odebrecht Informa’s website ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES 44 From left, PDIS beneficiary Pedrina Belém do Rosário, José Carlos Santos, President of the Pratigi APA Stewardship Association; Antônio Conceição Almeida, Mayor of Ibirapitanga and Vice President of the Inter-County Consortium for the Pratigi APA; Sha Zukang, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; Manoel Vitório, Bahia State Secretary of Administration; Maurício Medeiros, Executive President of the Odebrecht Foundation, and Haiyan Qian, Director of the UN’s Division for Public Administration & Development Management United Nations award The traditional bonfires for St. John’s Day, which is also celebrated intensely in Barcelona, served as a reminder that a small part of northeastern Brazil was represented in that Spanish city. On that date, June 23, which is a holiday in Spain (Public Service Day), the Program for the Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Mosaic of Environmental Protection Areas in the Southern Bahia Lowlands (PDIS) received the 2010 United Nations Award for Public Service. Created by the Odebrecht Foundation, the PDIS was the only initiative from Latin America and the Caribbean among the 21 winners from 15 countries. It won first place in the “Improving civic participation in public decisionmaking processes through innovative mechanisms” category. The President of the Pratigi Environmental Protection Area (APA) Stewardship Association, José Carlos Santos, and young Pedrina do Rosário, one of the program’s beneficiaries, accepted the award from Sha Zukang, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. Also present were the Executive President odebrecht informa of the Odebrecht Foundation, Maurício Medeiros, the Mayor of Ibirapitanga, Bahia, Antônio Conceição Almeida, and the Bahia State Secretary of Administration, Manoel Vitório. “This symbolizes our will to succeed. We will multiply this accolade and make the award won by the Southern Lowlands, Bahia and Brazil bear further fruits,” says José Carlos Santos. Mayor Antônio Conceição Almeida observed: “Our responsibility has redoubled. It’s time to work even harder.” According to Maurício Medeiros, the award is a good sign for the PDIS. “What sets this program apart is its innovative system of participatory governance, which creates a synergistic, collaborative space for the construction of social initiatives, and benefits everyone involved. It bolsters social capital while governments, civil society and businesses have the opportunity to work together and help further integrated and sustainable development with a focus on the familyunit in order to achieve social inclusion and the eighth millennium goal: ‘Everyone working for sustainable development. " Foz represents Brazil at the Global Water Summit 2010 Foz do Brasil was the only Brazilian company invited to participate in the Global Water Summit 2010, one of the most important events in the global water industry. Bringing together companies from several countries, the conference took place in Paris on April 26 and 27. Fernando Santos-Reis, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of Foz do Brasil, was one of the speakers. He took part in the panel debate on Private Operators, which also included executives from American Water, the largest privatesector company in that field in the United States, Saur of France, and Essbio, Chile’s leading water utility. “For Foz do Brasil, it was an honor to be the only company from Brazil to participate in an event of this magnitude. It was an opportunity to show how Odebrecht is structured to tackle the challenges of finding solutions to the issue of sustainable water use,” said Fernando Santos-Reis. The other panels discussed topics such as Water and Power, Recycled Water and Project Finance. The conference, whose theme was “Transforming the World of Water,” was organized by Global Water Intelligence (GWI) magazine and the International Desalination Association (IDA), which is devoted to water desalination and recycling. The Global Water Summit is held annually. Its sponsors include the International Federation of Private Water Operators (AquaFed), which Foz do Brasil joined in 2008. The Brazilian Navy on June 10 honored the Odebrecht Infraestrutura team with the Medal of Naval merit, presented to Benedicto Barbosa da Silva Junior, the company’s Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO), and João Borba, the company’s Business Development Director. They received the award at a ceremony held at the Naval Academy in Rio de Janeiro during the celebrations of the 145th anniversary of Brazil’s victory in the Battle of Riachuelo. The medal is given to military people and civilians who have provided important services to the Brazilian Navy. The Order of Naval Merit Council proposes the recipients, who are then approved by the President of Brazil. Speeches at the ceremony mentioned the importance of the National Defense Program, particularly the construction of conventional and nuclear submarines through