Odebrecht Informa

ODEBRECHT
#151 • vol. XXXVIII • nov/dec 2010
I N F O R M A
English edition
Odebrecht
wins family
business
of the year
award in 2010
A victory for everyone
today
Brazil
ROBERTO ROSA
is getting ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup for the second time
in its history. When the hearts of the world are once again beating in the same rhythm
for love of the beautiful game, cities like Rio de Janeiro will be on the front line of the
greatest soccer tournament on Earth. In Rio, Odebrecht is currently helping remodel
Mário Filho Stadium, better known as Maracanã. Rio’s residents are eagerly looking
forward to the rebirth of their legendary arena, and for them, the 2014 Brazil World
Cup has already begun.
04
A decisive factor for easing traffic jams in the Peruvian capital, the
“electric train” is arriving in LIMA
08
Sanitation works improve communities’ quality of life in
PERNAMBUCO and RIO GRANDE DO NORTE
11
The Hangar, a real estate venture launched in SALVADOR,
encourages professionals to live near their workplace
12
Cromex is Braskem’s first partner at the CAMAÇARI Complex to join
the Odebrecht Organization company’s new logistics system
14
A globally innovative project, Braskem’s green ethylene plant begins
operations at the TRIUNFO Petrochemical Complex
17
The second edition of EDUCATION THROUGH WORK,
by Norberto Odebrecht, is now available
18
The IMD – International Institute for Management Development
hails Odebrecht as the best family business of the YEAR
23
The award of new contracts and diversified operations mark
Odebrecht’s current phase in ARGENTINA
28
Relatives working together at ETH Bioenergy's Rio
Claro Unit in GOIÁS contribute to developing a positive
organizational climate
30
The Duarte Corridor, Autopista del Coral and Casabito Highway
improve road infrastructure in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
33
Exactly 30 years ago, CBPO, a long-standing engineering &
construction company that had built major projects in BRAZIL,
became part of Odebrecht
36
Rota das Bandeiras, the concessionaire responsible for the D. Pedro
Corridor in SÃO PAULO, carries out a groundbreaking financial
operation
40
Odebrecht marks the 20th anniversary of its presence in the USA
by expanding its operations in that country and grooming new
generations
44
Cooperative in the SOUTHERN BAHIA LOWLANDS helps change the
lives of small hearts-of-palm producers
ODEBRECHT
INFORMA
151
Cover illustration
by Guto Lins
sections
02
26
38
39
46
48
online version
interview
profile
people
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 edition
> video reports
> Braskem repositions its
brand: “New ways of seeing the
world”
> Former cane cutters get
work opportunities in Suape
> Awards for the Odebrecht
team on the Braskem Project
at Camaçari
> 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.
> The “electric train” metro
system makes a decisive
contribution to solving Lima’s
traffic problems
> web archives
> Access all back
issues of Odebrecht Informa
since no. 1
> Odebrecht S.A. Annual
Reports since 2002
> Former cane cutters join
Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial
and start a new life
> A tool for professional
success and social change
called the Acreditar Program
> Special publications
(Special Issue on Social
Programs, 60 years of the
Odebrecht Group, 40 Years
of the Odebrecht Foundation
and 10 Years of Odeprev)
> Innovations
> Follow Odebrecht Informa
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latest news in real time
@odbinforma
> Comment on blog
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by sending suggestions to
the editors
ODEBRECHT
RESPONSIBLE FOR CORPORATE COMMUNICATION
AT CONSTRUTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Márcio Polidoro
Founded in 1944, Odebrecht
is a Brazilian organization made
up of diversified businesses
with global operations and
world-class standards of quality.
Its 105,000 members are present
in the Americas, the Caribbean,
Africa, Asia and Europe.
RESPONSIBLE FOR PUBLICATIONS PROGRAMS
AT CONSTRUTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Karolina Gutiez
BUSINESS AREA COORDINATORS
Nelson Letaif Chemicals & Petrochemicals • Andressa Saurin Ethanol & Sugar • Bárbara Nitto
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
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• Infographics Adilson Secco • Illustrations Gilberto Marchi • Electronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri
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Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish.
03
“Our culture
brought us here”
The choice of Odebrecht as the world’s best family business of the year in
2010 is a win for all the Organization's members.
Introduced in 1996 by the International Institute for Management
Development (IMD) of Switzerland, this coveted award, which follows strict
criteria for evaluating and selecting the winners, is bestowed annually on
one of the top family businesses from around the globe.
“Our culture brought us here,” said Marcelo Odebrecht, President and
CEO of Odebrecht S.A., when accepting the award in the United States. He
was referring to the corporate culture reflected by the discipline with which
all members of the Organization apply the Odebrecht family’s values and
principles. This practice is only made possible by each and every member’s
belief that the spirit of service is essential.
The application of the Odebrecht culture can be seen in action in all
of the Organization’s ventures, some of which are portrayed in this issue
of Odebrecht Informa. In the projects underway at Miami International
Airport, in the United States, where Odebrecht established a presence
exactly 20 years ago. In the construction of the “electric train” metro system
in Lima, the capital of Peru, where the Organization first launched its
international operations in 1979. At the Triunfo Petrochemical Complex in
southern Brazil, where Braskem has just opened its green ethylene plant, a
globally innovative project.
Wherever they may be working in the Organization, all Odebrecht members
have good reason to celebrate this award. After an in-depth study of the
Organization, the IMD’s analysts realized that its members feel right at
home in their workplace. More than that, they feel part of one big community
whose touchstone is a culture that is understood, assimilated and applied
by all its members. The IMD award confirms that feeling, which is built and
reaffirmed on a daily basis.
04
peru
Fast train coming
An eagerly awaited project, the metro or “electric train”
system will help solve traffic problems in the Lima
metropolitan region
written by Karolina Gutiez / photos by Américo Vermelho
Viaduct for the “electric
train” project: building
the metro without
blocking traffic
odebrecht informa
Lima has over 8 million residents. What it lacks is an organized
mass transit system. Private minibuses without set schedules or
safety standards are the only way of
getting around without a car. That
drives people to buy their own cars,
which leads to the chaotic traffic
snarls throughout the Peruvian
capital. However, the days of those
massive traffic jams are numbered,
as a light-rail system or “electric
train,” as it is called in Peru, is
finally arriving in Lima.
The plan dates back several
years. Devised during President
Alan Garcia’s first term in office
(1985-1990), it left the drawing
board, but only seven stations were
built at the time, distributed over 10
kilometers. A drop in the bucket for
a city that needs a 200-km light rail
system. When he was re-elected 16
years later, Alan Garcia went back
to tackling the challenge of bringing rapid transportation to the city.
The government held the largest
tender of its time in Peru, with 10
companies bidding for the contract.
Tren Eléctrico Lima, a joint venture of Odebrecht Perú Ingeniería
y Construcción (67%) and the
Peruvian company Graña y Montero
(33%) had the best technical and
financial scores and tendered
the winning bid. As a result, in
December 2009 Odebrecht signed
its first contract in Lima, worth
USD 410 million, with an implementation period of 18 months.
“The public couldn’t wait for the
project to be completed, but they
never believed it would be. After all,
they had lived with that unfinished
project for 20 years,” says Project
Director Carlos Nostre. In addition
Working at night
in Lima: the fastpaced project aims
to improve life
for the Peruvian
capital’s residents
All nine stations built during
the first stage of the project will
be equipped with elevators
to ensure accessibility for disabled
people and tactile indicators
for the visually impaired.
The original seven stations
will be upgraded and retrofitted
to ensure accessibility.
to credibility, another factor that
weighed against the project was its
location. It runs through nine districts (counties), including densely
populated areas of the capital.
“Prior to Peru, I had experience of
working in urban areas in Angola,
and I learned that in these cases
a lack of community support will
compromise the progress of our
work,” says Nostre.
The joint-venture contractor
set up two management areas
before breaking ground. One
was Communication (the other is
Interference). The company held a
press conference to brief the media
on all stages of the project before
a single bulldozer got to work.
Representatives of the nine counties
impacted by the project were also
contacted and provided with data
on the metro system. Likewise, the
company invited the public to visit
its facilities, ask questions and learn
more about the “electric train.”
The community also has a specific
website, call center and two information centers at its disposal. Every
complaint is addressed with a personal touch by sending a PR professional to make a home visit. Streets
are only blocked off with plenty of
advance warning.
Businessman César Escudero
Cuevas and his son, also named
César, own a small market, San
Borja, which houses the La Paila
Marina restaurant. Specializing in
seafood, it serves ceviche, a tasty
traditional fish dish seasoned with
lime and ají, as hot pepper is called
in Peru. It is located on Avenida
Aviación, across the street from
one section of the project. However,
the quality of La Paila’s recipes was
not enough to keep the customers
odebrecht informa
coming when construction equipment began rumbling on the other
side of the road.
“We were accustomed to serving
80 to 100 people at lunchtime, but
during the first week of construction, we served just four meals
per day.” The team responsible for
communication and the market
and restaurant owners engaged in
dialog and reached a compromise.
For example, the lane in front
of the establishments is always
open to traffic. “Service is back to
normal and, once the project is
finished, we expect that business
will grow even more. Better yet, our
employees will be able to travel to
work faster. Today it takes them an
hour and a half to get from their
homes to the market, a commute
that will take 20 minutes on the
metro,” says César Jr. They will
be among the 240,000 people who
will benefit from the “electric train”
project on a daily basis.
Planning and transparency, combined with the method adopted for
the project, have made it possible
for works that would normally
take three years to be completed
in half the time. While the section
built two decades ago was made
with concrete poured on the spot,
the continuation of Line 1, which
will include 11 km of viaducts in the
heart of the city and nine stations,
has changed its structural strategy
and adopted a precast concrete
solution for 90% of the works, an
innovative method in Peru. The
remaining 10% involve curved sections and special crossings, which
cannot be built with the precast
method. In those cases, concreting
is done on the spot.
odebrecht informa
The precast pieces are produced
around the clock in a 70,000 sq.m
area of Lima. Almost 1,200 of the
1,870 beams needed have already
been manufactured. Each beam
measures 30m to 42m, and weighs
up to 90 metric tons. Thanks to
those and other precast items, the
work is moving ahead rapidly and
there are always plenty of materials in stock. As a result, 70% of the
civil works, which began in March,
have already been completed.
“Viaducts that pass over the city
without interfering with traffic,”
underscores Transportation and
Communications Minister Enrique
Cornejo Ramírez. “Thanks to the
precast system, the work is going
quickly without affecting the population and, as a result, the percep-
More than 1,500 trees
were removed from the median
strip under the viaduct.
By law, 10 trees must be planted
for every one felled.
Fifteen thousand saplings
had been planted three months
before construction began.
tion is that it is a complex work
of engineering that is being built
with expertise and speed, while
everyone involved is interacting
to overcome the challenges that
arise along the way.”
This experience will contribute to
the strategy of introducing a mass
transit system in Lima, which will
soon include a tender for the second phase of Line 1 and the concession to operate the first phase.
As a result, there will be more sections to build to complete the 200km metro system. “The electric
train project involves technical features that will be a benchmark for
other projects to be implemented
in Peru and abroad,” says Minister
Ramírez. In this context, Odebrecht
intends to play an active role in the
Peruvian light rail market as an
investor. “This project is creating
the conditions for that to happen,”
says Carlos Nostre.
“Despite our 31 years of experience in Perú, we had never built a
project in the capital before. The
electric train works and the southern pier for the Port of Callao (see
box), in greater Lima, have finally
given Odebrecht the visibility we
deserve in the domestic market,
because they are showcase projects that impact people’s lives
and solve their problems,” says
Jorge Barata, President and CEO
of Odebrecht Perú. “This nation’s
growth – over 6.5% per year over
the past decade – and increased
investment, which has risen from
2% to 6%, is allowing us to dream,
because now Odebrecht has what
it takes to help overcome the infrastructure deficit in Peru,” adds
Jorge Barata.
The container terminal in Callao: cutting-edge technology for port operations
Safe haven on the South Pacific
“Peru’s economy is based on
exports, particularly minerals and
textiles. The Port of Callao, the
country’s first facility of its kind,
used to be in 125th place among the
ports in the world. Its technology
was obsolete, more than 40 years
old, which increased export costs,”
says Jorge Barata, President and
CEO of Odebrecht Perú.
