145 nov/dec 2009 - Odebrecht Informa

ODEBRECHT 

# 145 • vol XXXVII • nov/dec 2009 

ENGLISh EDITION 

Roadworks are changing 

the look and lifestyle 

of LUANDA 

ALAGOAS attracts 

downstream plastics 

manufacturers 

ETh UNITS 

go online in three 

Brazilian states 

I N F O R M A 

Foz do Brasil 

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING IN 

ThE SERVICE OF QUALITy OF LIFE

ODEBRECHT ARCHIVE 

Its creation in 

2002 resulted from 

the consolidation of several 

companies through a complex 

process of corporate, operational 

and philosophical integration that 

has become a benchmark 

in Brazil and a case study 

around the world. Now South 

America’s leading petrochemical 

company, Braskem works 

through its teams at 18 industrial 

units to supply the Brazilian 

market and export products 

to over 60 countries, continuing 

its strategy of becoming one 

of the top 10 petrochemical 

companies in the world.

04 

07 

08 

10 

11 

14 

17 

18 

26 

28 

30 

31 

34 

38 

40 

transportation 

Porto Alegre Metro makes progress in metropolitan region 

professional education 

Classes provide teams with multiple skills 

ethanol & sugar 

New units in Goiás, São Paulo and Mato Grosso do Sul 

exchange 

Angolans come to Brazil for training at ETH 

oil & gas 

Petrobras opens processing unit in Macaé 

angola 

Roadworks in Luanda bring numerous benefits 

information 

O2 Project reaches CNO’s jobsites and offices 

special: environmental engineering 

Created in 2007, Foz do Brasil is cementing its achievements and growing 

alagoas 

Downstream plastics manufacturing companies 

petrochemicals 

ETBE fuel additive production is eco-friendly 

10 

34 

sustainability 

Jorge Suzuki and the advantages of green polyethylene 

brand 

Seven years after its creation, Braskem repositions its brand 

social development 

Rights and Citizenship Institute (IDC) marks fifth anniversary 

organization 

Culture Center lectures mark 30 years of international operations 

Odebrecht celebrates six and a half decades of existence 

ODEBRECHT 

I N F O R M A 

04 

sections 

03 

12 

13 

32 

35 

36 

16 

145 

Mônica Alves, 

a resident of 

Limeira, São Paulo. 

Photo by Edu Simões. 

14 

in the loop 

profile 

people 

interview 

argument 

newsroom notes

02 

The birth of TEO 

Odebrecht Informa’s editors received numerous photos for this issue, but one in particular 

attracted our attention. Published on page 40, we can see the Group’s founder, Norberto 

Odebrecht, with the group of engineers, supervisors and managers who were members of the 

core management of Construtora Norberto Odebrecht in 1960. Aside from giving us the always 

curious feeling of seeing what those men looked like 50 years ago, including people we still know 

today, the photo eloquently reflects the team spirit that has been in Odebrecht’s DNA since 1944. 

It was in that year, 1944, that Norberto Odebrecht created the individually owned company that 

formed the embryo of the Odebrecht Group. He carried on with projects begun by his father’s 

construction firm, which had to close its doors when the supply of construction materials dried 

up during World War II. 

However, there was something more to the company that emerged 65 years ago, in addition 

to a new name and registry with the city of Salvador’s Board of Trade. The newborn firm 

also generated a new way of organizing work with a focus on client service. Introduced in 

Bahia’s construction market by Norberto Odebrecht and his supervisors, it was improved 

over the following decades and came to be known as the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial Technology 

(TEO). 

A philosophy of life centered around education and work, TEO is a set of principles, concepts 

and standards that enable entrepreneurial leaders to coordinate the work of people with expertise 

in specific technologies, and consolidate the results in the overall project. TEO is the cultural 

touchstone for all Odebrecht Group companies. It is safe to say that the essence of Odebrecht’s 

identity is its philosophy; and the essence of its philosophy is confidence in and respect for people. 

The photo on page 40 is a reminder of all this. We can already see that, in those days, when 

Odebrecht was just 16 years old, the people in the picture were already united around a leader 

who managed them on the basis of humanistic values, and encouraged and challenged them 

to get better and better results. A date is just a number. This photo expresses and symbolizes 

the entrepreneurial culture that was born along with the Odebrecht Group, and remains its 

life blood. 

ODEBRECHT 

Founded in 1944, the 

Odebrecht Group is active in 

Engineering & Construction, 

Oil & Gas, Environmental 

Engineering, Real-Estate 

Developments, Infrastructure 

Investments, Chemicals & 

Petrochemicals, and Ethanol & 

Sugar. Its 82,000 Members are 

present in several countries 

in South, Central and North 

America, the Caribbean, Africa, 

Europe and the Middle East 

RESPONSIBLE FOR CORPORATE COMMuNICATION 

AT CONSTRuTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Márcio Polidoro 

RESPONSIBLE FOR EDITORIAL PROGRAMS 

AT CONSTRuTORA NORBERTO ODEBRECHT S.A. Karolina Gutiez 

Videoreporters 

> Mata do Sossego: settled 

farm families experience 

a new form of organization 

> Expanding the Metro 

in the Porto Alegre 

metropolitan region 

> Braskem’s new ETBE plants 

Online archives 

> Read back issues of 

Odebrecht Informa, the 

Odebrecht S.A. Annual Report 

since 2002, the Odebrecht 

Group’s Annual Meetings 

since 2002 and milestone 

publications (Special Issue on 

Social Programs, 60 years of the 

Odebrecht Group, 40 Years of 

the Odebrecht Foundation and 

10 Years of Odeprev) 

BuSINESS AREA COORDINATORS 

Nelson Letaif Chemicals & Petrochemicals • Miucha Andrade Ethanol & Sugar • José Cláudio Grossi 

Oil & Gas • Daelcio Freitas Environmental Engineering • Sergio Kertész Real Estate Developments 

COORDINATOR AT ODEBRECHT FOuNDATION Vivian Barbosa 

EDITORIAL COORDINATION Versal Editores 

Editor-in-Chief José Enrique Barreiro • Executive Editor Cláudio Lovato Filho • 

English Translation by H. Sabrina Gledhill • Art/Graphic Production Rogério Nunes • 

Photo Editor Holanda Cavalcanti • Infographics Adilson Secco • Illustrations Francisco 

Milhorança and Noris Lima • Electronic Publishing Maria Celia Olivieri and Juliana Olivieri 

PRINTING 8,350 copies • PrE-PrESS/PrIntInG by Pancrom 

Editorial Offices Rio de Janeiro +55 21 2239-1778 • São Paulo + 55 11 3030-9466 

email: versal@versal.com.br 

Originally published in Portuguese. Also available in Spanish. 

www.odebrechtonline.com.br

Oil in Angola 

Odebrecht Óleo e Gás (OOG) has announced its 

first oil find outside Brazil: the Chissonga-1 

well, off the coast of Angola, which is 4,275 m 

deep, with a flow rate of 6,850 barrels per day. 

It is the first of three wells planned for that 

region. OOG has a 15% stake in the joint venture 

responsible for the project, which also 

includes Maersk Oil (leader, 50%), Sonangol 

(20%) and the Devon Energy Corporation 

OOG has obtained project financing for its two 

drilling ships, Norbes VIII and IX, which will 

begin operating in Brazilian waters in 2011 

under a 10-year contract with Petrobras. OOG 

will invest roughly USD 1.7 billion in the two 

drilling units. Twelve banks and two export 

credit agencies provided the USD 1.5 billion 

loan. Norbes VIII and IX can drill at water 

depths of up to 3,000 meters and will be at 

Petrobras’s service to explore Brazil’s presalt 

layer. 

Panama: new contracts 

Odebrecht has won three new contracts in 

Panama. One is for the construction of an 

8-km tunnel (3 m in diameter) that will collect 

water used in Panama City and transport 

it for treatment at the new wastewater treatment 

plant, the second contract awarded. 

This facility will be built by a joint venture of 

Odebrecht (leader) and Degremont. In addition 

to building the plant, the joint venture will 

be responsible for running it for four years 

after it is completed. Finally, Odebrecht has 

won a contract to extend the Coastal Beltway 

after delivering the first stage of the project 

in July. This extension will involve reclaiming 

more land to build a four-lane route, green 

areas and playing courts. 

Projects in Greater Buenos Aires 

Águas do Paraná, a joint venture of Odebrecht (leader) and the 

Argentine companies Benito Roggio e Hijos, José Cartellone 

and Supercemento, is building the Paraná de Las Palmas water 

treatment plant in Tigre and Escobar counties in Greater Buenos 

Aires. The project includes building two water intakes, a 15-km 

tunnel, the water treatment plant, a pumping plant and 40 km 

of pipelines. Scheduled for completion by 2012, the project will 

benefit 2.4 million people. The client is AySA – Agua y Saneamientos 

Argentinos S.A. 

PDP for Monte Belo project 

Norbes VIII and IX Having already groomed 400 professionals, the Professional 

Development Program (PDP) began its third edition at the Condomínio 

Monte Belo project in Luanda, Angola. The course aims 

to groom leaders and hone the skills of the project’s members. 

The 45-day course includes theoretical and practical classes 

held at the jobsite. The teachers are the leaders in each sector. 

“This is an opportunity to learn and develop our leadership 

skills,” says steelfixer José Francisco Dala. 

Lisbon Metro expansion 

The extension of the Lisbon Metro’s Red Line, built by a 

joint venture of Bento Pedroso Construções (BPC), Somague 

and Mota-Engil, from Portugal, and Spie Batignolles, 

from France, officially opened on August 29. The project 

included 2.2 km of subway lines, two newly built stations 

and two refurbished stations (on the Yellow and Blue lines). 

The client, Metropolitano de Lisboa, forecasts that 32 million 

passengers per year will use this new line. 