the transfer of French technology, which will carry out a project the Navy began more than 30 years ago. The Odebrecht Organization is participating in this project through two subsidiaries, Odebrecht Infraestrutura and Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial, which are responsible for the construction of the shipyard and naval base, as well as for building the submarines in partnership with DCNS (Direction des Constructions Navales et Services) of France. The Battle of Riachuelo is the most important commemorative date on the Navy’s calendar, as it was one of the most significant episodes of the Triple Alliance War, when Brazilian sailors won a crucial victory to keep Paraguay from annexing parts of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES Tribute from the Brazilian Navy Left, Sergio Foguel, Pedro Novis, Victor Gradin, and Emílio Odebrecht and (in front) Aluizio Rebbelo de Araujo; right, Renato Baiardi and Luiz Almeida: Board Members in Porto Velho Board of Directors visits Santo Antônio Plant works The Board of Directors of Odebrecht S.A. on May 21 visited the site of the Santo Antônio hydropower plant construction project in the Brazilian city of Porto Velho. According to Renato Baiardi, the most striking thing about this project for the group was the benefits it is providing in that region. “It is clearly boosting local development through the establishment of facilities such as cement plants, as well as professional training programs like Acreditar,” he said. Victor Gradin observed that the visit symbolized “the harmony, communication and commitment of the Odebrecht teams that are devoted to building a highly significant project for Brazil with dedication and enthusiasm.” Regarding the Ongoing Professional Education Program (Acreditar), Victor Gradin observed: “It is an exemplary model of education for work and education through work, two pillars of TEO (the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology). At a time in our history when Brazil is reducing unemployment, Acreditar has become a model for educating and training new workers so they will be able to engage in economic activities and gain formal employment.” Contract signed for part of bullet-train project Elos – Ligações de Alta Velocidade S.A., a concession company whose partners include Bento Pedroso Construções (BPC), and the Government of Portugal in May signed the PPP1 Concession Agreement for a section of the high-speed railway that will run between Lisbon and Madrid. A 167-km section of the railway, PPP1 will link Poceirão, on the south bank of the Tagus River, in the Lisbon metropolitan region, with Caia on the Spanish border. Trains on the Lisbon-Madrid line will run at speeds of up to 350 km/hour, reducing travel time between those cities to 2 hours and 45 minutes. The 40-year PPP1 concession includes engineering, construction, financing and maintenance of the Poceirão-Caia HighSpeed section, the conventional railway line between Évora and Caia, for cargo, and the new Évora station. In addition to BPC, Elos’s partners include the Portuguese companies Brisa, Soares da Costa, Lena, Edifer and Zagope, two banks, Caixa Geral de Depósitos and Banco Millennium BCP, and Iridium of Spain, an ACS group company. The project will involve a total investment of 1,650 million euros (including expropriation and interest on loans) and is slated for completion by the end of 2013. A 1,400-euro contract to build the bullet-train, including engineering and construction, was signed with a joint venture of BPC, Soares da Costa, Lena, Zagope, Edifer and Dragados. odebrecht informa Américo Vermelho Élvio Luiz Mass wedding A different sort of event spiced up the routine of 35 people working on the Oil Tanker Pier project in Ipojuca, Pernambuco, on July 3. With the help of Consórcio Pier Petroleiro, the joint venture responsible for implementing the project, they had the chance to officialize their unions with their partners at a mass wedding, complete with a marriage ceremony and a cocktail party for 400 guests. Held at the SESI’s headquarters in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, Pernambuco, the event was an initiative of the joint aventure for the benefit of workers who lived with their partners, but had not officialized their marital status, in most cases because of financial constraints. All told, the joint venture invested about BRL 60,000 in a buffet, clothing rentals for brides and grooms, wedding rings and transportation so the couples could to try on their clothes and get to the ceremony on time. "I’d often thought about getting married, and sometimes saved up for it, but other things came up and I had to spend what I’d saved. I wanted to fulfill that dream together with my partner, who has been with me for 11 years,” said Klébio Gean Lima da Silva, a water tanker truck driver. He married Ludmila Alves da Silva, with whom he has three children. “I think that, as a man, I’m also setting an example for my children.” Odebrecht Infraestrutura is building the Oil Tanker Pier as a joint