Those were the conditions that
CDB Callao (the joint venture led by
Odebrecht, whose partners are the
Italian-French firm Saipem and Jan
De Nul, from Belgium) encountered
when Dubai Ports World (DP World),
the third-largest ports operator in
the world, contracted it to build the
south pier in the Port of Callao, in the
Lima metropolitan region. Two years
after the joint venture took on that
challenge, DP World Callao, which
has a 30-year concession to operate
the port, on September 30 officially
opened what is now considered the
main port in the South Pacific. Ground
was broken in May, thanks to thorough planning.
As a result of the expansion
and revitalization of its container
terminal (with a 650m pier),
the port now has the necessary
infrastructure to accommodate
Super Post Panamax vessels
with a capacity of 8,000 TEUs
(Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units,
which correspond to a 20-foot
container). It is equipped with the
latest technology for the management of port operations and
the most advanced safety and
security systems in the industry,
which guarantees it a unique
combination of certifications in
that area. The CDB Callao joint
venture used those systems when
building the pier, which made it
possible to complete the project
with the help of over 1,200 workers, reaching the milestone of 4.6
million man hours worked without lost-time accidents.
According to DP World Project
Engineer Javier Lecaros de Cossio,
the main highlight of the port is
its geographic position. “Callao
is very important because of its
location. We are in the center of
South America. Ships that use the
Panama Canal can stop here.”
To become the most important
port in South America, Callao
needs a pier on the north side of
the harbor, and another for minerals. Those two projects are in
the tender stage and the start
of construction is scheduled for
2011. “Odebrecht has excellent
prospects in Peru’s maritime sector, because we have built the
three largest ports in the country:
Bayovar, Callao and Melchorita. As
a result, we have groomed professionals and have logistical capacity
in place, which makes us the first
choice for new investments in that
sector,” says the Project Director,
architect Rodney Carvalho.
odebrecht informa
08
sanitation
An essential issue
Projects underway in the Brazilian states of Pernambuco and Rio
Grande do Norte exemplify efforts focused on improving the nation’s
water and sewer services written by Rodrigo Villar / photos by Élvio Luiz
One of the eight millennium
goals set by the United Nations
Development Program (UNDP)
includes the target of halving the
proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking
water and basic sanitation by 2015.
Although there is still a great deal to
be done to achieve it, governments,
nonprofit organizations and private
companies are making increasingly
impressive efforts to improve basic
sanitation. For example, two major
odebrecht informa
projects in the Brazilian Northeast
are nearing completion.
Designed to service the Recife
metropolitan area, the Pirapama
Production System, an initiative
of the state sanitation company
Companhia Pernambucana de
Saneamento (Compesa), will
increase the city’s water supply by
about 50%, directly benefiting 3.5
million people. Built by Consórcio
Pirapama (a joint venture of
Odebrecht Infraestrutura, Queiroz
Galvão and OAS), it is the largest
water supply project underway
in Brazil today, and is part of the
Federal Government’s Growth
Acceleration Program (PAC).
“This new system signifies the
end of water rationing in Greater
Recife. The people of Pernambuco
have been waiting for this project for
over 20 years. We are very proud to
be taking part in it,” says Compesa
Engineering and Environment
Director Fernando Lobo.
The Pirapama System
(on this and the next
Begun in 2008, the project will
connect both ends of the region’s
drinking water supply chain: the
Pirapama Dam and the Gurjaú
system, while also linking the
chain with the distribution rings
in Greater Recife. The project is
valued at a total of BRL 550 million, financed by the Ministry of
National Integration, the National
Bank for Economic and Social
Development (BNDES) and the
State of Pernambuco.
When the system is completed,
the Recife metropolitan region’s
water supply will reach 5,100
liters per second. The first two
odebrecht informa
Engineers Jorge Negretto and Marcelo Araújo, from Odebrecht, and Baldo Station: highly efficient processing without
chemical additives
The station will handle sewage from 21 districts of Natal, benefiting
350,000 people and helping clean up the Potengi River.
stages, which can treat and distribute up to 2,500 liters, were
delivered in June and October. The
third and final stage is scheduled
for completion in early 2011.
Natal
Another important initiative
among the basic sanitation projects now underway in Brazil is the
construction of the Dom Nivaldo
Monte Sewage Treatment Station
(Baldo Station) in downtown Natal,
the state capital of Rio Grande
do Norte. An initiative of CAERN,
the state’s water and sewer company, the station is being built by
Odebrecht Infraestrutura and will
handle sewage collected in 21 districts of the city, benefiting 350,000
people and helping clean up the
Potengi River.
The State of Rio Grande do Norte
has invested BRL 84 million in this
project. Of that total, BRL 30 million is being spent on the equip-
odebrecht informa
ment that will be used in the tertiary treatment (removing fine particles) of 450 liters of sewage per
second. “The State Government
is using cutting-edge technology.
All of the station’s operations will
be automated, using ultraviolet
purification to ensure highly effi-
cient treatment without requiring
chemical additives,” explains Rio
Grande do Norte Governor Iberê
Ferreira de Souza. “Delivering a
fully operational sewage treatment
plant by the end of 2010 will fulfill
a promise we made to the people
of our state.”
real estate
11
A concept that’s taking off
The Hangar, a real estate development launched in Salvador, promotes
face-to-face interaction among its users and the integration of the
businesses established there written by Leonardo Mourão
we gave to Antônio Caramelo, the
architect who designed the complex.
Salvador is a sunny city that’s bustling
with life. It is not a place where you’d
want to be shut inside a closed, compact tower.”
Connected to Avenida Paralela,
the Hangar will be located on one
of the main access routes to the cities of Salvador, Lauro de Freitas and
Camaçari. The Novotel and Ibis chains
have bought the two hotels, which
have a total of 467 rooms.
The project’s location will also be
more convenient for a large portion
of the city’s population with high pur-
chasing power, which resides in Piatã,
Itapoã, Patamares, Vilas do Atlântico
and Lauro de Freitas. Doctors’ and
dentists’ offices, law firms and other
professional services will be just minutes away. “We conducted a survey
that found that a large number of
professionals were interested in opening offices in the Hangar,” says Djean
Cruz.
The venture has an estimated
General Sales Value of BRL 400 million, and the initial phase – the four
office towers and two hotels – will be
completed by 2013. The other three
towers will be delivered in 2014.
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
In July of this year, Odebrecht
Realizações Imobiliárias (Odebrecht
Real Estate Developments – OR)
launched the Hangar, a venture
whose initial phase includes four
office towers and two hotels at the
first interchange access to the international airport in Salvador, Bahia.
Three months later, 95% of the units
had been sold, including the two hotel
towers.
“It was a huge success,” says
Djean Cruz, OR’s Northeast
Regional Director for Real Estate
Developments. “Salvador needed a
venture of this size with this innovative
profile.”
The Hangar is the first real
estate launch in that city to use the
Business Park concept, in which the
architectural design and engineering promote face-to-face interaction
among its users and the integration
of the businesses that make up the
complex.
The office towers will be built on a
29,000-sq.m area of land on Avenida
Paralela, housing offices, clinics,
shops, banks and restaurants, with
lush landscaping, a jogging track,
a gym and a square for socializing.
These towers, which will be seven or
eight stories, will include units with
areas ranging from 33 to 845 sq.m.
“The people working at or visiting
the Hangar will have a wide range of
services at their disposal, but above
all they will have quality of life,”
says Djean Cruz. “That was the brief
Illustration of the
Hangar: a real
estate project with
an innovative profile
odebrecht informa
12
logistics
All on the same team
Cromex, a Brazilian market leader in masterbatch production, becomes
the first partner to join Braskem’s logistics system at the Camaçari
Petrochemical Complex written by Eliana Simonetti / photos by Beg Figueiredo
The Brazilian market leader in the production
of masterbatches (concentrated mixtures of pigments) for the plastics industry, with a 35-year
history, Cromex exports its products to over 60
countries. It has consistently invested in the
expansion and modernization of its units in Bahia
and São Paulo to boost competitiveness and better serve its clients.
In October, after adapting its extrusion
machines, Cromex’s Bahia plant began receiving
plastic resin directly from its seven silos (three
of which were recently built), supplied through
the just-in-time system by Braskem, which uses
trucks to deliver the raw material in bulk. As a result, Cromex is
the first of Braskem’s four partners at the Camaçari Complex in
Bahia to sign onto the Odebrecht
company’s new logistics system.
“Braskem and Cromex are working
in alignment to seek efficiency,”
says Marco Antonio Quirino, the
Director of Braskem’s Polyethylene
Business.
In short, this fast, streamlined
and reliable system works like
this: at Braskem, the material is
stored in 30-metric-ton containers covered with a
protective liner. Stacked in a small storage area, it
awaits an electronic order with the date of delivery to the client. The containers are loaded onto
tipper trucks equipped with a device that injects
the product directly into the silos, which are connected to the production line.
“We’re changing a long-standing practice in
Brazil. We have eliminated the cost and waste of
sacking, storage in large areas, and rework, as
odebrecht informa
Truck carrying
Braskem plastic
resin arrives
at Cromex and
unloads the
product, which
goes to the
storage area.
On the next
page, Cromex
President
Sérgio Wajsbrot:
more productivity
OVERVIEW OF INNOVATIONS
Improvements and contributions resulting
from the bulk supply project implemented for
Braskem clients in Camaçari, in partnership with
the logistics operator Wilson Sons:
• 8 stationary silos
• 5 container unloading systems
• 134 special containers (volume: 4,181 t)
• 1 rail-mounted transtainer
• container yard at PE3 plant,
adapted for loading
• 8 special tipper trucks.
well as all the risks involved in that process,”
says Gustavo Prisco, the officer Responsible for
Planning and Contracting at Braskem’s Polymer
Logistics area.
Cromex also benefits from the process. “Our
close proximity to the Braskem plant gives us
flexibility, resulting in lower inventories and
immediate problem solving. The bulk logistics
project also reduces the cost of packaging and
handling at the plant,” observes Sérgio Wajsbrot,
President of Cromex. “We have tremendous synergy with Braskem and are striving to increase
our competitiveness in the domestic and foreign
markets,” he adds.
Cromex has a production capacity of 100,000
metric tons per year of masterbatches, with a
portfolio of over 13,000 colors. It maintains a
research lab that develops an average of 200
new colors per month for different types of
plastics – used in products such as packaging,
cosmetics and toys, as well as parts and materials for the construction and auto industries and
agribusiness. It is a company with world-class
standards of quality, concerned with environmental preservation, the quality of the working
environment and the quality of its products, and
has won awards in these areas. Among others,
it has ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certification. “This
partnership with Braskem has reinforced the
company’s position as an innovator and entrepreneur,” says Wajsbrot, whose plans can be
summed up in one word: growth.
odebrecht informa
14
petrochemicals
“I am green”
The world’s first industrial plant to produce
ethylene from ethanol opens in Triunfo
written by Thereza Martins / photos by Mathias Craemer
It was 2:12 a.m. on September
3 when Braskem’s green ethylene
unit began operations at the Triunfo
Petrochemical Complex in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande
do Sul. About 60 members of the
operations and support teams were
at the plant at the time. The feeling of
expectation was intense. The people
who lived through that experience are
unlikely to forget what happened next.
“Our nerves were on edge, our
hearts beat faster. Then there was an
outburst of joy, hugs and tears,” says
Braskem Ventures Director Guilherme
Guaragna, who is responsible for
the project in Rio Grande do Sul.
“The team was motivated and united
throughout the project, and when the
plant started up, we felt a huge sense
of accomplishment for having participated in a pioneering venture for
Braskem, for Brazil and for the global
petrochemical industry.”
The official opening ceremony for
the unit took place on September
24, in the presence of President Luiz
Inácio Lula da Silva, Emílio Odebrecht,
Chairman of the Board of Odebrecht
S.A., Marcelo Odebrecht, President
and CEO of Odebrecht S.A., Bernardo
Gradin, Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO)
of Braskem, government ministers,
Petrobras directors, labor representatives and residents of Triunfo.
President Lula received a hardhat
made with the first batch of polyeth-
odebrecht informa
ylene based on ethylene derived from
sugarcane. The hardhat symbolizes
580 days worked to build the plant in
Triunfo with zero lost-time accidents.
“This important milestone makes us
very proud,” says an exultant Manoel
Carnauba, Vice President of the Basic
Petrochemicals Unit. “As one of many
we’ve achieved, it further demonstrates
that workplace safety is part of our
corporate culture.”