03

04 

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transportation 

“This is a historic event” [ Alziro Trentin ] 

Waiting for 

four stations 

Trensurb is adding a 9.3-km extension to 

the Metro in the Porto Alegre metropolitan 

region and building three stations in Novo 

Hamburgo and one in São Leopoldo 

written by Cláudio Lovato Filho / photos by Ricardo Chaves 

Alziro Trentin, 69, is retired and 

lives in Novo Hamburgo, a town 

in the Porto Alegre metropolitan 

region. Since February 2009, he has 

kept a close eye on the daily progress 

of the works extending Line 1 of 

the Porto Alegre Metro. A passionate 

film buff, he has even produced a 

DVD on the project. “This is a historic 

event,” he says, speaking in 

his home on Assis Brasil Street in

Above, Novo Hamburgo: 

economy based on the 

footwear industry. 

Right, Marco Arildo da 

Cunha (left) and Nilton 

Coelho at one of the 

work fronts: creating 

job opportunities and 

attracting businesses 

to the area 

the Santos Dumont district, which is 

close to one of the work fronts. “This 

project will be hugely beneficial for 

the people who live here and commute 

to Porto Alegre.” 

José Renato Mass, 49, is also 

thrilled. He lives in São Leopoldo and 

works as a carpenter for Consórcio 

Nova Via, the joint venture building 

the extension project. He worked in 

the footwear industry from 1981 to 

1996, and after being fired from three 

jobs at three different companies, 

he decided to try a new line of work 

– construction. He started out as a 

bricklayer’s assistant and is now a 

carpentry supervisor. After working 

all over Brazil, he is currently on his 

home turf. “It’s great to be working 

so close to my family.” 

These stories illustrate two 

aspects of the contribution that the 

metro extension project is making 

to Novo Hamburgo, São Leopoldo 

and other towns and cities in the 

Porto Alegre metropolitan region 

(see infographic). It is a project that 

local residents have been eagerly 

awaiting for over 10 years. Once 

it is up and running, it will make 

life easier for people who work in 

Porto Alegre and currently have to 

endure traffic jams on the saturated 

BR-116 route. It will also help 

give a boost to the local economy, 

which is currently in the process 

of recovery, by directly creating 

1,200 jobs and attracting all kinds 

of businesses, including the real 

estate industry. 

Ground was broken in February 

2009, and the BRL 700-million 

project is scheduled for completion 

by December 2011. A joint 

Nova 

Santa 

Rita 

Lake 

Guaíba 

São 

Sebastião 

do Caí 

Estância 

Velha 

Novo 

Hamburgo 

Campo 

Bom 

São 

Leopoldo 

Porto Alegre 

Novo Hamburgo 

FENAC 

Santos Dumont 

Rio dos Sinos 

São Leopoldo 

Unisinos 

Sapucaia 

do Sul 

Sapucaia 

Luiz Pasteur 

Esteio Esteio 

Petrobrás 

São Luís/Ulbra 

Gravataí 

Mathias Velho 

Canoas 

Canoas/La Salle 

Cachoeirinha 

Fátima 

Niterói 

Anchieta 

Airport 

Alvorada 

Farrapos 

São Pedro 

Rodoviária 

Mercado 

Viamão 

Existing 

Extension 

Inaugurated in 1985, Line 1 of the Porto Alegre 

surface metro currently has 17 stations and is 33.8 

km long. On an average day, 300,000 people ride 

the metro. The extension project will add four new 

stations (one in São Leopoldo and three in Novo 

Hamburgo) and 9.3 km of tracks, enabling the 

metro to carry 30,000 more passengers. Two stations 

will be fully operational by 2010. 

venture of Odebrecht, Andrade 

Gutierrez, Toniolo Busnello and 

T’Trans, Consórcio Nova Via is 

responsible for civil construction 

works and operational systems. Its 

teams began building a road bridge 

(238 m) and metro bridge (195 m) 

across the Sinos River in May. They 

will be completed by January and 

April 2010. 

“I know how important it is to 

have a metro system,” says Marco 

Arildo da Cunha. He is the President 

and CEO of Trensurb (Empresa de 

Trens Urbanos de Porto Alegre), 

the company through which the 

Federal Government (Cities Ministry) 

operates the metro. His words are 

based on personal and professional 

experience. He joined Trensurb in 

1985 as a train operator after taking 

a competitive exam, and is the first 

odebrecht informa


career employee to become president 

of the company. His wife, Maria 

Salete, who also started out as an 

operator, is the company’s operations 

controller. “Residents of Novo 

Hamburgo and São Leopoldo will 

have several advantages,” he says. 

They include higher property values 

and the creation of newly developed 

areas in towns and cities, as well 

as integrating their towns into the 

public transport system of Greater 

Porto Alegre with a modern means 

of transportation. 

Federal Cities Minister 

Márcio Fortes, another metro 

enthusiast, was one of the main 

proponents of including this project 

in the Federal Government’s Growth 

Acceleration Program (PAC), which 

guaranteed its budget and financing. 

“We are making up for lost time 

with unprecedented speed, releasing 

funds as they are needed,” he 

explains, underscoring the rapid 

pace of the work since day one. “By 

extending the metro, we will free 

up BR-116, make it easier to get to 

the airport and provide better conditions 

for shipping products from the 

Sinos Valley to market, especially 

footwear.” 

A factory at the jobsite 

An urban project like the extension of Line 1 requires knowledge 

and common sense from those who build it and patience on the part 

of people living in the affected area. “It is a time of sacrifice,” says 

Minister Márcio Fortes. “Carrying out a construction project in a city is 

like remodeling a home. Everyone must be prepared for what’s coming.” 

Odebrecht Project Director Nilton Coelho has extensive experience 

in subway construction and agrees with the minister 100%. He 

has worked on other metro projects in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. 

“Effective communication is essential to prepare the community and 

speed up services as much as possible so as to reduce the length of 

time required to divert road traffic, for example.” 

Decisive for speeding up the construction of extension of Line 1, the 

beam and slab production plant that the joint venture has installed at 

the jobsite is one of the project’s main highlights. “We will need about 

335 columns and 1,100 beams for this project,” says Rodrigo Lacerda, 

from Odebrecht, the officer Responsible for Engineering. “That’s a tremendous 

amount to build and install in a very short time.” The solution 

found to make the work go faster was to produce all the beams 

and slabs at the jobsite. “We're practicing the concept of ‘industrialization,’ 

using metal forms for the pillars, which are cast on the spot, and 

making the pre-cast superstructure (beams and slabs) at the plant at 

the jobsite,” says Rodrigo. “As a result, we can do the work with the 

requisite speed and savings, while ensuring top quality and a distinctive 

esthetic for the parts produced.”

Multi-talented team 

works on many fronts 

CNO programs hone the skills of teams active in the 

People and Organization and Procurement and Logistics areas 

written by Julio Cesar Soares / photo by Dario de Freitas 

Class taking the program held by the People and Organization team: broad outlook 

“It’s an outlook that goes beyond 

operations; it’s an outlook focused 

on people.” Sérgio Faber, the 

officer Responsible for People 

Administration on the Suape petrochemical 

plant project in Recife, 

is referring to the Education on 

Human Resources Program being 

carried out by the Construtora 

Norberto Odebrecht (CNO) People 

and Organization team. Sérgio is 

one of the 30 company members 

who are taking part in the second 

edition of the program, which aims 

to educate participants involved 

in several activities related to that 

field. 

Divided into three modules, the 

program involves two days of inperson 

classes for each module. 

The participants are recommended 

by their leaders in each area. “We 

professional education 

decide on the number of openings 

and the officers Responsible for 

People and Organization contact 

leaders and ask them to identify the 

participants,” says Milena Moreno 

Giglioti, who is Responsible for the 

program. 

Milena also leads the Education 

Program on Procurement and 

Logistics, which aims to hone participants’ 

skills and help them find 

solutions in these areas. Now in its 

second edition, it has 25 participants, 

including members working 

on construction projects and at Olex, 

Odebrecht’s logistics and exports 

arm. “It is a guide for the modern 

purchaser, who learns to establish 

better relations with suppliers,” 

says Emerson Florentino Danda, 

Responsible for the Pirapama joint 

venture’s Materials Program in 

Recife. Also divided into three modules, 

this program is being carried 

out in partnership with the IMAM 

(Innovation and Improvement in 

Modern Administration) Institute, 

and all activities are carried out at 

the institute’s headquarters. 

Procurement and Logistics Program is a “guide for the modern purchaser” 

07 

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08 


ethanol & sugar 

The Santa Luzia Unit and (below, left) the Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul, André Puccinelli, with José Carlos Grubisich, 

Entrepreneurial Leader (CEO) of ETH, and Pedro Novis (wearing jacket), a Member of the Board of Odebrecht S.A. 

Right, Grubisich and Governor Puccinelli at the opening ceremony 

Rio Claro, Santa Luzia and 

Conquista do Pontal are joining 

ETH’s Alcídia and Eldorado 

units. Now with five units in 

all, the company’s total milling 

capacity has soared from 

3 million to 13.2 million tonnes 

of sugarcane per harvest.

Triple boost 

ETH Bioenergy opens units in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul 

and São Paulo, positioning itself among Brazil’s top 5 ethanol producers 

written by Guilherme Oliveira / photos by Ségio Alberti 

Caçú, Goiás, August 27. 

Five hundred people have gathered 

to witness the official opening of ETH 

Bioenergy’s Rio Claro Unit. A tent has 

been set up next to the factory for 

local families, suppliers, clients, the 

press and officials such as Governor 

Alcides Rodrigues and the mayors 

of Cachoeira Alta, and Caçú, respectively 

Eline Fleury and André Vieira. 