venture with OAS and Andrade Gutierrez. The result of investments by the State of Pernambuco and Petrobras, the project will be completed by September 2010. odebrecht informa The Community’s meeting in Rio de Janeiro: 138 participants from 14 countries Procurement and Logistics Community holds first meeting “In the process of acquiring and disseminating knowledge, training and activating a network of people is key,” said Mauro Rehm, the leader of the Odebrecht Procurement and Logistics Knowledge Community, at their first meeting, held on June 21 and 22 in Rio de Janeiro. Knowledge Communities, which since 2001 have formed the Odebrecht Knowledge Network, are part of the Organization’s efforts to enable and encourage the constant exchange and dissemination of knowledge, lessons learned and best practices among its teams. The meeting, which was attended by 138 people from 14 countries and all the Organization’s subsidiaries, included statements from members and partners about procurement and logistics management. Mauro Rehm emphasized the importance of forming the new community and highlighted the transversality of procurement and logistics management at all the Organization’s companies. "It’s an activity that permeates all Odebrecht businesses. Nothing is more natural and essential than getting the people involved in those activities at our companies to interact synergistically, thereby contributing to the development of the Organization as a whole,” he observed. Paulo Lacerda de Melo, Vice President of Engineering and Construction Operations, noted that the Procurement and Logistics Knowledge Community is the first to bring together representatives of all the companies in the Organization. "This will enrich the exchange of knowledge to meet the requirements of Odebrecht’s growth,” he said. All the presentations given at the meeting are available on the Procurement and Logistics Community’s web page on the Odebrecht Portal: http://portal.odebrecht.com/ Talk about health at MIT Américo Vermelho Rubem Braga Complex: quick access to General Osório Station An elevator ride away Since June 30, residents of the Cantagalo and Pavão-Pavãozinho communities in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro have been using the Rubem Braga Complex for quick access to the Ipanema/ General Osório Metro Station. The Governor of Rio de Janeiro, Sergio Cabral, Mayor Eduardo Paes and Secretary of Transportation Sebastião Rodrigues attended the opening ceremony for the complex, named after the late journalist and writer Rubem Braga, who lived near the Ipanema Metro. Built by Odebrecht Infraestrutura, the facility consists of a 260-m tunnel carved through rock that connects General Osório Station with two towers (62m and 26m in height) containing elevators that can carry up to 100 persons per trip. Atop the highest tower, a belvedere overlooks the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, Dois Irmãos and Corcovado mountains and Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. The complex also includes a 640sq.m structure built next to the tunnel entrance, where a unit of Rio Poupa Tempo (Rio Timesaver) will be installed to provide various public services. This new project will benefit about 10,000 people and facilitate the urban redevelopment of the area surrounding the station. Public defense and security Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial has signed a partnership agreement with EADS Defense & Security to operate in the public defense and security technology markets in Brazil and other countries. The aim is to form a joint venture based in São Paulo that will provide products, integrated systems and services for the military, government and businesses. According to Roberto Simões, who is responsible for the program, the goal of this partnership is to enhance Odebrecht’s public defense and security operations. “Partnering up with a world leader in the industry will allow us to serve our clients with full capacity to absorb and develop advanced technologies.” EADS Defense & Security provides system solutions for military and civilian security worldwide. Its portfolio ranges from sensors and secure networks to missiles, aircraft and drones, as well as security services. The company is a division of EADS (European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company), a group of European origin that also controls Airbus (planes), Eurocopter (a leading global manufacturer of helicopters) and EADS Astrium (manned and unmanned space travel systems). Gilberto Ururahy, Odebrecht’s Medical Coordinator in Rio de Janeiro, gave a talk to students, teachers, scientists and businesspersons at MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the United States in April. The subject was "Globalization and Health in Today’s Nomadic World.” According to Gilberto, business executives are modern-day nomads in the global marketplace. Subject to the rules of the business world, they have almost no personal life. “They live at work and sleep on planes,” he said. This lifestyle encourages