There were plenty of other reasons
to take pride in this project. Carnauba
cites the challenging deadline – 16
months, starting in April 2009 – and
the pioneering design of the world’s
largest ethanol-derived ethylene plant,
which will produce 200,000 metric tons
per year of green polyethylene. Another
highlight is the fact that the new plant
was built with a technology developed
in Brazil, and facilitated the education of 283 young apprentices through
the Ongoing Professional Education
Program (Acreditar) in partnership
with the SENAI (National Industrial
Apprenticeship Service). The program
offered eight training courses for electricians, welders, fitters, plumbers
and carpenters. The project directly
employed 178 youths from that group.
Now that the plant is up and running, Braskem is supplying the
world with a plastic resin made from
renewable sources and making good
headway in its strategy to become the
world leader in sustainable chemicals
The new Braskem plant and, opposite, a scene from the opening ceremony
in Triunfo: from left, Triunfo Mayor Pedro Francisco Tavares, Bernardo
Gradin, Emílio Odebrecht, President Lula, Mines and Energy Minister Márcio
Zimmermann, and Marcelo Odebrecht
by 2020. As for sustainability, the environmental review shows that the route
chosen is the path of the future: 1 kg
of green polyethylene removes from 2
to 2.5 kg of CO2 from the atmosphere,
from the raw materials grown in the
cane fields up to and including the production of polyethylene.
Sugarcane is not the only renewable
raw material used worldwide to make
biopolymers (they are also made from
corn and beets), but it is more competitive and efficient in terms of energy
use, as well as being the only one that,
once converted into ethanol, and then
into ethylene and polyethylene, retains
exactly the same characteristics of
polyethylene made from fossil fuels.
This is a big advantage for Braskem
clients. The same equipment that processes conventional polyethylene can
be used to convert the variety made
from renewable resources (green polyethylene) into plastic without requiring
any adjustments.
This feature is even more encouraging for clients who already saw the
product’s eco-friendly appeal as a good
reason to use this new thermoplastic
resin. Braskem has received orders
that amounted to three times the
plant’s capacity. At the moment, however, the company has decided to sell
up to 80% of production and is considering expanding its capacity in Rio
Grande do Sul or another state where
it can integrate the ethylene plant with
polyethylene production to benefit the
supply chain. The dream for the future
is to produce green polypropylene
and other products from renewable
resources.
Clients around the world
The process that culminated in the
inauguration of the green ethylene
plant in Triunfo and the production of polyethylene from renewable
resources was a valuable experience
for the professionals who took part in
it. According to Biopolymers Director
Marcelo Nunes, the rate of international travel for company members from
the commercial area has increased
due to face-to-face meetings with clients to introduce the new plastic resin.
“Since the project began, we have
worked closely with our clients to test
the product and demonstrate its qualities,” he says.
Marcelo explains that Braskem initially embraced the green polyethylene
project to meet the needs of Toyota
Tsusho, the Toyota Group’s trading
company. Today, Toyota Tsusho distributes green polyethylene in Asia, where
25% of production will be shipped.
Braskem will be directly responsible
for marketing the plastic resin in the
rest of the world. In addition to the volume exported to Asia, half the plant’s
production goes to Europe, 15% to the
United States and the remainder to
Brazil and Latin America. The portfolio
odebrecht informa
ONE TEAM WITH A SINGLE GOAL
The engineering design and construction of the green ethylene plant in Triunfo
were carried out through a partnership between Braskem, Odebrecht Engenharia
Industrial and Genpro, which was responsible for the detailed engineering
through an alliance contract.
Odebrecht Project Director José Carlos Aversa explains that an alliance means
negotiations between the partners end when the contract is signed. “From that
point on, the group becomes a unified team working with the common goal of
meeting deadlines, budgets and quality standards for the project from the day
ground is broken to the start-up of the plant.” In addition to the engineering and
construction works, Odebrecht was also responsible for procurement. At the peak
of its operations, 2,200 people participated in the project.
of clients includes supply contracts
with Johnson & Johnson, Natura,
Procter & Gamble, Tetra Pak, Estrela,
Petropack and Acinplas, among others. Green polyethylene will be used
to produce packaging for sunscreens,
cosmetics, face creams, food products
and other applications. Braskem has
also been consulted on the possibility
of providing support for similar green
polyethylene projects in Europe.
Science, technology and innovation
The green polyethylene project is
the synthesis and outcome of investments of roughly BRL 500 million
in innovation, science, technology,
training, construction projects and
equipment purchases. In this story,
the focus on innovation, science and
technology is a separate chapter.
Braskem has about 300 members at
its technology centers and 18 laboratories in São Paulo and Rio Grande do
Sul. They include experts with PhDs
and Master’s degrees, college graduates and technicians. In addition to its
own team, the company has established agreements and partnerships
with research institutes in Brazil and
other countries.
At least two of those partnerships in
Brazil focus on biopolymers. The one
odebrecht informa
with the State University of Campinas
(UNICAMP) started nearly three years
ago. At the labs of that institution’s
Genetics Department, a group of
Braskem engineers is working closely
with academic researchers, following the chemical route that uses raw
materials obtained from renewable
resources.
The company signed its most recent
agreement in early September with
the National Bioscience Laboratory
(LNBio) in Campinas, to set up a
Braskem research center focused
on biopolymers. Braskem will use
cutting-edge equipment and stay in
daily contact with professionals with
different areas of expertise, boosting their knowledge and leveraging
the company’s internal competence.
The LNBio is linked to the Ministry of
Science and Technology.
“Only innovative firms believe and
invest in science and technology as
a competitive edge for the future,”
says LNBio Director Kleber Franchini.
According to UNICAMP geneticist
Gonçalo Guimarães Pereira, “It takes
long-term vision and confidence in
people to take the risk of investing in
scientific research.”
Another state-of-the-art Braskem
partner is Novozymes, a Danish
firm that is a world leader in the
production of industrial enzymes. In
December 2009 the two companies
signed a contract for the development of polypropylene derived from
sugarcane. The initial results are
expected within a minimum of five
years.
Pending the development of this
route, Braskem will invest USD 100
million in building a green propylene
plant at an undecided location with a
minimum capacity of 30,000 metric
tons per year. It is expected to start
producing green polypropylene by
2013, using another of the company’s
fully mastered technologies.
The Braskem Vice President for
Technology is putting together an
investment plan that should be ready
by year’s end, in line with the company’s Vision for 2020 of being “the global leader in sustainable chemicals,
innovating to better serve the public.”
Entrepreneurial Leader Bernardo
Gradin has reaffirmed that Braskem
will be the number-one private-sector
Brazilian industrial company in terms
of investments in research and development by 2015, doubling the number
of researchers and technicians dedicated to innovation, from the current
300 to over 600 people.
17
teo
Keeping up-to-date
The launch of the second expanded and revised edition of Education
for Work, by the Organization’s founder, Norberto Odebrecht
The second expanded and revised
edition of the original Portuguese
edition of Educação pelo Trabalho
(Education through Work), by Norberto
Odebrecht, Honorary Chairman of
Odebrecht S.A. and Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of the Odebrecht
Foundation, is available for order.
The first edition was published in
1991. The title is meant to underscore
the commitment of the Odebrecht
Organization’s leaders to transferring
the core concepts and criteria of the
Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology
(TEO) to successive Generations of the
Organization’s Entrepreneur-Partners.
This book firmly consolidates the
Awareness already imparted by the
Founder, Norberto Odebrecht’s earlier works (Points of Reference, What
Do We Need?, Influencing and Being
Influenced and Survival, Growth and
Perpetuity): Odebrecht should function
as an Organization of Knowledgable
Human Beings whose Development
must be furthered by practicing the
Pedagogy of Presence.
“Education for Work is the book
that best communicates the Author’s
teachings,” says Marcelo Odebrecht,
President and CEO of Odebrecht S.A.
The new edition is reaching the hands
of Organization Members and all those
who will carry on with the Mission of
the previous Generations: producing
new and better wealth and furthering the welfare of the Communities
where they are active, mainly with a
HOLANDA CAVALCANTI
written by Vivian Barbosa
Sales price: BRL 100.00
To order: www.fundacaoodebrecht.org.br/programas
More information: +55 71 3206-1244 [ contact Rafaela Brandão ]
view to achieving Development with
Sustainability.
The Odebrecht Foundation is the
institution responsible for the sale
of books on TEO. To purchase them,
interested parties can log onto www.
fundacaoodebrecht.org.br/programas.
The book rights and all sales revenue
will be used to finance projects underway in the Southern Bahia Lowlands
region, thereby contributing to the
Social Inclusion of families in rural
areas.
Education through Work is also
available in English and Spanish
editions.
odebrecht informa
18
recognition
Shared beliefs
IMD Award is the result of the hard
work and convictions of all Odebrecht
Organization members
There was a palpable sense
of expectation in the air in the
Palmer House Hotel’s events
room in the US city of Chicago
on the evening of October 2, during the 21st Annual Conference
of the Family Business Network,
the leading global network of
family-owned companies. The
winner of the Distinguished Family
Business Award for 2010 would
soon be announced. Odebrecht
was one of the four finalists
among the 65 business vying for
the prize. Marcelo Odebrecht,
President and CEO of Odebrecht
S.A., was present, accompanied
by Iolanda Peltier and Cristovam
Leal Dantas, representing the
Odebrecht family, and Odebrecht
executive Manoel Carnauba,
Vice President for Basic
Petrochemicals at Braskem.
When IMD President Dominique
Turpin announced that Odebrecht
was the winner, the members of
the small Odebrecht delegation
and about 50 other Brazilians and
Latin Americans present among
the 600 guests were overcome by a
special feeling of joy. And for good
reason. Created in 1996, marked
by strict requirements and conditions for the businesses in the running, the annual award is coveted
odebrecht informa
by companies with global operations and yearly revenue of more
than USD 500 million that have
been owned by the same family
for at least three generations. The
sponsor of the award is the prestigious International Institute for
Management Development (IMD) of
Switzerland, in association with the
Lombard Odier Bank and Chopard,
the jeweler and watchmaker.
When he accepted the trophy,
Marcelo gave the main reason
for Odebrecht’s success: “It was
our culture that brought us here.
This culture, the essence of our
Organization’s way of being,
resulted from a combination of
the philosophical concepts of its
founder, my grandfather, Norberto
Odebrecht, and our history, which
has been built up through the
feats and actions of men and
women who have learned to share
the same values.”
2008 crisis boosts prestige
Family businesses are companies in which one family owns
the majority stake, but are run
by professional business executives. In general, these companies
each have their own unique set
of values originating from the
controlling family. “At Odebrecht,
ROBERTO ROSA
written by José Enrique Barreiro
we have been fortunate to have a
founder and a family with strong
humanistic values that have taken
care to systemize them and tirelessly pass them on to the entire
Organization,” says André Amaro,
the officer Responsible for Planning
and Development at Odebrecht S.A.,
who spent four months coordinating the completion of all the steps
the award’s organizers required.
Norberto Odebrecht flanked
by his son Emílio and
grandson Marcelo, with a
portrait of his father, the
pioneer Emílio Odebrecht, in
the background: a tradition of
cultivating humanistic values
In 2008, major global companies
with multiple shareholders that
focused on a short-term agenda
and immediate results collapsed
and triggered a global crisis.
At that point, family businesses
began gaining new prestige. “The
world started to take a closer
look at them. Previously, they had
not been as attractive because
they insist on maintaining their
'
"The culture Norberto Odebrecht created through TEO allows all
members of the Organization to feel part of one big family, united
by common goals and principles. Being recognized as the world’s
best family business is an achievement built on those foundations
that makes us very proud, but it also increases our responsibility to
future generations of ‘Odebrechtians’!"
Benedicto Barbosa da Silva Junior,
Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of Odebrecht Infraestrutura
odebrecht informa
core values and working with a
sustainable long-term agenda,”
observes Amaro.
A long-term agenda is one of
the main attributes that the IMD
seeks among the candidates
for the award. Its partners are
role models in this regard: the
Lombard Odier Bank has been in
existence since 1796 and Chopard
was founded in 1860. Compared
with them, Odebrecht is “youthful” at the age of 66. But it is still
significant, as the IMD team led
by Professor Benoît Leleux and
researcher Anne-Catrin Glemser
found after a four-month assessment of the Organization. “We
sought to identify the excellence
of companies in three dimensions:
family values, business values and
sustainability,” says Leleux.
odebrecht informa
Shining eyes
Experts and scholars from
around the world recommended
the family businesses considered
for the award, which underwent
a thorough evaluation. In the
case of Odebrecht, that process
began in May, when André Amaro
'
“Odebrecht is the only company I’ve ever worked for. I
joined the Organization as an
intern in 1977. In all these years,
I’ve developed my career in
an environment governed by
the clear principles and values
of an entrepreneurial culture,
believing and discovering,
every step of the way, that
Valuing People and Planned
Delegation would make me a
professional agent of my own
destiny. The IMD award is an
outcome of this cultural environment in which Educational
Leaders apply the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology
and convey the assurance that
discipline, followed by respect,
builds trust in relationships
between people, strengthening
everyone to take on ever-greater business challenges.”