Two more celebrations were held to 

launch the operations of the Santa 

Luzia Unit in Nova Alvorada do Sul, 

Mato Grosso do Sul (October 14), 

and Conquista do Pontal, in Mirante 

do Paranapanema, São Paulo 

(November 16). These three greenfield 

units were built in record time – 

just 13 months – ranking ETH among 

Brazil’s top five ethanol producers 

after just two years of operations, 

and reaffirming the company’s commitment 

to its local communities. 

This is the first time a bioenergy 

company has inaugurated three 

plants during the same harvest 

season. Aílton Reis, the ETH officer 

Responsible for Investments, 

Engineering and Technology, observes 

that the construction projects alone 

involved 3,000 people. “It was very hard 

to find suppliers that could keep pace 

with the intense pace of this program. 

The bar was very high and these 

teams had to overcome major obstacles 

to ensure our success,” he adds. 

These new units were built with the 

most advanced technologies available 

on the market. “We have combined 

the best equipment with low-cost 

maintenance. The result is three 

model factories,” says Aílton Reis, 

who is clearly proud of this achievement. 

He points out that high-pressure 

boilers and mills designed exclusively 

for these projects are some of 

the factors that set these greenfield 

plants apart. They went online with 

fully mechanized planting and harvesting 

of their own crops. 

Rio Claro, Santa Luzia and 

Conquista do Pontal have joined 

forces with ETH’s existing Alcídia and 

Eldorado units. Thanks to these five 

factories, the company’s installed milling 

capacity has soared from 3 million 

to 13.2 million tonnes of sugarcane 

per harvest. ETH aims to produce 780 

million liters of ethanol during the next 

harvest in 2010-2011. 

Each of these new units directly 

creates 1,500 work opportunities in its 

sphere of influence while providing professional 

job skills and giving a boost 

to the local economy. Raquel Mezavilla, 

a recepcionist at the Carandá Hotel 

in Nova Alvorada do Sul, says that the 

towns in the vicinity of the plants have 

had to keep pace with the construction 

projects. “When ETH arrived it brought 

new blood to this town. We’ve had to 

hire 25% more staff and add 25% more 

rooms, and even so, the hotel is always 

full. These towns are growing along 

with the company.” 

In 2009, ETH provided professional 

education to 1,170 people, including 

classes for Industrial and Farm 

Machine Operators. According to 

Raquel, classes like these are very 

welcome. “The region is well aware of 

the company’s size and commitment 

to the local communities. I clearly 

remember when ground was broken, 

when the tests started and the plant 

began operations. We residents of this 

town are part of ETH’s history." 

“The beginning of greenfield operations is a milestone in ETH’s growth strategy and 

demonstrates our capacity to conceive and execute projects that combine production scale, 

cutting-edge technology and high competitiveness” [ José Carlos Grubisich ] 

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10 


exchange 

They will make things happen 

Angolans from Biocom take part in ETH training program 

written by Guilherme Oliveira / photos by Sergio Alberti 

Maria Pascoal da Silva and Alberto Leopoldino 

Joaquim de Campos 

Npanda Masidivingue and ETH member Irisma 

Saturnino da Silva 

Pavlov Dias Neto was born in Luanda, 

Angola, in 1980. A technical course in 

Farming and Livestock Husbandry got 

him one of his first work opportunities, 

but his interest in computers soon led 

him to work with Information Technology. 

Little did he know that, years later, as a 

member of Biocom, an Angolan sugar 

producer, he would find himself in Brazil 

– more specifically in Rio Brilhante, Mato 

Grosso do Sul – learning to produce 

ethanol, sugar and electric power at ETH 

Bioenergy’s Eldorado Unit. 

Biocom, whose shareholders include 

Odebrecht, Sonangol and Damer, is 

building a factory in Malange Province 

that is scheduled to go online in the 

second half of 2010. Pavlov is part of 

a group of 62 company members who 

came to Brazil in August to take part in 

a 1,200-hour training program including 

theory and practice in the areas of farming, 

industry and management: “This will 

be the second sugar factory in Africa and 

the first in Angola. We have come here 

to learn how it operates,” he explains. 

Developed by ETH, the program aims 

to educate trainees to operate the factory 

on the basis of processes instead of 

equipment. 

To enable everyone to completely 

master every step of production, 

the class has taken a Basics of the 

Sugar and Ethanol Manufacturing 

Process course at the SENAI (National 

Industrial Apprenticeship Service) in 

Deodápolis, an ETH partner in this 

program. In addition to learning about 

the factory’s operations and acquiring 

the skills they’ll need to help build the 

facility in Angola, the group will return 

to their home country in December to 

share what they have learned in Brazil, 

explains Wanda Lubaco, 26. “We’re 

just a small group, and we can’t learn 

everything in six months of training, but 

we are all aware that we have to absorb 

as much as possible so we can teach 

our coworkers,” says Wanda, a Sugar 

Manufacturing trainee. 

The brief period of study imposes a 

heavy schedule: four class hours and 

eight hours of on-the-job training per 

day from Monday to Saturday. “This 

course is very well rounded. We aren’t 

just learning to operate our plant, 

we’re learning to operate any plant,” 

says Pavlov. Although the processes 

are complex, the biggest obstacle the 

group has to overcome is homesickness. 

“We couldn’t have had a warmer 

welcome in Brazil. Brazilians are very 

cheerful, just like the Angolan people. 

But everyone here misses their family,” 

confesses Wanda. 

To bring a little of Angola to Brazil, the 

trainees spend their Sundays making 

food from back home, such as funge, 

and dancing semba and kuduro, traditional 

rhythms in their African country. 

“In a while, we’ll be homesick for 

Brazil,” jokes Wanda. Pavlov observes: 

“We will go back to Angola with full 

mastery of things that few on our continent 

know how to do. We will be able to 

play an active role in our nation’s reconstruction 

and development. And that is 

why we are here.”

Odebei joint-venture member takes in the new unit: processing natural gas condensate 

Purification stage 

Processing unit goes online at the Cabiúnas Terminal in Macaé, 

Rio de Janeiro State written by Edilson Lima / photo by Carlos Júnior 

The name is big, and so are 

its benefits: the Natural Gas 

Condensate III Processing Unit 

(UPCGN III) at the Cabiúnas 

Terminal (Tecaba) in Macaé, RJ, 

went into operation on September 

1st, with a maximum processing 

capacity of 1,500 cu.m/day of 

Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). LNG 

arrives together with the natural 

gas pumped from the platform and 

is processed to remove light hydrocarbons 

(waste gas, or ethane and 

methane), an essential stage of gas 

production. 

UPCGN III is part of Plangás (the 

Early Natural Gas Production Plan), 

which aims to increase domestic 

production of natural gas by 2010, 

going from the current 23 million 

cu.m/day to 55 million cu.m/day. 

This is the first Plangás unit completed 

through the Petrobras Supply 

(ABAST) program to go online to 

increase the supply of natural gas 

flowing from the Campos Basin 

and Espírito Santo to the South and 

Southeast of Brazil. 

Consórcio Odebei Plangás (a 

joint venture of Odebrecht Óleo e 

Gás - OOG, Empresa Brasileira de 

Engenharia S.A. – EBE and Iesa 

Óleo e Gás S.A.) began building the 

plant in April 2007. The highlights of 

the project included the workplace 

safety rates achieved. The rate of 

lost-time accidents was zero. 

Odebrecht Quality, Safety, 

Environment and Health Manager 

Luiz Aguiar also underscores another 

significant point: “Seventy-percent of 

the 1,000 people who worked on the 

project were local hires. And the joint 

venture offered professional education 

and training courses to every 

single one of them.” 

oil & gas 11 

In addition to the construction of 

UPCGN III, Petrobras’s USD 452 million 

investment included the installation 

of storage and offloading systems 

for LPG (Liquefied Petroleum 

Gas), LPG treatment, water cooling 

and compressed air, the construction 

of a power substation, the 

installation of all the infrastructure 

and interconnections with UPCGN 

III, the systems of the new Liquid 

Recovery Unit III (URL III) and several 

other Tecab units. 

Petrobras subsidiary Transpetro 

is responsible for operating UPCGN 

III. “Throughout this project, we 

were consistently rated ‘excellent’ 

by Petrobras’s Performance 

Evaluation Bulletin, which demonstrates 

the high degree of client 

satisfaction with our services,” says 

Odebrecht Project Director José 

Henrique Enes. 

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12 


Engineer of the arts 

written by Sérgio Bourroul / photo by Roberto Rosa 

“In literature, I expand my liberty.” That is how writer, communicator, 

filmmaker and electrical engineer Marcos Rabello defines his 

relationship with writing. The author of O Romance do Contista (The 

Storyteller’s Novel), published in Brazil in 2003, in the introduction he 

admits that he found motivation to visit the past and write his debut 

novel in the isolation of the jobsites. And he goes even further: “Today 

I’m lending my writer’s creativity to the job.” 

Marcos Rabello joined Odebrecht 16 years ago, at the invitation of 

Carlos Hupsel, now the officer Responsible for Opportunity Development 

and Representation Support at Odebrecht S.A. He has worked in the 

Communication and Institutional Relations and Energy areas of the 

company. He helped develop the winning bids for the Cana Brava, 

Goiás, and São Salvador, Tocantins, hydroelectric plant projects 

in Brazil before going to Angola, where he has been working 

for the last six years. There, he is responsible for 

three programs: Revitalizing Roads in Luanda, urban 

Development (Luanda Sul) and Education for Work 

and Development. 

After spending his teenage years playing soccer 

in the streets and being influenced by radio 

programs in Aracaju, Sergipe, in northeastern 

Brazil, he attended the vanguard Colégio de 

Aplicação school in Salvador, Bahia. Later, at the 

Federal university at Bahia (uFBA), he got deeply 

involved in cultural projects. Influenced by legendary 

Brazilian filmmaker Glauber Rocha, he wrote, 

produced and directed two short films in Super-8. After 

graduating from college, he joined COELBA, Bahia’s regional 

power distribution company, and presided over the Municipal 

Social Security Institute in Salvador, receiving the Thomé de 

Souza medal for his work in public administration. He also ran 

for vice mayor in the capital of Bahia. 