the development of chronic stress. According to studies involving 50,000 executives conducted at his private clinic, 70% experience high levels of stress. In the long term, hormones produced by stress (adrenaline and cortisol) lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. In his presentation at MIT, Gilberto, who has been with the Organization for 34 years, discussed his study of 380 strategic Odebrecht professionals active in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa, conducted through the Individual Health Management Program. "Everybody has an annual check-up at the site of their choice and sends us the test results. Throughout the year, we visit them and present them with a health promotion program tailored to each individual’s cardiovascular and metabolic profile and lifestyle. The involvement of Entrepreneurial Leaders (CEOs) is essential to the program’s success,” said Gilberto. Odebrecht executives’ stress levels are 55% below the rate found in the overall study. Gilberto’s talk was part of the Thirteenth Latin American Conference at MIT. While in Boston, he also visited Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the finest hospitals in the United States. According to Gilberto, it “might provide health care support in the United States in the future.” odebrecht informa 48 argument by Emílio Odebrecht Grooming partners and corporate sustainability a A growing number of Brazilian businesses could be classified as transnationals. They are big, competitive and operate globally because they have survived – through productivity, while ensuring liquidity and building image; grown – due to their capacity for creativity, innovation and renewal; and are on the path of perpetuity, based on the creation and reinvestment of the wealth that comprises their tangible assets, and their capacity to preserve their intangibles: their core principles, values and beliefs and the quality of their human capital. This trend is good for Brazil because, aside from their leading role in this new era for our economy, these companies also have another important role to play that will reap benefits for them and their country: helping groom small and medium-sized Brazilian businesses to enter and compete in the global marketplace. odebrecht informa Our global companies are going through a period of expansion, and they could lead smaller businesses in the same direction as long as their activities are complementary. If Brazil already has “world champion” companies, it is because they subcontract a large number of small businesses that support and sustain their growth in a virtuous cycle. The idea that a big company can or should abuse its power is archaic – part of a dying breed of capitalism. The continued growth of Brazilian global businesses, wherever they are present, is down to their ability to disseminate knowledge, transfer technology and share their success with all other economic agents. A big company that oppresses or exploits small businesses with an immediate, short-term outlook does not understand that it is part of a supply chain whose links must never be out of balance, because if that happens, all will be at risk. Global companies depend on smaller businesses for their very existence, and vice versa, but for small manufacturers, riding on the coattails of larger ones is the only way to internationalize their operations. For this to happen, it is key for large businesses to view themselves as more than just sellers of products. They must also add value to those products by including services in all their business relationships and sharing their experience, innovations and best practices with their suppliers, subcontractors and clients. In short, large Brazilian companies have a moral responsibility to foster the sustainable growth of small partner companies – and it is in their most strategic interest. Emílio Odebrecht is Chairman of the Board of Odebrecht S.A. This article was originally published in the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper. yesterday United States, 1990. ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES In 1990, Odebrecht established a presence in the United States. The first Brazilian company to win a public tender in that country, it debuted on US soil by building a section of Metromover, Miami’s people mover. Begun in 1991, this project launched Odebrecht’s challenging and iconic trajectory in the world’s leading economy, including operations in other US states and projects such as the Seven Oaks Dam in California. photo: américo vermelho An e-inclusion program designed to offer IT education to workers at Odebrecht’s construction sites, Caia na Rede (Hit the Net) has gradually expanded to include the jobsites’ local communities. The result of a partnership between Odebrecht, Microsoft of Brazil and Dell Computers, Caia na Rede is becoming an important tool for delivering digital inclusion in Brazil, where just 6% of construction workers have access to a computer. odebrecht informa
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