OI 151 pt by criativos

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.

A decisive factor for easing traffic jams in the Peruvian capital, the “electric train” is arriving in LIMA

Sanitation works improve communities’ quality of life in PERNAMBUCO and RIO GRANDE DO NORTE

The Hangar, a real estate venture launched in SALVADOR, encourages professionals to live near their workplace

Cromex is Braskem’s first partner at the CAMAÇARI Complex to join the Odebrecht Organization company’s new logistics system

A globally innovative project, Braskem’s green ethylene plant begins operations at the TRIUNFO Petrochemical Complex

The second edition of EDUCATION THROUGH WORK, by Norberto Odebrecht, is now available

The IMD – International Institute for Management Development hails Odebrecht as the best family business of the YEAR

The award of new contracts and diversified operations mark Odebrecht’s current phase in ARGENTINA

Relatives working together at ETH Bioenergy's Rio Claro Unit in GOIÁS contribute to developing a positive organizational climate

The Duarte Corridor, Autopista del Coral and Casabito Highway improve road infrastructure in the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Exactly 30 years ago, CBPO, a long-standing engineering & construction company that had built major projects in BRAZIL, became part of Odebrecht

Rota das Bandeiras, the concessionaire responsible for the D. Pedro Corridor in SÃO PAULO, carries out a groundbreaking financial operation

Odebrecht marks the 20th anniversary of its presence in the USA by expanding its operations in that country and grooming new generations

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 on Twitter and get the latest news in real time @odbinforma > Comment on blog entries and participate 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 H. Sabrina Gledhill • Art/Graphic Production Rogério Nunes • Photo Editor Holanda Cavalcanti • Infographics Adilson Secco • Illustrations Gilberto Marchi • Electronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri PRINTING 1,400 copies • PRE-PRESS/PRINTING BY Pancrom Editorial Offices Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-1778 • São Paulo + 55 11 3641-4743 email: versal@versal.com.br Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish.

“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.

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

PERNAMBUCO

RIO GRANDE DO NORTE

The Pirapama System (on this and the next page): directly benefiting 3.5 million people

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

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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-

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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

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

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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

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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.

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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-

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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

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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

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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.

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.

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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

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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

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GLENN KAUPERT

From left, Christophe Hentsch, Managing Partner of Lombard Odier; Manoel Carnauba; Cristovam Leal Dantas; Iolanda Peltier; Marcelo Odebrecht; Karl-Friedrich Scheufele, Co-President of Chopard, and Dominique Turpin at the event in Chicago: award for an entrepreneurial culture

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.

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“Being present at the awards ceremony was an indescribable thrill for me, a major milestone in my 29 years with the Organization, as part of this big Odebrecht family. That feeling was stronger when we were enthusiastically acclaimed after the winner was announced, especially by the 50 Brazilians there who were representing family businesses from our country.” Manoel Carnauba, Braskem Vice President for Basic Petrochemicals

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 was informed that Odebrecht was in the running. Soon, he and his team began sending a vast number of documents to the IMD in Switzerland, describing the Odebrecht family’s history in Brazil from the arrival of the pioneers Emil and Berta Odebrecht in 1856 until the current generation, and the Organization’s history from 1944 to 2010. They also sent the Vision for 2020 document to Switzerland, along with several analyses of Odebrecht

“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

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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.

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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

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

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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-

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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

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

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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. 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

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 obtaining higher yields with the lowest possible risk. All this requires a change in strategy. It is also important to take into account that the pension plan should do more than help members save for their post-career lives. It should also be a tool for helping renew the Organization’s teams. A solid plan can be attractive and decisive when young talent choose the company they will join.

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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

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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.”

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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

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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

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Opposite, Casabito Highway: once one of the nation’s most dangerous roadways. Above, the church of the Virgen de la Altagracia

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,”

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

Civil engineer Luiz Cavallo, 23, is one of over 70 young partners working in the Dominican Republic (photo: young partners get together in Santo Domingo). Having worked on the Duarte Corridor for fourteen months, he is pleased with the experience it has given him: “Here we can develop our individual characteristics while working as a team.” Natália Cazano, 22, also a civil engineer, has been with the company for a year, working on the Autopista del Coral project. “I like the spirit of service, a pleasure that I’ve learned to develop at Odebrecht, and the new challenges my leaders give me every day.”