Married and the father of three, Rabello is working 

on another novel. “My life has been guided by 

constant change, and I like to interweave 

stories that never end.” His writing certainly 

has a strong autobiographical 

influence.

DENISE CRuz 

A real desire to give quality service 

Quintella is Young Builder Program’s first DC 

In 2005, JOSÉ EDUARDO DE SOUSA QUINTELLA joined Odebrecht as a trainee 

on the first Light for All Program in Minas Gerais, Brazil. In 2008, he was entrusted 

with responsibility for studying the second stage of this Federal Government 

initiative. He turned 29 in July 2009, when the contract was signed. Quintella 

then became the first Project Director (DC) groomed by CNO’s Young Builder 

Program. “It’s a huge responsibility, but the process was closely followed and 

I’m up to the challenge. I’m focused on giving our clients quality service,” he 

says. He is now taking part in the Program for Developing Entrepreneurs (PDE) 

and motivated by the opportunity to interact with people from different generations 

and backgrounds. 

A positive attitude towards life and work 

Dan provides experience and motivation in Louisiana 

Love at first sight 

Isabel Verônica helped build a factory 

Psychologist ISABEL VERÔNICA RODRIGUES SANTOS SILVA was working in the 

sugar/ethanol industry in São Paulo State when ETH Bioenergy came into her life 

in 2008. “My son did a search on hiring processes on the web, and I fell in love with 

Odebrecht. I could see that I had a lot to learn, and that this company would help 

me grow,” she recalls. She sent in her résumé, successfully passed a series of 

interviews, and moved to Nova Alvorada do Sul, a small town in Mato Grosso do 

Sul, Brazil, where she is Responsible for People Development at ETH’s Santa Luzia 

Unit. “It was wonderful to be able to contribute to the construction of a factory and 

help groom and form the team there,” she says. She is now fully adjusted to her 

new life. In her spare time, she reads psychology books, sitting on a bench in Nova 

Alvorada do Sul’s town square. 

by ELIANA SIMONETTI 

After 75 years of life and 16 of working at Odebrecht (in the United States, 

where he was born, as well as other countries), DAN SPENCER has many 

tales to tell. He holds degrees in Theology, Math and Civil Engineering. In 

the 1990s, he helped build the Seven Oaks Dam in California, and now, he 

lives in New Orleans, where he is Responsible for Business Development 

in the State of Louisiana. When he spoke to the Odebrecht Informa team, 

he was radiant: he had just learned that the company had won a tender 

to build another levee to prevent flooding in New Orleans. A passionate 

American football fan and nature lover (he enjoys going for walks along the 

Mississippi River), he explains that his well-known positive attitude is due 

to his faith, his family (wife, six children and fourteen grandchildren) and to 

Odebrecht. “I’m past retirement age, but I don’t want to leave the company!” 

EuGêNIO SáVIO 

SERGIO ALBERTI 

13 

odebrecht informa

14 


angola 

A city in 

transformation 

Roadworks are changing the look and daily life of Luanda 

written by Sérgio Bourroul / photo by Roberto Rosa 

Visitors arriving in Luanda will see 

numerous signs that roadworks are 

underway on its boulevards, streets and 

byways. The work being done to improve 

traffic in Angola’s capital city are the 

highlight of that nation’s investments 

in infrastructure and go far beyond just 

building and paving access roads. They 

also include building highways and 

avenues, urban development in several 

districts, sanitation, drainage, trash 

collection, landscaping, road signs and 

signaling, public lighting, traffic safety 

education and other projects focused 

on easing traffic jams, boosting tourism 

and regaining the city’s pride and quality 

of life. As they drive along the congested 

streets of Luanda, visitors will also notice 

that Odebrecht is strongly present there. 

CITy CENTER–LUANDA SUL 

CONNECTION 

The main hub for the city’s growth is 

Luanda Sul, the southern area where 

new apartment and office buildings are 

being built, in addition to the country’s 

only shopping mall. Samba and 21 de 

Janeiro avenues, which respectively 

connect the south of the city with the 

downtown area and 4 de Julho Airport, 

are being refurbished through the 

Luanda Basic Sanitation Program, 

under a contract with the National 

Directorate of Public Infrastructure, an 

agency of the Ministry of Public Works. 

The visible side of these projects (building 

and widening roads, paving, installing 

median strips and public lighting, 

building sidewalks and installing road 

signs and signaling) hides the main 

feature that sets this program apart: the 

construction of macrodrainage ditches 

to collect stormwater and ensure the 

conservation and durability of the roadworks. 

Another innovation, by local standards, 

is the introduction of systems of 

underground pipes for the installation of 

phone and power lines and water conduits 

beneath the sidewalks. “This will 

enable public concession companies 

to install their future systems without 

damaging the roads and sidewalks,” 

explains Odebrecht Project Director 

Pedro Pinheiro. 

Pedro is also responsible for two 

more projects that are currently underway. 

Flanked by the city’s two main

“Vias de Luanda” Project: 

making the city’s main 

thoroughfares more peoplefriendly, 

using elements of the 

local arts and building parks 

and recreational areas 

A t l a n t i c O c e a n 

Cabolombo Futumgo 

5.8 km 

Ramiros Extension 

18 km 

thoroughfares, 21 de Janeiro and Ho 

Chi Minh avenues, the Mártires do 

Kifagondo district is a heavily populated 

area with numerous homes and businesses 

that lack sewer systems and 

other basic services. Scheduled for 

completion by 2010, the work being 

done to rehabilitate this area has been 

making temporary changes in the local 

population’s daily routine, such as traffic 

diversions and the rumbling of heavy 

machinery. 

“The Works Department in the 

Province of Luanda, our client, considered 

Odebrecht’s experience in communication 

with the community to be a 

crucial factor for the successful execution 

of this complex project. The public 

understands that the benefits will make 

up for the minor headaches involved,” 

says Pedro Pinheiro. The company’s 

teams are installing stormwater and 

Roadworks 

in Luanda 

In the past decade, Angola has 

experienced intense growth 

based on massive infrastructure 

investments in education, health, 

housing, sanitation and transportation, 

as well as efforts to combat 

poverty. With economic growth 

averaging 15% per year, the country’s 

most visible signs of development 

can be found in is its capital, 

Luanda, population: 6 million. 

Ponta da 

Ilha 

Golfe II Highway 

15 km 

Golfe 

Shipyard 

Lar do Patriota Highway 

8 km 

Camama 

Shipyard 

Luanda/Kifangondo 

Expressway 

9.75 km 

LUANDA 

Ponta das 

Lagostas 

Salinas 

Shipyard 

Cazenga 

Widening Camama/Viana 

14.5 km 

Service Road LE/LD 

29 km 

sewer systems, telephone infrastructure, 

public lighting, paving, road signs 

and signaling, as well as landscaping 

the area. The third project Pedro manages 

is nearby: the expansion of the 

parking lot and taxiway for Luanda 

International Airport. 

ExPRESSWAyS 

Another aspect of the work being 

done in the Angolan capital is the 

Expressways Project, which includes 

construction of routes in outlying 

districts of Luanda that will be used 

to speed up the transportation of the 

wealth generated by the nation’s reconstruction. 

This USD 900-million project 

includes six roadways in all, totaling 68 

km. The client is the Angola Roadways 

Institute, an agency of the Ministry of 

Public Works. The biggest project is 

nearing completion: the 33-km Luanda 

Beltway 

33 km 

Chicala 

Shipyard 

Dr. Agostinho 

Neto St. 

Comte 

Arguelles St. 

Samba 

Ave. 

Kikuxi 

Shipyard 

Murtala 

Mohamed Ave. 

Aeroporto Airport 

21 de 

Janeiro Ave. 

Luanda/Viana Expressway 

8 km 

Kikuxi Highway 

3.3 km 

Ponta da 

Ilha 

Ho Chi Minh 

Ave. 

N'Gola 

Kiluange Ave. 

Revolução de 

Outubro Ave. 

Comte 

Valódia Ave. 

Hoji-Ya-Henda 

Ave. 

Deolinda 

Rodrigues Ave. 

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Expressways Project: routes in the outskirts of Luanda and GPS tracking 

Beltway, which transects three radial 

routes and facilitates access to the city. 

According to Project Director Tiago 

Britto, the biggest challenge on this 

project is logistics. “We import most 

of the construction materials, including 

steel, asphalt, posts, lighting, 

power lines, equipment parts and even 

cement, which increases costs. We also 

have to redouble our efforts when it 

comes to inventory planning.” 

In order to keep track of the fleet of 

trucks, the project’s management team 

has introduced a modern monitoring 

system. Imported from the United 

States and installed in the central jobsite 

in Camama, it uses a GPS system 

to follow the comings and goings of the 

130 trucks that transport crushed rock 

every day from the Cabuledo crushing 

plant, 120 km from Luanda. “In addition 

to increasing the security of our drivers, 

the Iris system controls vehicle speed 

and the way the entire fleet is used. That 

enables us to economize on fuel and 

tires and lets us know if drivers deviate 

from their routes,” explains Tiago. 

"VIAS DE LUANDA" 

The “Vias de Luanda” project goes 

well beyond engineering and construction 

works. It involves urban 

development projects that are revitalizing 

the city’s main thoroughfares, 

making them more people-friendly 

by using artistic elements commonly 

found in the local culture, as well as 

plenty of greenery, parks and recreational 

areas, and infrastructure 

facilities. Thirty-six kilometers of 

urban roadways are being restored 

through this project, which began 

in April 2008, starting with Deolinda 

Rodrigues, Ho Chi Minh, Samba, 

Amilcar Cabral and Revolução de 

Outubro avenues. Over 2,500 workers 

paved roads, laid sidewalks, and 

installed gardens, drainage ditches, 

road signs and signaling and underground 

systems (sewer, water, power 

and phone lines). 