Luiz Mameri,
Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO)
of Oodebrecht América Latina e Angola
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
companies and businesses, books
by Norberto Odebrecht and institutional publications, such as
Odebrecht S.A.’s annual reports
and special issues of Odebrecht
Informa magazine.
After analyzing these materials, the IMD decided to include
Odebrecht among the four finalists. The second stage of the
evaluation began in July, when
Benoît Leleux and Anne-Catrin
Glemser spent a week in Brazil
to get a first-hand look at the
Organization. They interviewed
Norberto, Emílio and Marcelo
Odebrecht, as well as company
executives on topics of Leleux’s
and Glemser’s choice: biofuels
(José Carlos Grubisich), green
polyethylene (Manoel Carnauba,
Marcelo Nunes and Alan Hiltner)
and the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant (Gabriel Ybarra).
Cibelle Cristina da Silva and
Ulla von Czékus, from Odebrecht,
were responsible for providing
support for Leleux and Glemser
in Brazil, and attended the
interviews. According to Ulla,
they discussed philosophy and
strategy with Odebrecht family members. Their interviews
with the executives focused on
sustainability and how the family’s values had impacted their
lives and work. Ulla and Cibelle
paid close attention to Leleux’s
and Glemser’s first impressions
after each interview. “They were
delighted,” says Ulla. “They
were particularly impressed
with Marcelo’s confidence, Mr.
Emílio Odebrecht’s vision and Mr.
Norberto Odebrecht’s up-to-date
thinking,” adds Cibelle, who also
says the visitors were surprised
by the executives’ respect and
admiration for the Organization.
“They noticed that their eyes
were shining, and realized that
they felt a true sense of personal
humility and pride in belonging to
Odebrecht.”
In the document that justifies bestowing the award on
Odebrecht, entitled “Dreaming the
Client’s Dream,” Professor Leleux
gives a thorough analysis of the
Organization’s history, businesses
and philosophy. “Odebrecht stands
out for its unique corporate culture, striking values and principles, significant growth, innovation and commitment to social
and environmental responsibility,”
he states.
A win for all
Norberto Odebrecht with Anne-Catrin Glemser and Benoît Leleux: family values,
business values and sustainability
Odebrecht is the second Latin
American organization to win
the award. The Votorantim Group
was first, in 2005. In the last 15
years, family businesses from
odebrecht informa
L
WE HAVE A LONG ROAD AHEAD
MESSAGE FROM EMÍLIO ODEBRECHT
TO ORGANIZATION MEMBERS
Winning the award for the world’s best family business
in 2010 is hugely significant for our Organization.
Among other things, it represents recognition of our
values and principles, their effective application in the
businesses and environments in which we operate,
and our history of economic growth with social and
environmental responsibility.
This award does not belong to the Odebrecht family
alone. It belongs to the entire Odebrecht Organization
and each and every one of its members. Odebrecht’s
strength is not in the family. It is in the philosophy
that came from the family, but is accepted, understood
and applied by every member of the Organization. This
is particularly true for the role of Leaders who have
groomed new Leaders through personal example for
decades while passing on the values and principles
that govern our practices.
We are very pleased with this recognition.
However, as everyone knows, constant dissatisfaction
is in our DNA. Therefore, we must stay alert, day and
night, to the traps of success. Any kind of recognition
requires humility and responsibility. We must not
feel we have reached the top, because as my father,
Norberto Odebrecht, the founder of our Organization,
likes to say, “There is only one way from the top,
and that is down.” We have received highly
important global recognition, but we still have a long
way to go.
The Vision for 2020 is our current roadmap. To achieve
it, just like their predecessors, the new generation
of leaders must groom the next Educational Leaders
all the time, because they are the key to our future.
It is through them, and only them, that we will
continue to be a safe haven for our Clients and keep
our Organization on the path of Survival, Growth and
Perpetuity.
odebrecht informa
several countries have been chosen, including Hermès of France,
the Henkel and Merck groups
of Germany, Barilla of Italy,
Bonnier of Sweden, and Yazaki of
Japan.
According to André Amaro, the
award is a victory for the entire
Odebrecht Organization. “This
achievement is mainly down to
the generations that preceded us.
Our generation and those that
will follow us are committed to
preserving the Odebrecht culture and enhancing our position
of excellence. This award is the
result of a long track record, but
it is mainly a milestone for the
future.”
In his acceptance speech in
Chicago, Marcelo Odebrecht
stressed two main points, among
others:
First, the belief in professional management: “Leadership
positions at Odebrecht will continue to be filled by the people
who are best able to satisfy the
two sources of corporate life
– Shareholders and the Client
– regardless of their blood relationship.”
Second, the belief in the
strength of family businesses:
“Awareness of long-term responsibilities and a commitment
to and trust in the leadership
resulting from the manner in
which the family places its
moral and material assets at the
Organization’s disposal. Moral
assets consist of the principles,
values and beliefs that are
applied to groom the successive
generations that take the helm of
the business.”
argentina
23
A special time
Odebrecht wins new contracts and diversifies its operations in Argentina
written by Sérgio Bourroul / photos by Guilherme Afonso
The year 2010 has been a special
one for Odebrecht in Argentina. Since
it arrived in that country 23 years ago,
the company has become the number-one contractor in the Argentine
construction industry. Now, after
signing important new contracts, it is
setting out to diversify its operations
there, bolstered by synergy among
the Organization’s companies.
According to Flávio Faria,
CEO of Odebrecht Engenharia
Industrial (Industrial
Engineering), the high technical quality of the competition (European, Argentine and
Brazilian companies), the major
opportunities offered, a balanced
backlog (public and private clients) and the challenges it has
overcome have given the company
a maturity that differentiates it
in the market and qualifies it to
diversify its operations and make
new investments. “We have to be
investors here,” says Flávio.
The company recently signed
an alliance contract with Vale
for Stage 1 of construction of
the Río Colorado potash mine in
Juan Manuel de Rosas Water Treatment Plant: over 2 million people have access to clean water
odebrecht informa
Bahía Blanca, and is negotiating
the other stages. On October 26,
Odebrecht signed a contract with
Petrobras’s International Business
Unit to provide facilities recovery
services. These projects will be
carried out at facilities in nine
countries, mainly in Argentina.
Under this contract, Odebrecht will
operate in conjunction with Foz
do Brasil. “We are also evaluating
investment opportunities in energy
and other segments of heavy engineering. I am very optimistic about
the prospects,” says Flávio.
The sense of optimism does
not stop there. The infrastructure area of Odebrecht América
Latina e Angola (Latin America
and Angola – ALA) returned to
the country in early 2009 to lead
Aguas del Paraná, the joint venture responsible for building the
Juan Manuel de Rosas Water
Treatment Plant in partnership
with Argentine companies José
Cartellone Construcciones Civiles,
Benito Roggio y Hijos S.A. and
Supercemento Saic. This proj-
odebrecht informa
NUMBERS FOR ARGENTINA
• 520
members
• 75%
men and
• 2,720
25%
women
service providers,
contractors and joint-venture
members
• 50
•
young partners
earnings: usd
585
million in
•4
projects underway
•3
projects completed
2009
ect includes the construction of
a 15-km tunnel that will convey
water from the Paraná River to
the plant, as well as building the
water treatment station and 40 km
of distribution pipelines.
“This is one of the most important
infrastructure projects in the past
50 years. It will ensure access to
safe drinking water for over two million residents of the capital and the
Buenos Aires metropolitan area,”
said the President of Argentina,
Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, when
she visited the
jobsite in August.
The most recent contract signed
is for the Soterramiento del
Ferrocarril Sarmiento project. A
joint venture with the Argentine
companies Iecsa and Rogier,
Comsa, from Spain, and Ghella,
from Italy, it involves converting
an urban railway into a subway
linking Buenos Aires to the town
of Moreno, thereby easing congestion on several urban routes that
now suffer from frequent traffic
jams due to railway crossings. “We
have begun work on preliminary
activities to set up the jobsite, and
now we are awaiting the disbursement of funds to accelerate the
pace of implementation,” says
Odebrecht ALA
Director Maurício
Couri, who is studying prospects for
further projects in
Argentina.
In over two
decades, the company has taken part
in projects that are
major milestones
in the country’s development, such
as the Pichi Picún Leufú hydroelectric plant on the Limay River,
in Patagonia, the Buenos Aires
Western Access Route, and the
General San Martín and Neuber II
gas pipelines.
Today, the expansion of
pipeline systems operated by
Transportadora de Gas del Norte
(TGN) and Transportadora de Gas
del Sur (TGS) is Odebrecht’s main
project in that country. It involves
installing more than 1,900 km of
pipes that run parallel to the existing pipeline, in addition to building 20
compressor plants
and facilities that will
boost the power of
existing plants.
Another ongoing contract signed
last year with the
oil company YPF
involves building
the first continuous
catalyst regeneration
reformer (CCR) in the
are foreigners – mostly Brazilians –
and all the others are Argentineans.
“Here we have qualified professionals with a tremendous drive to
work and do a better job every day.
Today we are an attractive company
for good Argentine professionals, and our team is the key to our
growth.” In 2009, more than 530
recent college graduates enrolled in
the Young Partner Program, which
attracted 25 new members to the
company.
country. Scheduled for completion
by 2012, this facility is located in
the Ensenada Industrial Complex
in La Plata, has 800 members and
will make it possible to produce
200,000 metric tons per year of
aromatic compounds to make
high-quality fuels.
“This is a good time for us in
Argentina, and we are here to stay,
thanks to our close integration with
the country,” says Flávio Faria.
Currently, just 45 of Odebrecht’s
520 members in that country (3,000,
including joint venture members)
Ensenada Industrial Complex
in La Plata, where YPF’s
CCR Project is underway:
producing high-quality fuels
odebrecht informa
26
interview
Fresh
possibilities
He doesn’t have a mate gourd on his desk, but as soon as
Sérgio Brinckmann opens his mouth, his distinctive way of
speaking Brazilian Portuguese clearly identifies him as a
native of Rio Grande do Sul – even in the simplest question:
“Want some coffee?”
Brinckmann has a degree in Economics from the Federal
University at Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), a graduate degree
in Financial Management and an MBA in Finance from the
University of São Paulo (USP). Since April 2010, he has been
CEO of Odeprev Odebrecht Previdência, which has about
10,200 participants and BRL 764 million in assets.
An Odebrecht member since 1994, he has worked at
Copesul, OPP Petroquímica, Braskem and OII - Odebrecht
Investimentos em Infraestrutura, which he left to helm
Odeprev. “I’ve always focused on finance,” he says.
Well-adapted to life in São Paulo, Brinckmann explains that,
aside from his family and friends, the only thing he misses
about his home town of Porto Alegre is cheering for
Gremio, his beloved soccer club, at the city’s
Olympic stadium.
In this interview, he talks about the
challenge of repositioning Odeprev to
meet the new conditions of the financial
environment in Brazil and the projects
that are underway in the Organization’s
private pension fund.
written by José Enrique Barreiro
photo by Dario de Freitas
odebrecht informa
Odebrecht Informa – How do
you see Odeprev?
Sérgio Brinckmann – Odeprev is
a success. It has shown very good
performance so far. But the financial environment in Brazil and the
Odebrecht Organization’s people
structure have changed. Odeprev
is also changing to cope with
these transformations.
OI – What sort of changes
is Brazil’s financial environment
experiencing?
Brinckmann – We need to prepare for a scenario of low interest rates. Odeprev’s extremely
conservative policy on financial
investments, investing 90% of its
assets in fixed-income instruments, has worked well until now.
But it will have to be diversified to
adapt to the new scenario.
OI – Has Odeprev established a
new financial investment strategy?
Brinckmann – We are studying it now. But one thing is for
sure – our investment profile
will change. The Odebrecht
Organization has increased the
percentage of young members in
its ranks, which requires investments in private securities and
the stock market, for example.