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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 country. Thanks to the roadworks there, including slope containment, drainage, widening of lanes and appropriate signage, it is now safe for both motorists and local residents,” says Sérgio. His team is about to start working on the El Río-Jarabacoa Road project, “a contract awarded thanks to Odebrecht’s performance on the Casabito project, especially in terms of time and quality,” he says. Refurbished by Odebrecht, the little church of the Virgen de la Altagracia, located on a rest spot with a beautiful view on Km 13 of the Casabito Highway, receives dozens of visitors per day. Many go there just to enjoy the scenery, but others stop to pray and light candles to the Virgin Mary.

memory

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

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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

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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

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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

ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES ODEBRECHT ARCHIVES

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 observes that the result of the partnership was positive because CBPO and Odebrecht have always shared similar interests. “We saw eye to eye. The company has to have a philosophy, you must have a ‘true north’ – a direction. Otherwise,

you won’t get anywhere. You’ll just go in circles. Life is a permanent process of change. Some changes are for the better, some are for the worse. Fortunately, we made a change for the better. At the time, both Odebrecht and CBPO were striving to make improvements, and each succeeded in its own way.” He adds: “Odebrecht’s accomplishments have put it in an unmatched position in the field of Engineering & Construction. You don’t get to certain places just because you want to. You have to fight the good fight. What Odebrecht has done and is still doing is to work hard with great care, overcoming numerous challenges.”

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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:

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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.

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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.”

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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

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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 Clรกudio Lovato Filho

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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> For more news, log onto the Odebrecht Informa website

Emílio Odebrecht wins IAQ medal Emílio Odebrecht, Chairman of the Board of Odebrecht S.A., has received the Marcos E. J. Bertin Medal for Quality in Corporate Governance from the International Academy for Quality (IAQ). The IAQ awarded the medal to Emílio for his contribution to the principles and practices of highquality corporate governance. To symbolize the succession process that has taken place within the Organization and the role of corporate governance as the basis for building the future, the medal was presented to Marcelo Odebrecht, President and CEO of Odebrecht S.A., during the 11th International Conference on Corporate Governance held by the Corporate Governance Institute (IBGC) on October 26 in Rio de Janeiro. According to Marcos Bertin, former Chairman and Honorary Member of the IAQ, Emílio Odebrecht is an exemplary professional dedicated to quality in business administration: “Emílio’s efforts have contributed to making Odebrecht, a company that originated in the engineering and construction sector, a diversified business organization with over 100,000 members.” An independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1966, the IAQ is internationally recognized as the most important forum for debate on quality in corporate governance. This year, in addition to Emílio Odebrecht, Martin Hilb, a professor at the University of St. Gallen (Switzerland), also received the medal.

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 syndicate’s headquarters in São Paulo City. “I am sharing this award with all my colleagues at Odebrecht,” says Luiz Roberto.

Certification recommended After a 14-day audit in July, the Consórcio Rio Melhor joint venture members (Odebrecht Infraestrutura, OAS and Delta) responsible for installing a cable-car system in the Alemão Complex in Rio de Janeiro were recommended for the ISO 9001 Certification seal for Cable Transportation Systems for People. This is the first time an Odebrecht project has obtained this type of certification. The institutions that conducted the audits, Bureau Veritas Certification and the Vanzolini Foundation, based their assessment on company members’ qualifications and training, planning, supervision of process implementation, and technological

supervision, among other factors. Once that assessment was completed, they ratified the consistency of the Quality Management System implemented and recommended certification without any “nonconformities.” “That means the services are in compliance with international quality standards,” explains Odebrecht Project Director Marcos Vidigal. The cable-car system is scheduled to begin operations by February 2011. There will be six stations on the 3.5-km long circuit, which will be connected to the city’s rail transport system by Bonsucesso Station. The system will benefit 120,000 people. AMÉRICO VERMELHO

HOLANDA CAVALCANTI

Technology Outstanding Figure 2010

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.

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argument

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! Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

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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 worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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 plantâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;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

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Organized for the children of workers helping build the Santo Ant么nio hydroelectric plant on the Madeira River in Rond么nia, 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.