Boulevards and plazas have 

received a facelift through landscaping, 

sidewalks, playing courts 

and arbors designed by the firm of 

Brazilian architect Jaime Lerner. 

Typically Angolan elements were used 

as models for decorating the sidewalks 

with stone mosaics inspired by 

the nation’s sisal tapestries. They are 

now brand-new symbols of the city. 

The Bem-me-Quer (Loves Me Well) 

Program educated the public about 

traffic safety and good citizenship 

while the construction work went on, 

with a focus on how best to use and 

preserve the new facilities being built. 

In addition to local programs near the 

roadworks, a TV campaign sought to 

involve the public and raise awareness 

about the importance of “Vias de 

Luanda,” which also includes public 

sanitation activities. 

Project Director Marcos Rabello 

stresses that the highlights of this 

project are its esthetics and the communication, 

educational and maintenance 

programs specifically requested 

by the Provincial Government of 

Luanda. Another side of the project 

involves tourism development on 

Murtala Mohamed Ave., on Luanda 

Island. An area with tremendous 

tourist potential and views of the 

Atlantic on one side and downtown 

Luanda on the other, the island and 

its main thoroughfare are being revitalized 

with tree-shaded sidewalks 

and bicycle paths, as well as security, 

leisure, sports and parking facilities. 

A small forest will be restored and 

transformed into the city’s botanical 

garden. “Luanda needs more than just 

infrastructure. It is also time to modernize 

the city and focus on the public 

in this context,” says Rabello.

Training members of the Conpar joint venture in Paraná, Brazil: the O2 team present at the jobsites 

Boosting user 

confidence 

The O2 Project arrives at CNO's jobsites 

in January with an innovation: local training 

written by Bárbara Rezendes / photo by Eduardo Barcellos 

Now that it has been introduced at 

the jobsites of CBPO Engenharia, it 

is Construtora Norberto Odebrecht’s 

(CNO) turn to host the O2 Project, 

an information tool that is starting 

to replace MyWebDay to make 

Odebrecht’s support activities more 

efficient. It will be introduced at CNO 

in January, with an innovation that 

resulted from the O2 team’s experience 

of working at CBPO’s jobsites: 

local training. 

The benefits of this new model 

will include cutting down on travel 

costs and enabling people to learn 

more modules, because the multipliers 

will be able to teach classes 

at the user’s workplace. This close 

proximity between the realities of 

company members’ work and the 

O2 Project will make members even 

more confident and prepared to use 

this new tool. 

To ensure CNO’s peace of mind, in 

October and November the O2 team 

introduced the project in parallel with 

projects being carried out in Brazil by 

the Conpar joint venture in Paraná, 

the Santo Antônio UHE (hydroelectric 

plant) joint venture in Rondônia, and 

Jackup Platforms P59 and P60 in 

Bahia. During that period, company 

members used both MyWebDay and 

O2 in their work at the same time. 

“We really wanted to participate in 

that parallel process. I believe that 

information 

this opportunity will give us a very 

good basis for honing our skills and 

getting results by January,” says 

Lucas Gantois, a member of the 

Conpar Procurement team. To help 

the three selected projects in the 

states of Paraná, Rondônia and Bahia, 

get started, the O2 team put on their 

boots and hardhats and went out to 

the jobsites to take a first-hand look 

at how the project was going in practice 

and see whether the tool needed 

tweaking. “This is a good way to learn 

hands-on instead of through simulations,” 

observes Wilson Figueiredo, 

the Conpar officer Responsible for 

Materials. Henry Müller, the officer 

Responsible for Administration and 

Finance on the Conpar project, says: 

“In addition to learning through experience, 

people will be able to do their 

jobs and learn to use O2 at the same 

time.” And he adds: “I believe that O2 

will help the company stay ahead of 

the game. I wish everyone success in 

using this new work tool.” 

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE O2 PROJECT 

(IN PORTUGUESE) AT: 

http://portalo2.odebrecht.com 

17 

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18 

special: environmental engineering 

“I give my daughters tap water to drink and use it to cook with no worries” [ Lucinéia Nunes ]

Growth fueled by trust 

Foz do Brasil, Odebrecht’s environmental engineering company, 

welcomes the FGTS Investment Fund to its corporate structure and bolsters 

its growth in water, sewer and industrial waste treatment 

written by Daelcio Freitas with Juliana Calsa and Virgínia Valle / photos by Edu Simões 

Every day, when stay-at-home 

mom Lucinéia da Silva Nunes gives 

her daughters Mayara and Karolyne, 

aged 11 and 6, water to drink, it 

comes from the faucet. This is a 

rare practice throughout Brazil, but 

Lucinéia and her family trust the 

quality of the water treatment service 

in Limeira, a city located 150 km from 

São Paulo, which decided to turn 

over its water and sewer services to 

the private sector 14 years ago. 

“Ever since the girls were born, I’ve 

always given them tap water to drink, 

and I also use it to cook, with no worries. 

I don’t think we’ll be having any 

more water shortages, thanks to the 

work Foz do Brasil is doing,” says 

Lucinéia, who is still getting used to 

the concession company’s new name. 

The water shortages Lucinéia 

mentioned used to be a common 

occurrence in Limeira, a city that 

was once known around the country 

for its orange production. Although 

it is located in the wealthy and 

industrialized region of Campinas, 

in this municipality, which is now 

known as an important gemstone 

production hub, chronic water 

shortages used to inconvenience the 

public and hold back economic and 

social development. 

“I remember it well. We’d go two or 

three days without water. I had to get 

up before sunrise to wash clothes and 

cook. Those were very tough times. The 

water was yellow and dirty. There was 

no way we would drink water from the 

faucet in those days,” recalls Lucinéia. 

The Limeira concession began in 

1994, the year when Brazil was starting 

to overcome the negative impacts 

of the 1980s, the “lost decade.” The 

country was progressing steadily 

towards the stability of the Real Plan 

and was also making timid advances 

toward effective private-sector participation 

in public services. 

In partnership with the French 

water company Lyonnaise des Eaux, 

Odebrecht took on the challenge of 

running the country’s first private 

water and sewer concession. Now, 

Odebrecht subsidiary Foz do Brasil 

is the sole shareholder, and can celebrate 

the achievement of running a 

company that has a public approval 

rating of over 90% and the lowest 

water loss rate in the country – 17%, 

compared with the national average 

of over 40%. Another factor that sets 

FOz DO BRASIL 

Population serviced: 3 million 

Towns and cities: 19 

Num. of Members: 1,142 

Investment Plan: 

BRL 3.6 billion (2009-2013) 

Average period of contracts 

in portfolio: 24 years 

Contract types: DBOT (Design, Build, 

Operate and Transfer), BOT (Build, 

Operate and Transfer), BOO (Build, 

Own and Operate), PPPs 

(Public-Private Partnerships), 

full concessions (water and sewer) 

and partial concessions (sewer), 

asset leasing and operation and 

maintenance of sewer systems 

and treatment plants. 

Main clients: Petrobras, Braskem, 

VSB, Transpetro, Dow, Dupont, 

Rhodia, ThyssenKrupp, Quattor, 

BattreBahia and Shell. 

Municipalities of São Paulo, Limeira, 

Rio Claro, Rio das Ostras, Mauá and 

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim. Embasa 

(Empresa Baiana de água e Esgoto), 

Cesan (Companhia Espírito Santense 

de Saneamento) and Sanasa 

(Sociedade de Abastecimento de 

água e Saneamento) in Campinas. 

odebrecht informa


the municipality apart is 100% sewage 

collection, of which over 75% is 

treated, in a country where 27.3 million 

households still lack access to 

sewer systems, according to the 2008 

PNAD (National Survey of Sample 

Households) of the Brazilian Institute 

of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). 

According to Renê Soares Filho, 

President of the SAAE (Water and 

Sewer Service of the Municipality of 

Limeira), an independent municipal 

body that has become the regulatory 

agency for the concession, the 

success of these services is due to 

planning developed jointly by the 

municipality and the concession company, 

and the fact that the company 

views the city and public as clients, 

and treats them as such. “There’s no 

room for improvisation and everything 

is done according to an annual work 

plan. On a daily basis, the concession 

company always presents us 

with positive surprises. They spare no 

effort to provide the fastest possible 

service,” explains Soares Filho, who 

has lost count of the municipalities 

that seek him out to learn more about 

the São Paulo State city’s experience. 

Limeira’s story is often the same 

as the recent history of Foz do Brasil, 

which began its activities in 2007 as 

Odebrecht Engenharia Ambiental 

(Odebrecht Environmental Engineering). 

The other pillar of the company’s development 

was operations in the industrial 

sector, through the experiences 

of Lumina and Cetrel-Lumina, which 

provide environmental engineering 

services to companies like Petrobras, 

Transpetro, Braskem, Quattor, Dow, 

ThyssenKrupp, Shell and Rhodia. 

The Odebrecht Group’s environmental 

engineering program was 

then delegated to engineer Fernando 

Santos-Reis, who returned to Brazil 

in 2006 after an international career 

with Construtora Norberto Odebrecht 

(CNO). At first, it was up to Fernando to 

form the company with team members 

recruited from the Group and the job 

market, and structure assets previously 

allocated to CNO, such as the 

PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships) in 

Rio Claro, São Paulo; Salvador, Bahia 

(Jaguaribe Project), and Rio das Ostras, 

Rio de Janeiro, as well as Lumina itself.