Odeprev’s conservative, or ultraconservative portfolio, with 90%
of assets invested in fixed-income
instruments, is already beginning
to change.
OI – How will that change come
about?
Brinckmann – A number of projects and improvements are in the
pipeline, but first they need to
be reviewed and approved by the
Odeprev Board of Trustees. Then,
and only then, will we be able to
announce them.
OI – Do you plan to make
changes in regard to investment
funds?
Brinckmann – We’ve been doing
that since April. We have new
investment vehicles. Previously,
we would buy shares in open
funds. That meant we were one
shareholder among many others, so we couldn’t influence the
managers’ decisions. What have
we done? We’ve liquidated all
those investments, centralized the
administration, custody and control of those assets in one major
bank (Itaú) and created exclusive
funds: three for fixed-interest
securities and one for equities.
We’ve designed the terms of these
funds and worked with the manager to set the amounts invested.
By the way, we can also set the
length of that manager’s term,
which was impossible when we
invested in open funds. All this
has led to better governance,
significantly lowering investment
risks and producing a saving of
BRL 2.5 million per year. This
new model should also improve
the profitability of the investment
funds, since the management
tools are well defined and inexpensive.
OI – Do you have other investment
portfolios in mind?
Brinckmann – Yes, we do. We’re
going to open an inflation portfolio, which is always pegged to the
real interest rate, and another for
private credit, investments bonds
and time deposits of private-sector
companies.
are reorganizing internally, investing in an operating system and
means of communication that will
keep us in closer touch with participants.
OI – Are there any plans to
include non-Brazilian members
in Odeprev?
Brinckmann – Today, Odeprev is
for Brazilians only, whether they
are in Brazil or other countries. It’s
a legal issue. By law, we cannot
include foreigners. But I’ve started
thinking about a broader pension
plan that includes non-Brazilians,
and we will present alternatives
to our board. Like young people,
the number of foreigners in the
Organization has increased tremendously.
OI – Where is Odeprev headed?
Brinckmann – Odeprev’s future is
growth, adapting to the changing
environment in the world economy
and the Odebrecht Organization.
What we’re doing now is just that:
Odeprev is preparing for that
growth in line with the Vision for
2020. Odebrecht has changed
tremendously. Today we have
many more members than we did
10 years ago, with an increasingly youthful demographic, more
people working outside Brazil, and
a significant financial volume to
administer with a view to obtain
OI – What are your plans for
services to participants?
Brinckmann – We have to provide
them more services and find a fund
that can include their families. We
odebrecht informa
28
bioenergy
Families that
work together...
Geisse and Givanildo:
the couple shares
the same day-to-day
work life
There are several examples of relatives working side by side at the ETH
Rio Claro Unit, a practice that helps develop a positive organizational
climate written by Guilherme Oliveira / photos by Lalo Almeida
Givanildo Rufino da Silva has been
accustomed to the cane fields since
the age of 12, when he worked as a
field assistant at an ethanol plant in the
Northeast Brazilian state of Alagoas.
A dedicated worker, in just a few years
that young man from Sirinhaém,
Pernambuco had risen through the
ranks in the sugar-ethanol industry. He
was already supervising teams by the
time he met Geisse Fonseca, then an
office assistant and co-worker, from
Minas Gerais. They fell in love and soon
got married. They lived in Minas Gerais
until 2008, the year Givanildo joined ETH
odebrecht informa
Bioenergy as a Mechanized Resources
Supervisor at the Rio Claro Unit in
Goiás. “We only got to see each other
every two weeks,” Givanildo recalls. A
year later, Geisse got tired of the long
distance and moved to Cachoeira Alta,
Goiás. Energetic and hardworking, she
looked for opportunities at the Rio Claro
Unit. She got a job there and is now a
Technical Assistant for Quality in the
agricultural area.
Givanildo and Geisse are just one
of many examples of family members
who work side by side at the Rio Claro
Unit. Although many companies have
a policy of not hiring more than one
member of a family, doing just the
opposite is proving to be an excellent
way of developing a positive organizational climate at ETH, the Odebrecht
company that produces ethanol and
electricity. “We have no such restrictions,” says Antonio Aílton Andrade,
the officer Responsible for People and
Administration at the company’s Mato
Grosso do Sul Hub. “All ETH units have
company members working there who
are related to each other, and that has
been an important factor for the success of our operations.”
bioenergia
According to Aílton, instead of preventing members of the same family
from working together, the company
encourages people to recommend their
relations. “Many members are hired
after being recommended that way. It’s
important to listen to people you trust,
and that helps us get solid references
during the hiring process.” He explains
that the people referred that way go
through the same selection process as
all job candidates, and it is vital that they
have the right qualifications, including
personality, competence and potential.
“We avoid assigning related company
members to the same area or having
them in a direct leader-team member
Cousins Anderson Pinto
(left) and Oriano Souza:
having the company’s
trust
From left, Anderson, Simone, Carmina and Alcides: reuniting the family
relationship, to prevent a misleading
impression of favoritism,” he explains.
This practice also reduces turnover,
which is common in the company’s field
of activity. “It is important for members
from other parts of the country to bring
their families here and establish stronger ties with the local community,” says
Aílton. “That strengthens their bond with
the company, along with the member’s
commitment.”
Anderson Silva, the Development
Leader for the Rio Claro Unit’s agricultural area, has done just that. His wife,
Simone Porssani, agreed to move to the
Midwest from Dobrada, São Paulo. She
soon began working at the unit as a Lab
Technician. To make Anderson’s happiness complete, his parents, Alcides Silva
and Carmina Silva, were selected to take
the ETH Training Course for Agricultural
Operators, and are already driving tractors in the company’s cane fields. “I’ve
finally managed to reunite my family,”
says Anderson, who is clearly thrilled.
“Things like that make people feel at
home at ETH.”
Antonio Aílton points out another reason why related company members can
be found working at ETH’s units. “The
plants are located near small towns,
and it would be very hard to put teams
together if we avoided those situations.
ETH participates in the life of these
towns and promotes growth directly and
indirectly. They become one big ETH
family.”
This was the organizational climate
that Oriano Souza, the Mechanical
Harvesting Supervisor at the Rio Claro
Unit, wanted for his son Renê de
Souza’s career. Reluctant to move to
another town, Renê found a different
solution: he works in the agricultural
area of the Conquista do Pontal Unit,
in Mirante do Paranapanema, São
Paulo. Oriano himself was following
the advice of a cousin, Mechanized
Planting Supervisor Anderson Pinto,
when he sought opportunities at ETH.
Anderson’s wife, Lucinéia Carvalho, did
the same and now works there as an
Administrative-Financial Assistant.
Anderson Pinto says the company’s
focus on people is its main differentiating factor. “ETH’s concern about people’s
well-being makes us feel very comfortable here. When a company allows relatives to work together, it makes it clear
that it trusts its members. It’s up to us to
give back by doing the best job we can.
And it’s not hard to do, because there’s
nothing better for productivity than a
happy workplace.”
odebrecht informa
30
dominican republic
Active nationwide
Roadworks in the capital and interior reflect the Organization’s current
stage of growth in that Caribbean nation, where Odebrecht has been present
for nearly 10 years written by Marco Antonio Antunes / photos by Holanda Cavalcanti
About to mark 10 years of operations
in the Dominican Republic, during which
the company has built three aqueducts,
a dam and a highway, Odebrecht is
focusing on the road infrastructure program developed by the administration of
Dominican President Leonel Fernández.
A number of projects in one, it is being
carried out in the capital, Santo Domingo,
as well as the interior and coast of that
Caribbean nation, whose main source of
income is international tourism.
“We are experiencing a period of
expansion of our operations here, which
is clearly reflected by the number of
contracts awarded and the number
of company members we have today
- almost 5,000,” said Marco Cruz,
Odebrecht’s President and CEO for that
country. The most recent contracts are
the Duarte Corridor (nine urban roadworks projects in the capital), and two
coastal highways, one linking the most
important tourist destinations in the
east, and another in the Province of La
Vega, in the interior.
Víctor Díaz Rúa, the Dominican
Minister of Public Works and
Communications (MOPC) whose ministry is the client for these projects, has
personally kept track of their progress
through planned and surprise visits.
“He makes a point of seeing things for
himself to ensure that deadlines are
being met and ascertain the results
of the engineering solutions adopted,”
The Duarte Corridor, and, opposite, Autopista del Coral: improving road infrastructure in the Dominican Republic
odebrecht informa
explains Marco Cruz. “It’s part of my
job, but it is also gratifying to see the
progress these projects are making,”
says Minister Díaz.
Thanks to the Duarte Corridor,
which bisects Santo Domingo from
east to west and handles a million
vehicles per day, traffic will flow more
quickly and safely in that city. Even
more so with the help of the northsouth Duarte Corridor II, which is
already on the drawing board. “These
projects will bring substantial fuel savings thanks to increased traffic flow, so
we will have paid for the two projects
in five years,” Víctor Díaz predicts.
Because they are urban construction
projects involving several work fronts,
the logistics for building the system
are complex, requiring constant and
special attention from the team headed
by Project Director Luiz Sérgio Ferraz
da Costa. There are 1,550 professionals
working on this project, carried out in
partnership with the Dominican firm
Ingeniería Estrella, including 250 hired
by subcontractors. “We have put together a good team,” said Luiz Sérgio. “That
has ensured optimal performance on
all fronts. That’s what we need to maintain our credentials for building the new
projects the MOPC has planned.”
Minister Víctor Díaz is also
enthusiastic when describing the
ongoing roadworks in the country’s
eastern tourist hub, underscoring
the construction projects which are
Odebrecht’s responsibility: Autopista
del Coral, an 86-km route linking La
Romana and Punta Cana, which began
in October 2009 and will be delivered
by July 2012, and the Bávaro-Sabana
de la Mar Highway project (111 km),
which will begin in January, running
through Uvero Alto and Miches. These
six locations are considered hubs for
Autopista del Coral
current and future tourism projects
planned for the area, such as the
Cisneros Group’s Tropicalia Project in
Miches, which Odebrecht is helping
build. That venture, which involves a
planned investment of USD 2 billion,
will include resorts, homes and a golf
course, creating work opportunities for
5,000 people during its four phases of
construction and boosting the region’s
economic and social development.
A four-lane highway, with two lanes
in each direction, the Autopista del
Coral starts in La Romana, a coastal
town that is already connected to
Santo Domingo via the Autopista Las
Américas, which is currently in operation and has similar characteristics.
This is a step toward the creation of
a 223-km corridor linking the main
tourist spots in the east to the nation’s
capital. A local construction company
is building the Boulevard Turístico del
Este, a 30-km route connecting Punta
Cana and Bávaro. The 111-km stretch
under Odebrecht’s responsibility will
link Bávaro and Sabana de la Mar,
completing the corridor through which
the government expects to open up
tourist destinations, as well as increasing speed and safety for motorists.
“This is President Leonel Fernández’s
dream, and it will soon become a reality, providing more comfort for tourists
and bringing in more foreign exchange
to our country,” says Minister Díaz.
“To achieve this, we have Odebrecht’s
support and the good work it has
been doing on all its projects in the
Dominican Republic. We are confident
that the company will be with us for
many years to come, because we have
so many other projects to build.”
Construction of the Autopista del
Coral, which will involve 2,000 members
at the peak of the project, will improve
access to the Punta Cana region, the
most important tourist area in the
odebrecht informa
country. Once the route is up and running, travel time from Santo Domingo
to Punta Cana via La Romana will be
halved, from four to two hours.
“We have big challenges ahead,” says
Project Director Lito Gusmão. One of
the main focuses has been developing the financial engineering (financing
includes contributions of local funds
and will involve the participation of different multilateral banks) to meet the
project’s needs. “Not to mention the
constant focus on grooming new members at all levels, as in all our projects,”
odebrecht informa
says Lito, who has 15 young partners
on his team. In October, a sports center
with baseball and soccer fields and
a playing court opened at the main
jobsite. It is also available to the community through partnerships with public
schools and other entities.
The current contingent of young
partners in the DR is 70, says Cláudio
Medeiros, the Odebrecht officer
Responsible for Administration and
Finance. “We are working hard to
ensure that we have teams in the right
quantity and with the requisite quality
to meet the needs of the new contracts
we have won and will win in the future,”
he adds.
Another Project Director who is
mobilizing his team to groom new
members is Sérgio Tettamanti Júnior.