During the structuring process, 

by 2008, as part of the investment 

program, the company acquired concessions 

in Mauá, São Paulo, and 

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, Espírito 

Santo, whose investment programs 

had been stalled, and which, within the 

structure of Foz do Brasil, could begin 

investing in their own energy generating 

facility in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim 

and the water reuse system in Mauá. 

NEW BRAND 

While the company was being structured, 

Fernando Santos-Reis invited 

the Duda Propaganda advertising 

agency to create a brand with broad 

nationwide appeal for its sanitation 

businesses, as well as modernizing 

the Lumina brand. The agency took 

on the challenge of escaping the commonplace, 

and tested the name “Foz” 

and other possibilities with qualitative 

surveys conducted in four major 

Brazilian cities – São Paulo, Salvador, 

Recife and Rio de Janeiro. 

The word “Foz” (estuary or falls, such 

as the Falls of Iguaçu) tested strongly 

among those interviewed and was 

broadly associated with positive feelings 

about an abundance of clean, fresh, 

pure water straight from the source. It is 

a name that communicates the promise 

of plenty of clean water and respect for 

the environment. The combination Foz 

and Brazil built up the perception of a 

large, credible company that can ensure 

the public’s safety and peace of mind 

through its capacity to work hard to 

improve their quality of life. 

“The data gathered through this survey 

provided the basis for the elements 

used in this new brand, from the name 

to the typeface, colors and graphics. 

The blue circles in the logo set the Foz 

do Brasil brand apart from the other 

Brazilian water and sewer companies 

and contribute to the message of innovation, 

change and modernity. They 

also give the idea of movement and 

suggest synergy associated with the 

company’s technology,” explains Duda 

Propaganda director Ana Baruch. 

The company’s business development 

and the possibility of bringing 

in a partner transformed Odebrecht 

Engenharia Ambiental into Foz do 

Brasil and enabled it to follow the 

same path as ETH Bioenergy, which 

adds “Odebrecht Group” to its name, 

another positive association identified 

in the surveys. “The surveys show 

that because it is an Odebrecht Group 

subsidiary, Foz do Brasil has the 

image of a can-do company that can 

deliver what it sets out to accomplish,” 

explains Fernando Santos-Reis. 

ACCOMPLIShMENTS 

Relationships of trust and partnerships 

that have won the approval of 

its public and private clients have 

been key factors behind the numerous 

accomplishments the company 

racked up in 2008 and 2009. They 

started out with two business deals 

with the private sector: VSB (Vallourec 

& Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil) and 

Aquapolo, which represent a total 

investment of roughly BRL 700 million. 

In 2009, Foz do Brasil won a contract 

to invest in and operate the 

Brazilian steel industry’s largest utilities 

plant, part of the VSB steel mill in 

the Minas Gerais county of Jeceaba, 

which will produce seamless OCTG 

(Oil Country Tubular Goods) – casing 

and tubing used in the oil industry. 

This project includes the construction, 

operation and maintenance of water, 

wastewater and waste treatment systems 

and the internal distribution of 

electric power in the new steel mill 

under a DBOT (Design Build, Operate 

and Transfer) contract. 

According to VSB President and CEO 

Otávio Sanábio, Foz do Brasil’s spirit 

of partnership and capacity to come 

up with innovative solutions were key 

factors in his company’s decision to 

award the Odebrecht company this 

odebrecht informa


contract. “There were other important 

players in the running, but Foz do 

Brasil set itself apart from the competition 

by offering a solution that will 

allow us to focus on the steel business 

with complete peace of mind, because 

we have limited environmental management 

resources,” explains Sanábio. 

The SPP (Specific-Purpose 

Partnership) responsible for the 

project will include Copasa, a Minas 

Gerais state sanitation company. The 

partners will also tender bids to provide 

water and sewer services in other 

counties in that state. 

The Aquapolo Project, the partnership 

with Sabesp (Brazil’s leading sanitation 

company), will make it possible 

to carry out the largest water reuse 

project in the Southern Hemisphere 

and the fifth-largest of its kind in the 

world. A new treatment plant will use 

effluent obtained from the ABC sewage 

treatment plant, located on the 

boundary between São Paulo and 

São Caetano do Sul counties. It will 

produce water for industrial use at 

the ABC Petrochemical Complex, one 

of Brazil’s most important industrial 

parks. 

Aquapolo will also be equipped to 

service other factories at the complex 

and the ABC region (an industrial area 

in Greater São Paulo), because the 

system will have a flow capacity of 

1,000 liters per second, while the total 

requirement of the companies at the 

complex is 650 liters/second. In addition 

to cutting-edge technology, the 

project will include a 16.5-km pipeline 

that will be installed with a challenging 

deadline: just 24 months. To build the 

project, the SPP will be able to rely on 

the expertise of CNO, working under 

an EPC (Engineering, Procurement 

and Construction) contract. 

“Wastewater will be treated so it can 

be used for industrial purposes, making 

more potable water available for 

human consumption and cleaning up 

the rivers. The time when industry used 

potable water is coming to an end,” 

says Eduardo de Melo Pinto, Regional 

Director of Foz do Brasil in the ABC 

region. Sabesp views this partnership as 

key to growing investments, production 

and jobs in the petrochemical industry. 

“It is an example of how two companies 

from the public and private sectors can 

join forces to protect the environment 

and drive development,” says Sabesp 

President Gesner Oliveira. 

PARTNER 

In 2007, the Board of Trustees of the 

FGTS (Brazil’s Government Severance 

Indemnity Fund) created the FI-FGTS 

(Infrastructure Investment Fund), 

which makes it possible for workers’ 

resources to be invested in infrastructure 

works, including basic sanitation 

projects. Regulated by Law no. 

11.491/07, published when the Federal 

Government introduced the Growth 

Acceleration Program (PAC), the fund 

is intended to increase infrastructure 

investments and give a boost to 

Brazil’s economic growth. 

According to the Federal 

Government, providing universal 

sanitation (water and sewer systems) 

in Brazil will cost BRL 270 billion. 

The IBGE’s PNAD in 2008 found that 

households with access to sewer 

systems rose from 51.1% in 2007 to 

52.5% in 2008, an increase of just 

1.4%. The Federal Government made 

BRL 19 billion available for sanitation 

through loan agencies between 

2003 and 2008, but just BRL 2.8 billion 

were released for a very simple 

reason: there were no projects to 

finance. 

In September 2009, after nearly 

a year of negotiations, the FI-FGTS 

acquired a 26.53% stake in Foz do 

Brasil, which added BRL 650 million to 

the company’s equity. It was the fund’s 

first investment in sanitation and its 

largest equity investment, although it 

also owns stakes in other infrastructure 

projects. 

Added to Foz’s BRL 3.6-billion 

investment plan, these funds will 

immediately benefit 3 million people 

who already use the company’s water 

and sewer services in 19 towns and 

cities, in addition to residents of the 

counties where Foz do Brasil will be 

working in the future, either individu

ally or in partnership with public-sector 

companies, thereby increasing the 

possibilities of further consolidations 

of the private sanitation market with 

a focus on creating new investment 

opportunities. 

“Our expectation is to transform this 

partnership into a model that could 

set an example for the sanitation sector 

in Brazil. It does not matter if the 

partner is public or private. The important 

thing is to seek efficiency so that 

we can manage workers’ resources in 

a way that will make the difference in 

creating more jobs and providing universal 

sanitation,” says Paulo Furtado, 

Secretary General of the FGTS Board 

of Trustees 

“It is a pleasure for us to have 

the FI-FGTS as a partner in Foz do 

Brasil because we are both on the 

same page. We share the long-term 

outlook that this sector requires, 

and the challenging goal of bringing 

forward the universal availability 

of water and sewage treatment 

throughout Brazil by supplementing 

public investments,” observes 

Fernando Santos-Reis. 

ESPíRITO SANTO 

The efficient operations Paulo 

Furtado champions can already be 

seen in some of Brazil’s state-owned 

companies, which are benefiting from 

professional management and specific-purpose 

partnerships with privatesector 

companies. One example that 

is already attracting attention can be 

found in Espírito Santo, a state that 

decided to invest heavily in sanitation 

after bringing about the financial 

recovery of CESAN, the state’s sanitation 

company, in 2003. 

Through the Clean Water Project, 

which is improving the lives of 1.2 

A DECISIVE BOOST 

FOR MUNICIPAL 

GOVERNMENTS 

The towns of Cachoeiro de 

Itapemirim, Espírito Santo, and Rio 

Claro, São Paulo, are proud to have 

two of the top names in Brazilian 

pop music, respectively Roberto 

Carlos and Dalva de Oliveira, among 

their citizens. But they also have 

another source of price – their water 

and sewer services rank above the 

national average. Both services are 

provided by Foz do Brasil, and there 

are not only no water shortages in 

those two towns, but sewage treatment 

will reach 90% to 100% of all 

households in the next three years. 

The townspeople are rightly proud of 

the quality of these services, which 

also take a load off the minds of their 

mayors, who unanimously declare 

that now that sanitation is being 

taken care of, they can invest in other 

areas, like health and education, 

which are also essential to the public’s 

quality of life. 

“The percentages of water and sewer 

services in Cachoeiro are one less 

Mayor Carlos Casteglione 

Mayor Du Altimari 

item on the list of the municipal 

government’s top problems, which 

enables us to invest in other areas 

that are fundamental to the town’s 

development. That is another factor 

that is making us a benchmark 

in this state,” says Mayor Carlos 

Casteglione, who makes a point of 

stressing his pleasure at having an 

Odebrecht company in his town, 

because of everything the Group represents 

in Brazil and other countries. 