Most of the team members who will
work under Tettamanti’s leadership on
the two Odebrecht roadworks projects
that are just getting started, will come
from the recently completed Casabito
Highway project, a 51-km route that
connects the Autopista Duarte, in the
village of El Abanico, with Constanza, in
the central mountain range.
“Casabito used to be one of the
most dangerous routes in the coun-
memory
33
The main
beneficiary is Brazil
Marking the 30th anniversary of the Odebrecht Organization’s merger
with CBPO, a consolidation of experience, knowhow and high expectations
written by Zaccaria Junior
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
An association that has benefited
both companies and given Brazil
key projects for its development,
the Odebrecht Organization’s merger with CBPO hit its 30-year mark
in 2010.
The story of that merger begins
in the late 1970s, when Companhia
Brasileira de Projetos e Obras
- CBPO, a São Paulo company
founded in 1931 by engineer Oscar
Americano de Caldas Filho, ranked
sixth in earnings among Brazil’s
major construction companies.
In addition to its financial standing, CBPO also had an impressive
portfolio of completed projects: it
was a member of the joint venture
that built Itaipu, then the largest
dam in the world, and had helped
build the Imigrantes, Trabalhadores
and Castelo Branco highways in
São Paulo State, part of the Steel
Railway, between Minas Gerais and
Rio de Janeiro, the Rio de Janeiro
Metro and three dams on the
Paranapanema River in the interior
of São Paulo State.
CBPO and its teams contributed
their expertise in major construction works to Odebrecht, including
moving large amounts of earth,
rock and concrete, while Odebrecht
had developed expertise in the area
of special technology, an innovation applied to both large buildings,
Rio de Janeiro International Airport: the “proving ground”
for Odebrecht and CBPO during the merger process
odebrecht informa
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
The Rio Metro,
Angra I and Itaipu:
major milestones
in the history of
both companies’
growth
such as Rio de Janeiro International
Airport (Galeão), the Angra dos Reis
Nuclear Power Plant and Usiminas,
as well as large concrete bridges
and viaducts, such as the Colombo
Salles Bridge, in Santa Catarina.
The idea for the merger was
based on the certainty that by
combining their expertise they
could – and did – make Odebrecht
a better-qualified company, with
more extensive knowhow and
solid credentials that would make
it more competitive both nationally and internationally. Until 1997,
when it was consolidated under
Construtora Norberto Odebrecht
(CNO), CBPO expanded Odebrecht’s
operations in Brazil in the states
of São Paulo, Rio Grande do Sul,
Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul and
Goiás, and began working in
Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
Closer understanding
“Thirty years is a long time, and
that period is a very important part
of the Odebrecht story. It started at
a time when Brazil was embarking
on major undertakings. Back then
we had Galeão, subways, and Itaipu
and several hydroelectric plants
odebrecht informa
that are true milestones. Galeão
was especially important because
that was our proving ground,” says
Aluizio Rebello de Araujo, now a
Member of the Board of Odebrecht
S.A. and then President of CBPO,
referring to the first collaboration
between Odebrecht and CBPO.
At Galeão, CNO was responsible
for the construction of aircraft
aprons and buildings, while CBPO
handled the earthmoving. “There
was a very positive interaction
between the teams that worked at
CBPO and Odebrecht when building the new runway in Rio, at which
time both companies were working as a joint venture. It was there
that I came into closer contact with
Emílio Odebrecht, Renato Baiardi
and Luis Villar, in short, with
Odebrecht’s entrepreneurial leaders,” recalls Aluizio. He stresses
that the projects they built at the
Rio airport created a very favorable
situation for the two companies to
get to know each other better.
Aluizio recalls that one day
Norberto Odebrecht visited him at
his home for a “rather long and
very prospective” conversation in
which he sounded out the possibil-
ity of a merger. “I listened to what
he had to say, and didn’t say ‘A’ or
‘B’ at the time, but I was obliged to
report that conversation to my colleagues Mário Pimenta Camargo
and Oscar Americano Neto. And
based on that report, we had a
second conversation with Norberto,
in which I expressed CBPO’s possible interest in sitting down with
Odebrecht to develop a closer
understanding.”
Under the terms of the merger negotiated under Norberto
Odebrecht’s leadership, with
the direct involvement of Emílio
Odebrecht and Victor Gradin, they
decided to put together a CNO
team that would go to São Paulo to
carry out the process of integrating
members of both companies – a
team that was to include Emílio,
Pedro Novis, Gilberto Sá and Cesar
Castro.
During the first eighteen
months, from July 1980 until the
end of 1981, Emílio stayed on as
Executive Vice President of CBPO
and Aluizio, as President. Pedro
Novis, now a Member of the Board
of Odebrecht S.A., recalls: "Emílio
effectively focused on streamlining
and expanding the new company’s
organization and seeking new
opportunities for it. As of the end of
1981, he decided that it was important to come back and focus on the
leadership of CNO, and I became
Executive Vice President, serving in
that position from the end of 1981
until 1997.”
Pedro Novis estimates that it
took three to four years to achieve
a fully integrated system and
the adoption of the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology. “TEO
was the lever for that entire process. We sensitized people to a
philosophy of decentralized entrepreneurship based on trust, with a
strong level of delegation, a reward
system focused on results and
the constant practice of education
through work and team building.”
In the daily process of integration, Pedro had the support of old
and new colleagues, among them
Romildo José dos Santos, who
joined CBPO in 1974.
Currently the President and
CEO of Odebrecht Infraestrutura,
Romildo was invited to join Pedro’s
direct team in 1985. “The prospects were excellent, because in
practice, we were already applying
Odebrecht’s entire philosophy. The
focus on growth created positive
expectations among the teams,”
says Romildo, who notes that
he saw CBPO quickly assimilate
Odebrecht values, which facilitated effective integration. “There
was no resistance because people
had a positive attitude towards the
Odebrecht culture,” he adds.
Aluizio, Novis and Romildo all
mention people who, among others, played a prominent role in the
merger: Petrônio Machado Freire,
Getúlio Giacoia, Antônio Carvalho
Barra, Irineu Meireles, Pedro
Boscov, Clovis Fernandes Franco,
Luiz Bueno, Márcio Batista, Luiz
Fernando Secco, Cesar Castro and
Jorge Azevedo – people whose hard
work and leadership made a decisive contribution to the success of a
bold business venture.
Looking back on the decision
taken three decades ago, Aluizio 1 Tf1t6908 282.496 14.6908 217.496 Tm[(F)40(ernando )-25(t(d)-1
odebrecht informa
36
concessions
Roadworks on the
D. Pedro I Corridor:
operation involved
breaking a paradigm in
the Brazilian market
A trailblazing mission
Rota das Bandeiras carries out an innovative financial operation
that is now a benchmark for other road concession companies
written by Júlio César Soares / photos by Edu Simões
In 2008, the Rota das Bandeiras
Concessionaire won the auction for
the D. Pedro I Corridor, a group of
five highways linking Jacareí to the
Campinas metropolitan region in
São Paulo State. The next step was
to present a surety bond that would
cover the investment in works to
widen and maintain the road corridor and the fixed payment of the
award (the amount paid by the winning concession company, set by
auction holder), which was payable
in 18 months. It was a challenge,
and then some, tackled with creativity and pioneering spirit. The
concessionaire had to apply for a
bridge loan to begin operations.
Five banking institutions took part:
odebrecht informa
Votorantim, HSBC, Mercantil do
Brasil (BMB), Santander and Banco
do Brasil. “From that point on, we
put together a long-term loan that
broke paradigms in the Brazilian
market,” says Lucas Cive Barbosa,
CFO of Rota das Bandeiras.
The long-term loan Lucas
mentioned began to take shape
in 2009 when the concessionaire
obtained a BRL 921.5-million loan
from Brazil’s National Bank for
Economic and Social Development
(BNDES), which it will use for
roadworks on the routes that
comprise the corridor, such as
the widening of the Constâncio
Contra Highway, also known as
the SP-360 (see box), and the
extension of the José Roberto
Magalhães Teixeira Beltway (SP083) as far as Viracopos airport in
Campinas, as well as maintenance
and rehabilitation projects, including upgrading highway interchanges and the route alongside the D.
Pedro I Highway, all scheduled for
completion by 2015.
However, since the BNDES loan
could not be used to pay the fixed
award, the concessionaire had to
come up with an alternative structure to cover that debt. “We thought
of turning to the Inter-American
Development Bank (IADB), but
because of the risk assessment on
the variation of a loan in foreign currency, we decided to issue deben-
NEW ADMINISTRATIVE HQ
Located at Km 110 of the D. Pedro I Highway in Itatiba, São Paulo, the Rota das
Bandeiras concessionaire’s headquarters will house both the company’s administration
and the Operational Control Center (CCO) responsible for providing services to motorists, bringing them closer to the corridor’s users. “Its location is strategic for customer
service and ensuring the comfort and safety of the 124,000 users who travel on the
highway every day,” says Luiz Cesar Costa, President and CEO of Rota das Bandeiras.
tures amounting to BRL 1.1 billion,
pegged to the National Consumer
Price Index (IPCA),” says Lucas.
“It was so successful that it’s being
copied by other concessions,” says
Luiz Cesar Costa, President and
CEO of Rota das Bandeiras. It was
a groundbreaking transaction that
involved BNDES and the capital market sharing guarantees of their debts
and making way for a new form of
infrastructure financing. “The capital
market normally works in the short
to medium term, and we needed a
long-term process, which is more
common in infrastructure works.
That is now possible thanks to the
Rota das Bandeiras operation,” says
Lucas Barbosa.
In addition to the shared guarantees, another innovation for this type
of operation is that the debt is tied
to the project. “In this case, the risk
falls totally outside the Organization.
This is advantageous for shareholders, because the project’s revenue
ensures that the debt will be repaid,”
says Luiz Cesar.
The unqualified success of this
operation became clear when the
demand for debentures exceeded the
supply. The concession benefits the
124,000 users who travel daily on the
D. Pedro I Corridor, where over BRL
200 million have already been invested in maintenance and conservation
works during the first year of the
Rota das Bandeiras concession.
Construction of the concessionaire’s headquarters began in May of this year. Until it
is ready – the completion date is scheduled for January 2011 – Rota das Bandeiras is
using two properties in Atibaia, a town near the highway, as its “GHQ.” “When you
win a concession, you have to take charge of the highway and start providing services
the very next day. That’s why we are working out of temporary headquarters while the
official building is under construction,” says Luiz Cesar.
The complex will consist of two blocks, with 66 offices for the administrative area, two for
the service area and 25 for the CCO, which is responsible for monitoring the 88 cameras
distributed along the 297-km concession at user service areas and traffic monitoring stations, among other facilities. “This is an environment that is not only prepared to service
users but also to enable the community to be part of the concessionaire’s day-to-day
operations,” says Nicolas Tanwing, the Odebrecht Project Director for the roadworks.
In addition to building Rota da Bandeiras’s headquarters, Odebrecht is responsible
for all the works to be carried out on the corridor during the first six years of the
concession, including doubling the width of the SP-360 and the SP-065 interchange, which are part of the road complex. “Residents of Jundiaí and Itatiba have
been looking forward to this project for 20 years,” Nicolas observes. Expectations
are that the road widening works alone, which will involve a BRL 98.4-million investment, will generate about 1,200 work opportunities.
odebrecht informa
38
profile
New challenge, new start
written by Rodrigo Vilar / photo by Márcio Lima
Married to Simone, who has a business degree
and is the mother of their three children - Lucas,
18, Felipe, 16, and Amanda, 10 - engineer André
Vital Pessoa de Melo is back from Luanda and
living in Salvador, Bahia. He has returned from
Angola with his family to take up the position
of President and CEO for the Bahia and Sergipe
markets of Odebrecht Infraestrutura. At 46,
André displays all the energy of someone who
is just getting started. “A career is built day by
day, step by step, completing cycles. Each new
challenge is a new beginning,” he says in a quiet
tone that imparts a sense of confidence and
humility.
The personal statements in the farewell video
prepared by Odebrecht Angola members clearly
reflect the relationship of friendship and respect
he built up with his colleagues there, and they
also mirror Vital’s personality. The educational
leader has just marked 25 years of work at the
Odebrecht Organization. “Angola will continue
to be a part of my family’s daily life because we
built great friendships during our eight years in
that country,” he says.
Over the course of his career, one of the most
important opportunities he has ever had was
working alongside Norberto Odebrecht on the
Odebrecht Social Contribution Program from
1993 to 1996, in Salvador. “It was a valuable
period in my life. Once, I heard Mr. Norberto
Odebrecht say we should always be original,
relevant and impactful in our everything we do,
and that stuck with me,” he recalls. Among other
lessons learned, he underscores the importance
of living the client’s dream: “That commitment
leads us to realize that sometimes what the
client wants is not what he really needs.” He
also points out: “Our business is to transform
people and communities. Our business areas
are the means to achieving that end.”
odebrecht informa
39
by ELIANA SIMONETTI
No place like home
SABRINA VERAS DE ARAÚJO was born and raised in Salgueiro, Pernambuco, in the
Northeast-Brazilian backlands. She graduated from college with a degree in psychology
in Recife, the state capital, but always dreamed of going back to live in the countryside and
work in her home region. When she heard that Odebrecht would be building the Transnordestina Railroad, she decided, “I’ll catch that train,” and joined the Ongoing Professional
Education Program (Acreditar) team. She is thrilled to be living in her home community
and contributing to its advancement. For anyone thinking of paying a visit to Salgueiro,
Sabrina recommends the middle of the year, when they can enjoy the feasts of St. Anthony,
St. John and St. Peter, a trip to the Caldeirão das Letras archaeological site, with its rock
art and well-preserved natural landscape, and two local delicacies: “Don’t miss the local
goat dish at the Bodão restaurant and Pedro Baiano’s fried fish,” she says.
ÉLVIO LUIZ
Sabrina has a passion for the backlands
Thinking about tomorrow
IVETTE GUIMARÃES comes from Minas Gerais and was once her family’s main
breadwinner. She started working at age 13, and joined a private pension plan at 19.
She has always avoided spending beyond her means. She has a degree in Business
Administration with a specialization in Human Resources and an MBA in Pension Funds
and has been an Organization member since 1977. Ivette is currently on the team of
administrators of Odeprev, Odebrecht’s pension fund. She has other investments, but
the Odeprev Plan is the main way she is saving for her post-career plans. “I’m already
working with a group to build a foundation that will work with children, youth and their
relatives living in social risk areas,” she says. Accustomed to seeing her colleagues
smile when she advises them to think about the future, Ivette explains that it is not
just a financial issue, but a matter of personal fulfillment and having something to do
during their post-career lives, which should not be overlooked.
Partnership at work and play
Evaristo feels at home in Michoacán
EVARISTO MARTÍNEZ LÓPEZ had no difficulty adapting two years ago
when he went to work on the Michoacán Farm Irrigation Project, which
Odebrecht is building in central Mexico. He was born 200 km away, in
Coalcomán Michoacán. He also adapted quickly to the Organization’s
culture. A civil engineer, Evaristo, 25, works in the Production area
as a young partner. He is not much into traveling and practically lives
at the jobsite. When he isn’t working, he enjoys playing soccer and
basketball with co-workers and local residents. “I like to be in close
touch with the people who will benefit from what we’re building,” he
explains.
ROBERTO ROSA
MÁRCIO LIMA
Ivette encourages co-workers to prepare for the future
odebrecht informa
40
united states
A permanent
spirit of renewal
Firmly established as a local
company, Odebrecht marks
20 years of operations in the USA
and garners important accolades
for the quality of its work
written by Cláudio Lovato Filho
odebrecht informa
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
Jorge (left) and
Carlos: young
members with the
mission of ensuring
Odebrecht’s future
in the United States
His motivation shines through in
his voice, eyes and every gesture. At
33, the Colombian-American Jorge
Enrique Mendoza is the construction manager for one of five Odebrecht projects currently underway
in the United States: The Airport
Link Metrorail Connector, a 4-km
elevated section that will connect the
metro network with Miami International Airport. “When they invited me
to take up the position in April 2009,
I thought, They’re crazy!” But Jorge
knew there was nothing crazy about
it. The idea was to ramp up the challenges offered to one of the young
members responsible for maintaining Odebrecht’s continued growth in
the United States, where the company arrived exactly 20 years ago.
Jorge is helping design the contemporary face of Odebrecht’s presence in the world’s largest economy.
“We need to launch young people
by continually giving them challenges. The company’s future is in
their hands,” says Gilberto Neves,
President and CEO of Odebrecht USA.
He has had first-hand experience of
that process. He was a 31-year-old
engineer when he went from Peru to
the United States in January 1991 to
help Odebrecht establish a presence
in that country. He was supposed to
spend three months there, but he has
been there ever since. His first job as
Project Director was the construction
of the Cargo Building for American
Airlines, Odebrecht’s first project at
Miami International Airport, built for
Miami-Dade County. Odebrecht’s
operations at Miami Airport symbolize the company’s track record in the
United States. So far, it has worked
on 13 projects at the airport, including the construction of the South
Terminal and the expansion of the
North Terminal, which is currently
being completed. “We’ve worked on
as many as seven projects at once
at the airport,” recalls Gilberto, who
became President and CEO of the
company in 2005, replacing Luiz
Rocha, now Entrepreneurial Leader
(CEO) of Odebrecht International.
It was therefore an understandably
moved Gilberto Neves who took the
stage at the Adrienne Arsht Center
for the Performing Arts on the evening of October 13 to thank everyone
who has played a part in Odebrecht’s
two-decade trajectory in the United
States. There, at the arts complex
the company built in downtown
Miami, the anniversary celebrations
included a show by local artists,
with clients, partners and company
members in the audience, among
them Marcelo Odebrecht, President
and CEO of Odebrecht S.A., Bernardo Gradin, Entrepreneurial Leader
of Braskem, and members of the
Board of Odebrecht S.A. “Arriving at
this 20-year milestone just means
we have reached a new height as we
continue to grow,” says Gilberto.
Luis Oswaldo Leite arrived in the
USA 20 years ago with the mission of
planting the first seeds for Odebrecht
in that country. After working at the
In 20 years of activity in the United States, Odebrecht
has built projects in the following states: Florida, California,
Louisiana, North Carolina and South Carolina.
odebrecht informa
YAMILA LOMBA
From left, Bill Johnson, Director of the Port of Miami; Gilberto Neves; George
Burgess, County Manager of Miami-Dade County; Carlos Alvarez, Mayor
of Miami-Dade County; Marcelo Odebrecht and Steve Halverson, President
and CEO of The Haskell Company
JULIO A. MARTÍNEZ
Organization for three decades, he
left in 2002 to devote himself to running his own business. Luis Oswaldo
recalls: “For Odebrecht, going to
the United States was the result of
an entrepreneurial decision taken
at the right time. We were there to
learn, but to learn by doing. The spirit
was to make Odebrecht’s presence
in that country work out as a longterm project. I’m very happy to see
the company in such excellent shape
today.”
Now firmly established as a local
company, Odebrecht is garnering
more recognition and growing deeper roots every day. For two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010, Florida
Trend magazine has hailed it as one
of the best companies to work for
in Florida. And the local company is
expanding. Taking the next steps in
odebrecht informa
its growth strategy, it has increased
its presence in Louisiana (see chart
on ongoing projects) and is considering the possibility of working on
projects in Texas. Another important
factor is gaining recognition in the
field of quality, health, workplace
safety and environment, such as
Voluntary Protection Program (VPP)
certification, OSHA’s highest safety
recognition.
“We have always sought natural
growth by winning over new clients
who allow us to add value to their
projects, and grooming new entrepreneurs who are well-prepared,
motivated and integrated with the
company,” says Luiz Rocha, the
Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of
Odebrecht International, the leading company for Odebrecht United
States. For Luiz, the 20th anniversary celebration in Miami was a very
special occasion. He first arrived
in the US in 1996 and started out
by heading Odebrecht’s operations
in California, which were then the
responsibility of CBPO of America.
Odebrecht went on to build the
Seven Oaks Dam in San Bernardino
County for the US Army Corps of
Engineers. Two years later, Luiz
moved to Miami, where Odebrecht
Contractors of Florida (OFL) was
based. He led the process of merging the two Construtora Norberto
Odebrecht subsidiaries. “We always
strove to gain our clients’ trust.
We were persistent about it,” he
observes, referring to the factor that,
in his analysis, has been the main
reason for Odebrecht’s growth in
the United States. “We overcame the
obstacles we faced by adding value
for clients and communities, applying the principles of the Odebrecht
Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO),
which is what sets us apart.”
Paulo Suffredini, another Odebrecht
trailblazer in the United States, also
worked in California and Florida from
1992 to 2008. Today he is in Abu
Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. Paulo was one of the main
drivers of the relationship between
Odebrecht and the US Army Corps
ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES
MIA Mover
Airport Link
CURRENT PROJECTS IN THE USA
•
•
•
•
•
West Return Floodwall: a concrete wall to contain floods in New Orleans
Lakefront Pump Stations 1, 2, 3 and 4: pumping stations in New Orleans
Airport Link: 4-km stretch of the metro linking the Miami metro system with the International Airport
MIA Mover: 2-km stretch of the metro, connecting the Airport Link to the interior of Miami International Airport
MIA North Terminal: expansion of the North Terminal at Miami International Airport
of Engineers, which began with
the construction of Seven Oaks
and later took the company to New
Orleans, Louisiana, where it is still
active today, building and rebuilding the vast and vital levee system
that protects the city from floods. It
also led to Odebrecht’s operations
in Iraq. “Our relationship with the
US Army and all of our clients has
always been one of deep respect for
them, based on the achievement of
quality services within the agreed
deadlines and with complete safety
and security,” says Paulo. “We want
to share our clients’ dreams and
give them the best possible service,
and we achieve that through the
application of TEO.”
Since the completion of the company’s first project in the United
States – building a stretch of Metromover, Miami’s people mover, begun
in 1991 – Odebrecht’s pioneers have
focused on laying the foundations
for Odebrecht’s growth and ongoing presence in the most competitive market on the planet. Marcos
Tepedino arrived in the United States
in 1991, participated in the Metro-
mover project and several others in
Florida, went on to work in Djibouti,
Venezuela and Libya, and returned to
Miami in August 2009. Now responsible for Odebrecht’s infrastructure
projects in the United States, he
recalls: “We had a strong will to succeed. We had come to stay, which is
always Odebrecht’s goal. Our clients
soon realized that the application of
TEO sets us apart. The relationship
we build makes a lasting impression.
That relationship makes the difference. Our image is of a company that
partners with its clients. Odebrecht
has built a reputation in the United
States.”
Daphne Di Pasquale has observed
the development of that reputation
very closely, from the standpoint of
a local Odebrecht member. And for
a long time. She was one of the first
American professionals to join Odebrecht. In June 1991, Gilberto Neves
hired her as a receptionist at the
Miami office. Today she is the company’s Human Resources Manager.
“Odebrecht has brought the Brazilian culture with it and embraced the
United States, which makes us even
better,” says Daphne. “It’s a privilege
for me to be part of this company.”
Carlos Nuñez shares that feeling.
The 31-year-old engineer works as
a superintendent on the MIA Mover
project, which will take the metro
system right into Miami International Airport through its connection
to the Airport Link project. Born in
Tampa, Florida, Carlos first came
into contact with Odebrecht when he
was 16. His father, Charlie Nuñez,
now a senior project engineer in
New Orleans, introduced him to
the company, and while still a teen,
Carlos became an intern, assisting
carpenters, bricklayers and other
professionals at the airport jobsites.
In 2005 he worked on his first project
as an engineer – the Performing
Arts Center. “Dedication to young
people’s development, offering them
opportunities for growth and putting
their trust in young people are the
main reasons for Odebrecht’s growth
in the United States,” says Carlos,
in perfect Portuguese. “We take on
challenges and our leaders have our
back,” he adds, with hard hat in hand
and a smile.
odebrecht informa
44
sustainable development
Ivaldino and family: Cultiverde hearts-of-palm have ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 22000 certifications, as well as being
Rainforest Alliance Certified, and having Organic and Family Farming seals
Product of hope
The Cooperative of Southern Lowlands Hearts-of-Palm
Producers changes local farm families’ lives
written by Gabriela Vasconcellos / photos by Eduardo Moody
Ivaldino dos Santos’s day begins at 5
a.m. The 71-year-old hearts-of-palm
farmer is clearly eager to keep on
tending the crop that has changed his
family’s life. Married for 40 years and
the father of nine children, Ivaldino
is a role model in the community of
Areão in Nilo Peçanha county, in the
northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia.
The 25,000 peach palm trees on his
property earn him an income of BRL
2,500 to 3,000 per month.