The Mayor of Rio Claro, Du Altimari, 

agrees with his counterpart from 

Espírito Santo. “As a Brazilian, I’d like 

to see the entire country involved in a 

massive effort to ensure that everyone 

gets treated water and sewage. That 

is a prerequisite for public health, and 

there will be no appreciable development 

unless these issues are tackled 

and solved.” And he adds: “Anyone 

who shares our principles and understands 

the magnitude of the challenges 

we still face – both in this town and 

the country – will always be welcome 

in Rio Claro.” 

odebrecht informa


TALENTED PEOPLE MAKING hISTORy 

PAULA VIOLANTE 

The meteoric career of engineer 

Paula Violante, recently promoted 

to Foz do Brasil Project Director in 

Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, reflects the 

company’s history. Born in Limeira 

and a former employee of the SAAE 

(Water and Sewer Service of the 

Municipality of Limeira), the state 

company responsible for water and 

sewer services in her hometown until 

1994, Paula says that she learned in 

practice that there is a vast difference 

between the execution and prioritizing 

of needs when working in the 

public and private sectors. “At the 

state company, we knew what had 

to be done, but we couldn’t get the 

necessary measures off the drawing 

board.” 

Now that she is working in the private 

sector, Paula recalls what she considered 

a crucial aim from the very start 

of the concession: making Águas de 

Limeira’s services a national benchmark 

and fully satisfying its clients’ 

needs. “The first years involved a lot of 

hard work, organization, planning and 

action, with a constant focus on seeking 

the best in the world in terms of 

technologies to improve our services,” 

says Paula. “During that phase, I had 

the opportunity to work with experts 

in other countries, such as France and 

Argentina, where we spent some time. 

Then we brought back and adapted 

those experiences to our processes 

and teams,” she adds. 

In 2009, Paula joined the Foz do 

Brasil Engineering team in São Paulo, 

where she provided support for the 

company’s other operations and new 

projects. “That was a very rewarding 

experience that enabled me to get to 

know Foz’s other projects,” she says. 

Recently, Paula was invited to take 

charge of a concession, making her 

the first woman to become a Project 

Director at Foz do Brasil. “Returning 

to the management line made me 

very happy on a personal level. It’s a 

fresh challenge, and once again, I am 

absolutely confident that it will be a 

major learning experience in my life. 

The Cachoeiro de Itapemirim team is 

excellent and is already doing a great 

job. Through full dedication, hard 

work and determination from everyone 

on the team, we will stay in touch 

with our local clients’ needs.” 

GUILhERME PAMPLONA PASChOAL 

At the age of 34, Guilherme Pamplona 

Paschoal can already be considered 

a seasoned Odebrecht veteran. He 

started out at CNO in 1998, where 

he worked on telecom, hydroelectric 

plant, metro and road construction 

projects, among others. “I spent the 

last three and a half years outside 

Brazil. I’ve worked in the United Arab 

Emirates, the United States, and most 

recently, in the Dominican Republic.” 

Guilherme explains that, when he 

was invited to work on the Aquapolo 

Project, several factors influenced 

his decision to transfer to Foz do 

Brasil. He observes that the market 

in which Foz is operating is 

rapidly gaining momentum around 

the world, and has huge growth 

prospects. The engineer also feels 

that newly formed companies like 

Foz offer more growth and learning 

opportunities for their members. “I 

believe that diversified experiences 

bring new learnings that can do 

nothing but contribute to my education 

as an entrepreneur. Another 

decisive factor was the opportunity 

to work with Eduardo de Melo Pinto 

(see interview in this issue). He has 

a tremendous amount of experience 

with the Group and the day-to-day 

application of TEO (the Odebrecht 

Entrepreneurial Technology), which 

facilitates a leader-team member 

relationship of openness and trust,” 

says Guilherme. And he underscores: 

“Before I accepted the invitation, I 

also took a look at Fernando Santos- 

Reis’s Action Plan. I believe in the 

business and its strategy, and am 

very comfortable with being part of 

this moment in its history.”

million people in seven cities in the 

Vitória metropolitan region, the state 

capital is on its way to becoming 

the first major Brazilian city to treat 

100% of its sewage. According to 

Espírito Santo Sanitation, Housing 

and Development Secretary Paulo 

Rui Carnelli, the state government’s 

will to solve the sanitation issue was 

bolstered by the fact that it had a 

company with surplus funds, which 

was key to making investments. “We 

are restoring an entire ecosystem, 

including several beaches and mangroves, 

which are essential to quality 

of life in this state,” he says. 

Paulo Rui recognizes the importance 

of the support provided by Foz 

do Brasil and Odebrecht, which are 

responsible for the operation and 

maintenance of the sewer systems 

and treatment plants in the metropolitan 

region. He believes that 

the factor that sets the partnership 

between Foz and Cesan apart is 

providing quality services instead 

of outsourcing, which is a common 

practice in some parts of Brazil. 

“The public and private sectors 

aren’t competing. Instead we have 

people doing a good job with a single 

goal. This partnership with Foz do 

Brasil has streamlined our project,” 

adds Paulo Rui. 

In the sanitation sector, Foz do 

Brasil’s strategy will always be to 

supplement the needs of public 

services by working with state 

companies and/or independent 

municipal service providers to 

leverage investments and make 

universal water, sewer and sewage 

treatment services a thing of the 

near future. “One of Foz do Brasil’s 

objectives is to play a major role 

in solving the ‘water crisis’ by 

working in water conservation and 

rebuilding and restoring degraded 

ecosystems and river basins,” says 

Fernando Santos-Reis. 

odebrecht informa

26 


alagoas 

Supply chain 

of optimism 

Joint efforts by government agencies, organizations 

and businesses attract downstream plastics 

manufacturers to the Brazilian state of Alagoas 

written by Rodrigo Vilar / photos by Márcio Lima 

On October 2, the Coor Plastik 

company inaugurated a BRL 

31-million PVC pipe and connectors 

production plant at the 

Marechal Deodoro industrial complex, 

12 km from Maceió, Alagoas, 

that will directly create 150 new 

jobs. Six more projects are currently 

underway and will join the 

Alagoas Chemicals and Plastics 

Supply Chain as a result of a total 

investment of over BRL 207 million, 

creating roughly 2,000 new 

work opportunities in that northeastern 

Brazilian state. 

These figures were provided by 

the Marechal Deodoro Industrial 

District Business Association 

(ASSEDI/MD), a member of the 

Alagoas Chemicals and Plastics 

Supply Chain Forum, which is 

largely responsible for attracting 

these new factories to the 

area. That organization, which 

has Braskem as its lynchpin, also 

includes the State of Alagoas, 

the Alagoas State Federation 

of Industries (FIEA), the SENAI 

(National Industrial Apprenticeship 

Service), the SEBRAE (Brazilian 

Support Service for Small 

Businesses), the Federal University 

at Alagoas, and industrial district 

and worker associations. 

According to Alagoas Secretary 

of Economic Development, Energy 

and Logistics Luís Otávio Gomes, 

the Forum’s representatives share 

a single objective: “Bolstering the 

business segment in the area of 

chemicals and plastics, thereby 

creating income and jobs.” 

The effort to bring more downstream 

plastics manufacturers to 

that region began within the last 

three years, and the first challenge 

was to ensure that the government 

approved tax incentives that would 

differentiate Alagoas. “Today we 

have the best environment in the 

country for the development of 

this kind of supply chain,” underscores 

Wander Lôbo Araujo Silva, 

President of the Plastic and Paint 

Manufacturers’ Trade Association 

in the State of Alagoas (Sinplast). 

Jorge Bastos, an advisor to the 

Braskem directorate in Alagoas, 

explains that the new laws guarantee 

credit incentives, land for 

“The work being done 

is a major step 

towards ensuring 

the perpetuity 

of this supply chain” 

[ Marcelo Cerqueira ] 

industrial areas at subsidized 

prices, and tax breaks. “In addition 

to ensuring that they have the 

same types of incentives available 

to similar companies in the 

Northeast,” he adds. 

Aside from these advantages, 

the Marechal Deodoro 

and Governador Luiz Cavalcante 

industrial complexes provide a 

large supply of raw materials 

and inputs, industrial and service 

infrastructure facilities, a strategic 

location, since it is the hub of the 

consumer market in the North and 

Northeast, excellent transportation 

and shipment services and

Above, Wander Araujo Silva: 

“The best environment in the 

country.” Right, Luís Otávio Gomes: 

bolstering the chemical industry 

the quality of life offered by the 

nearby city of Maceió. “What we 

have here is a clear example of 

what happens when people, the 

environment and circumstances 

come together with a single aim, 

making the dream come true. The 

work being done here is a major 

step forward towards ensuring 

the perpetuity of this supply chain 

and guaranteeing the prosperity, 

development and diversification of 

the Alagoan economy,” observes 

Braskem Industrial Director 

Marcelo Cerqueira. 

The arrival of these downstream 

plastics manufacturers has created 

the need for more skilled 

workers in that area. To meet 

the demand, the State of Alagoas 

and FIEA have created the BRL 

3.5-million Plastics Technology 

Center (NTPLAST), with the support 

of the National Confederation 

of Industries (CNI) and SEBRAE. 

Affectionately called the Plastic 

School, the center is scheduled 

to open in August 2010 and will 

ensure that local teams obtain the 

job skills they require. 

SPIE CERTIFICATION 

Braskem’s Chlor-Alkali 

plant at the Marechal 

Deodoro complex was 

the first facility of its 

kind in Brazil to receive 

the In-House Equipment 

Inspection Service (SPIE) 

seal of approval, certified 

by Inmetro. “Our Process 

Safety culture has been 

broadened, which enabled 

us to make our facilities 

more reliable and prevent 

accidents,” explains Milton 

Pradines, the Braskem 

officer Responsible for 

Institutional Relations in 

Alagoas. He observes that 

this certification resulted 

from teamwork led by the 

Reliability Engineering area, 

involving the Operations, 

Process, Engineering, 

Maintenance, Investment 

and Health, Safety and 

Environment teams. 

odebrecht informa

28 petrochemicals 


Vital balance 

Two Braskem units are now 

producing ETBE, a fuel bioadditive 

that enables technological 

innovations and environmental gains 

written by Aline Garrido 

photo by Eduardo Moody 

Combining market needs with 

innovation and adapting industrial 

output. These are Braskem’s strategies 

for consolidating and ensuring 

the sustainable development of the 

petrochemical industry. The first 

innovation was “green plastic,” and 

the latest is the production of ETBE, 

a fuel bioadditive that reduces greenhouse 

gases. 