“If you’ve never had a paying job,
peach palms are guaranteed to put
money in your pocket. Today I own my
odebrecht informa
own land and I’ve bought a car,” says
the farmer, who is one of the founding members of the Cooperative of
Southern Lowlands Hearts-of-Palm
Producers (Coopalm), an institution
supported by the Odebrecht Foundation that is part of the Program for the
Integrated and Sustainable Development of the Mosaic of Environmental
Protection Areas in the Southern
Bahia Lowlands (PDIS).
His family’s success is also down to
the dedication of Coopalm’s assistant
educators. A team of 12 specialists advises the cooperative’s 486
members on the best applications of
farming methods. “We have trained
everyone to achieve more productivity, profitability and liquidity,” says
Erasmo Costa, the Educational
Leader responsible for coordinating
the technicians.
Ivaldino, who began planting peach
palms in 2003, encourages other
farmers, including his children, to
invest in hearts-of-palm production. “I’ve seen my father turn his life
around. I want to buy more farmland.
Thanks to hearts-of-palm, I know I
can,” says Joelme dos Santos, 32, who
joined the cooperative in 2010 and
has already planted 11,000 seedlings.
Gertrudes Ricarda, Ivaldino’s wife,
expresses her pleasure at seeing her
children working the land: “I’ve been
dreaming about this for a long time.”
PRESENCE AT ECO RUN
Everyone working together
Cultiverde hearts-of-palm, the
brand produced by Coopalm’s
associates, is sold by several retail
supermarket chains that make room
on their shelves for the cooperative’s products, such as GBarbosa
(Northeast), Pão de Açúcar, Extra
and Walmart (Southeast and
Northeast). Empresa Baiana de
Alimentos (Ebal) and Perini, a Bahian
chain of delis and bakeries, recently
expanded their partnerships with
the cooperative and are studying the
implementation by the end of 2010
of a new project based on the “store
within a store” concept: a space
inside the store with its own cash
registers that directs sales revenue
straight to Coopalm. “What we will
Coopalm has been elected
Cooperative of the Year
in 2010, in the “Quality
Management” category. The
award is an initiative of the
Organization of Brazilian
Cooperatives, National
Cooperative Learning and
Globo Rural Magazine. It is
bestowed on projects that
stand out for their innovation,
creativity and efficiency, and
makes them benchmarks for
the sector.
(CFR-I), a professional education unit
that benefits about 40 youths. Joelton
Santos, 19, studies at the CFR-I and is
interning at Coopalm. “This is giving
me the opportunity to learn ways to
contribute to my community’s development. In the future I will be another
force in this region.”
ALEX PANIAGO
COOPALM WINS
NATIONAL AWARD
create is a link between the farmer
and consumer, carrying out the
Cooperative Act. I am keenly interested and applaud this initiative,” says
Reub Celestino, Chairman of Ebal.
The challenges overcome and the
results achieved are being built up in
alignment with sustainability strategies.
One is dedicated to grooming future
cooperative members, which is the role
of the Igrapiúna Rural Family House
A partnership between Braskem
and Coopalme has made it
possible to display the Cultiverde
brand (www.cultiverde.com.br)
along the route of the Braskem
Eco Run race. During all seven
stages, held in seven Brazilian
cities, the brand could be seen
at the start and finish gates as
well as the podium. “This was
one of the ways we found to give
greater visibility to this project,
which actually brings about real
social change,” says Braskem
Sustainability Officer Jorge Soto.
Cérgio Pecchio, President of the Organization of Cooperatives in Bahia, Raimundo
dos Santos, President of Coopalm, and Luís Carlos, Leader of the Hearts-of-Palm
Cooperative Alliance, during the awards ceremony
odebrecht informa
46
> For more news, log onto the Odebrecht Informa website
Luiz Roberto Batista Chagas, the officer Responsible for Engineering Support for
Odebrecht projects in Brazil and other countries, has received the Technology Outstanding
Figure 2010 award in the Internationalization of Brazilian Engineering Category from the São
Paulo State Syndicate of Engineers.
Luiz Roberto graduated in Civil Engineering from the Federal University at Bahia (UFBA)
in 1968, and joined Odebrecht that same year. He worked on the construction of the PropriáColégio Bridge, which opened in 1970 on the Sergipe-Alagoas state line, and Unit I of the
Angra dos Reis Nuclear Power Plant in Rio de Janeiro State, and took part in studies for
Units II and III. For 30 years, Luiz Roberto has traveled throughout Brazil and worldwide to
provide support for the Organization’s projects. In 2008, he published the book Engenharia
da Construção – obras de grande porte (Construction Engineering – Major Works).
The award will be presented on December 10 at the syndicath
K
ndica
a i
Sru
HOLANDA CAVALCANTI
Angola gets its own Culture Center
Márcio Polidoro with graphic
designers Carina Flexor (left)
and Renata Kalid
Jabuti Prize
The winners of the 2010 Jabuti
Prize received their trophies on the
evening of November 4 in São Paulo
City. Held by the Brazilian Book
Council, it is considered the most
important publishing award in Brazil.
For the second consecutive year,
a book published with Odebrecht’s
sponsorship has won the prize in the
graphic design category. Following
in the footsteps of Friar Vicente do
Salvador’s Historia do Brazil by Maria
Lêda Oliveira, in 2009, this year it was
the turn of The Church and Convent
of São Francisco in Bahia, organized
by Maria Helena Ochi Flexor and Friar
Hugo Fragoso. The book’s designers
were Carina Flexor and Renata Kalid.
Present at the event, Márcio
Polidoro, the Odebrecht officer
Responsible for Corporate
Communication, said that winning
the Jabuti Prize was the crowning
achievement of a team effort that
began with an historical research
project and resulted in the publication
of an art book. “In addition to the high
quality of its graphic design, the book
contains fresh historical knowledge
produced with Odebrecht’s support
through the Clarival do Prado
Valladares Prize.”
Odebrecht’s trajectory during its 26-year
presence in Angola can be revisited at the
Odebrecht Angola Culture Center, housed in
one of the buildings in the Belas Business
Park complex, where the company’s new
administrative facilities in Luanda are located.
Open to the general public, the center serves
as a clearinghouse for information of historical
interest to the Angolan people, giving visitors
a broad panorama of Odebrecht’s operations
and the socioeconomic impacts of the
projects carried out in that country. Through
photographs, panels, videos, testimonials,
illustrations and brochures, they can learn
about the company’s main achievements in
Angola since the construction of the Capanda
Dam, begun in 1984.
The result of an innovative and unique
institutional communication effort exclusive
to Angola, the Center draws visitors’ attention
through its educational and interactive
focus. One of the highlights is the steel
structure surrounded by photos and texts with
statements from company members mounted
in the center of the hall, representing the
imbondeiro - better known as the baobab - the
hardy, long-lived tree that is considered a
national symbol.
The timeline for the Organization, as well
as the principles, concepts and criteria of the
Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology (TEO)
are also depicted in that space. Since it opened
in the second quarter of 2010, the Center
has received visits from students, media
professionals, researchers, authorities, clients
and company members.
>Log onto www.odebrechtonline.com.br for
information on the book O Futuro em Construção –
Odebrecht e Angola, 25 Anos de Parceria
(The Future Under Construction: Odebrecht and
Angola, a 25-year Partnership).
Museum exhibits
Mirabeau Sampaio collection
Since October 14, the Mirabeau Sampaio
Religious Art collection has been open to
the public at the Federal University at Bahia
Museu de Arte Sacra (MAS) in Salvador, Bahia,
Brazil, through a partnership between the
museum and Odebrecht.
The Odebrecht Organization acquired
the collection to make it available for
public viewing. Therefore, it has loaned the
Mirabeau Sampaio collection to the MAS for
10 years. “This collection serves as an equal
counterpoint to the museum’s collection,” says
MAS Director Francisco Portugal.
The collection of religious images formerly
owned by artist José Mirabeau Sampaio is
made up of 456 pieces, mostly acquired from
antique shops in the city of Salvador. The artist
began the collection in the 1950s. Of the total,
364 pieces are wood carvings, 65 are made
from terracotta, 17 from ivory, nine from stone
and one was cast in lead.
According to studies by Maria Guimarães
Sampaio, Mirabeau’s daughter, the bulk of
the collection is of Brazilian origin, produced
in Bahia in the first half of the 17th century by
anonymous craftsmen. There are also a few
pieces from other states such as Pernambuco,
Minas Gerais and São Paulo.
One of the highlights of this collection
is a terracotta statue of St. Catherine of
Alexandria by Brother Agostinho da Piedade, a
Benedictine monk who lived in the São Bento
da Bahia Monastery in the 17th century.
The Mirabeau Sampaio Collection of
Religious Art is open to the public at the MAS,
located in the former Convent of Santa Tereza,
Rua do Sodré, 276, in the Historic District of
Salvador.
odebrecht informa
48
argument
s
by MANOEL CARNAUBA
Sustainable chemicals
Since the beginning of the
Industrial Revolution, our society
has come to consume more and
more fossil fuels. We started with
coal, and then came oil, natural
gas and others.
The growth in demand for these
fossil fuels at the beginning of
the second half of the twentieth
century became exponential. In
the first decade of this century,
we are consuming those materials more than ever!
It’s easy to see the enormous
benefits that the use of these
fuels has brought to all humankind. Due to the growth of the
world population, we could not
have reached the standards of
comfort and life expectancy we
have today without the energy
generated with the use of fossil
fuels.
However, throughout the 1960s,
man started to realize that the
planet was signaling that something was not right. Some regions
began to experience shorter
periods of heavier rainfall while
others were suffering severe
odebrecht informa
droughts or freezing winters and
an ongoing sequence of climatic
anomalies.
Then scientists discovered an
almost direct link between the
emission of carbon dioxide (CO2)
into the atmosphere through
the use of fossil fuels for various purposes, and global warming. Since then, the world has
been seeking ways to reduce or
eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
Based on these concerns and
heeding those of its clients,
Braskem is now engaging more
decisively in the pursuit of solutions to this global problem.
Since Brazil is a tropical country with vast areas of arable land
and a sugarcane and ethanol
production technology known to
be the most competitive in the
world, this set of factors has
inspired Braskem teams to study
solutions for the production of
plastics that could help solve
the problem of global warming
and result in a more sustainable
chemical industry.
Since the green ethylene unit
in Triunfo, Rio Grande do Sul,
began operations in September,
using ethanol as a raw material,
Braskem has become the world’s
largest producer of sustainable
plastic. It makes a variety of
polyethylene with all the physical
and chemical properties of the
conventional kind, but because
it is produced from sugarcane, it
can fix up to 2.5 kg CO2 per kilo of
product.
Clients have enthusiastically
welcomed this news, and sent
in orders for most of the plant’s
production far in advance, indicating the high demand for ecofriendly products.
The technology developed so far
is enabling us to produce more
ethylene derivatives using renewable raw materials. But we do
not want to stop there. We want
to offer the best alternatives for
sustainable chemicals.
Manoel Carnauba is the Braskem
Vice President for the Basic
Petrochemicals Unit
yesterday
Brazil had not won a World Cup back in the days of the post-war period, but it
O GLOBO AGENCY
was making major strides (and skillful moves with the ball) towards becoming the
greatest power in world soccer. It built Maracanã Stadium for the 1950 World Cup,
but the dream of winning the Cup would only be achieved eight years later, in Sweden.
Maracanã, which started out as the backdrop of probably the biggest Brazilian sports
setback of all time, when the national side lost to Uruguay in the final in 1950, has
established itself as a legend over the decades. In 2014, the fully renovated arena will
host its second World Cup final, this time – the Brazilians ardently hope - with a happy
ending for the green-and-yellow jerseys and flags.
PHOTO: GUILHERME AFONSO
ACREDITAR JUNIOR PROGRAM
odebrecht informa
Organized for the children of workers helping build the Santo Antônio hydroelectric plant on the
Madeira River in Rondônia, Brazil, the Acreditar Junior program is a tool in service of the future
that is getting tangible results today. Tangible and crucial. Through this program, boys and girls
participate in a basic module through which they receive educational materials developed by
teachers and psychologists, addressing issues such as adolescence, the environment, health and
financial education. These young people (such as Matheus Marco Bueno Cardoso, pictured) are
officially employed, receive half the minimum wage, and get uniforms, meals, transportation and
health insurance. To stay in the program, they must obtain average grades of seven (out of ten)
at their regular schools. The first graduation ceremony took place in August 2010. Two hundred
teenagers received their diplomas and took a fundamental step toward building their tomorrow.