The official opening of the company’s 

two ETBE production units 

in Bahia resulted from a BRL 

100-million investment. It was an 

event worth celebrating on August 

17, when Braskem Entrepreneurial 

Leader (CEO) Bernardo Gradin, 

hosted Governor Jaques Wagner and 

the Mayor of Camaçari, Luiz Carlos 

Caetano, as well as clients, company

members and business leaders, 

including the Vice President of Sojitz 

in Brazil, Seiichi Hishikawa, at the 

event. “This moment symbolizes the 

realization of a very important project 

that will benefit society as a whole 

and reiterates Braskem’s commitment 

to Bahia, where the company 

has invested over BRL 2 billion since 

2002,” said Gradin. 

During the opening ceremony, 

the speakers made announcements 

about the future of the Camaçari 

Complex. Jaques Wagner also 

expressed his enthusiasm about 

the consortium formed by Braskem 

and the logistics companies 

Ultracargo and Log-In to conduct a 

feasibility study for retrofitting the 

Aratu Port Complex, a project that 

FEWER CO2 EMISSIONS 

ETBE (Ethyl Tertiary-Butyl 

Ether) is a fuel bioadditive 

obtained through the synthesis 

of ethanol and isobutene. 

The ethanol is a renewable 

raw material made from 

sugarcane. As a result, ETBE 

can be used to replace MTBE 

(Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether), 

a methanol-based additive, 

with the advantage of being 

more eco-friendly because it 

reduces CO2 emissions. 

The supply chain produces 

roughly one tonne (metric ton) 

less carbon dioxide for every 

tonne of ETBE. That means 

128,000 fewer tonnes of CO2 

per year will be released into 

the atmosphere. 

will require an estimated investment 

of BRL 400 million. 

“We are developing the Camaçari 

Complex through the use of modern, 

clean and sustainable technologies,” 

underscores Celso Ferreira, the 

Industrial Director of the ETBE Units. 

It took three years of hard work to get 

where they are today. The challenge 

was finding an alternative to producing 

MTBE that would have a minimum 

impact on the supply chain for 

basic feedstocks, in response to the 

dwindling demand for MTBE on the 

world market due to environmental 

regulations. 

“Producing ETBE was the option 

with the most value added, as well 

as being an eco-friendly alternative,” 

explains Pitiguara Moreira, who was 

in charge of the process of installing 

the plants, a team effort that involved 

300 people. The two units’ ETBE 

production capacity totals 212,000 

tonnes per year. 

Partnering up with Sojitz was an 

opportunity to serve that client and 

invest in better ecoindicators at the 

same time. Braskem signed a longterm 

contract with the Japanese 

company to supply it with 120,000 

tonnes of ETBE over the course of 

three years. Sojitz will start selling 

ETBE in 2009, and its goal is to 

increase its supply to the Japanese 

and European markets. 

It took extensive, wide-ranging 

planning to consolidate the ETBE 

project, including teaming up with 

Construtora Norberto Odebrecht 

(CNO) to adapt the plant and carry 

out construction services. The logistics 

developed made it possible for 

the original MTBE units to go offline 

at the same time for just 26 days 

so the conversion project could be 

finalized without affecting the supply 

chain. “We drew up a plan to 

locate and install connection points 

between the new facilities that were 

carried out during two maintenance 

shutdowns at the MTBE units,” says 

CNO engineer Alexandre Borba. 

The project took over 270 days 

to complete and racked up 200,000 

man-hours without a single accident. 

“We carried out this project with a 

basic commitment to Health, Safety 

and Environment. And that made it 

possible to do all the work required 

with a zero accident rate,” says operator 

Ney George Silva. “The fact that 

the Braskem and CNO teams were 

on the same page was key to achieving 

that outcome,” says Production 

Manager Murilo Amorim. 

odebrecht informa

30 sustainability 


Suzuki: persistence is the greatest virtue in the business world 

Natural choice 

Jorge Suzuki was one of the first Braskem 

clients to buy green polyethylene 

written by Luciana Moglia / photo by Mathias Cramer 

Sustainability and innovation are 

a constant presence in the life and 

career of business leader and entrepreneur 

Jorge Suzuki. The owner 

of Acinplas, a national leader in 

the manufacture of plastic containers 

for fruit and vegetables used in 

retail stores, he was one of the first 

Braskem clients to sign a contract 

for the purchase of green polyethylene, 

a plastic resin made from 

sugarcane ethanol, a renewable raw 

material. 

Acinplas’s subsidiries include Suzuki, 

Koba, Voti, Plasa and Tashiro&Takata, 

which are respectively located in 

Estância Velha, Ivoti, Dois Irmãos and 

Sapiranga (rural towns in the state of 

Rio Grande do Sul) and Uruguay. Their 

units process 12,000 tonnes per year of 

polyethylene, representing nearly 50% 

of the market for that product in Brazil. 

Waste raw materials from Acinplas’s 

units and neighboring businesses are 

used to make plastic lumber. The company 

has developed an extruder that 

can recycle wet, dirty plastic at a relatively 

low cost. This is a not-for-profit 

activity. The product is donated for the 

manufacture of items such as garbage 

cans, flower pots and park benches. 

“We want to make our process even 

cheaper to help find solutions for the 

eco-friendly disposal of plastics and 

create sources of income for the needy, 

who can turn that activity into a business,” 

says Jorge Suzuki. 

Married with two daughters, Suzuki 

is of Japanese descent. He was 

born in Uruguay in 1949, the country 

adopted by his grandparents, who 

arrived there from Japan nearly 100 

years ago to grow and sell flowers. 

When he was 19, he and a cousin 

decided to grow carnations in the 

nearby Brazilian state of Rio Grande 

do Sul, where those flowers had 

never been produced before. They 

teamed up to buy the property in 

Estância Velha where the company’s 

first factory now stands. 

A childhood friend convinced Suzuki 

to go into plastics. “It was a new activity 

back then. Flower sales financed the 

initial purchase of raw materials used 

to make fruit and vegetable packaging. 

We started out with a manual production 

technology.” 

Now 60, Suzuki has worked in the 

plastics manufacturing business for 35 

years, and sums up his greatest virtue 

in the business world in one word: 

persistence. This has been his main 

strength, enabling him to carry out a 

project that could help solve at least 

part of the problem of plastic disposal. 

The entrepreneur is convinced that the 

worldwide efforts aimed at preserving 

the environment will ensure a quality 

future for the next generations. 

“Society is concerned about this issue. 

We will achieve sustainability.”

Broadening dialog 

Braskem repositions its brand to reflect its presence 

in people’s daily lives written by Danielle Espósito 

“We are taking an important step 

toward showing how Braskem is 

present in the daily lives of thousands 

of people,” says Claudia 

Bocciardi, Braskem’s Institutional 

Marketing Manager. She is referring 

to the company’s new brand position, 

which reflects its current focus 

and the aim of broadening its dialog 

with the general public. 

This new brand position is based 

on the fact that Braskem does not 

just produce raw materials but 

works proactively to satisfy its clients 

and is constantly looking for 

solutions that will eventually become 

modern conveniences. 

This new position is reflected in 

the words “The world, people and 

Braskem” that accompany the company’s 

logo on publicity materials, 

sponsorships and events. There 

are two other variations to this 

message: “The Client, dreams and 

Braskem,” primarily used in communications 

with clients and the 

market, and “You, achievements 

and Braskem,” used exclusively for 

company members. “This kind of 

representation with different messages 

enables us to communicate 

more effectively, underscoring characteristics 

of this company that are 

important to each target audience,” 

explains Claudia. 

In September, the month when 

it marked its seventh anniversary, 

Braskem launched an ad campaign 

created by the W/Brasil agency. 

It included Braskem’s very first 

TV commercial. It will be broadcast 

nationwide until December 

on the following cable channels: 

GloboNews, BandNews, Record 

News, GNT, Sportv, Fox, National 

Geographic, CNN and Bloomberg, 

among others. Ads are also being 

published in Brazilian print magazines 

and on websites. 

Braskem’s members got a first 

look at the company’s new brand 

position. Early on the day before 

the official launch of the campaign, 

Braskem’s first commercial began 

playing on a continuous loop on TV 

sets set up in key areas at the company’s 

units. 

“This kind of 

representation 

with different 

messages enables 

us to communicate 

more effectively, 

underscoring 

characteristics 

of this company that 

are important to each 

target audience” 

[ Claudia Bocciardi ] 

brand 

31 

odebrecht informa

32 


with EDuARDO DE MELO PINTO 

All new, 

all over again 

As he marks 40 years of work at Odebrecht, 

Eduardo de Melo Pinto is experiencing yet 

another challenge in his career as the officer 

Responsible for Action Programs at Foz do Brasil 

written by Karolina Gutiez / photo by Holanda Cavalcanti

On the verge of his 40th anniversary 

of working at Odebrecht, civil engineer 

Eduardo de Melo Pinto, 61, has 

lived through every major stage in the 

Group’s history: construction projects 

in the Brazilian Northeast, major contracts 

awarded in the Southeast of the 

country, the beginning of the Group’s 

international expansion, and the consolidation 

of its presence in some 

countries, as well as the diversification 

of its Engineering & Construction 

businesses. Born in the northeastern 

state of Pernambuco, Eduardo has 

several projects in his résumé, such 

as the expansion of the Companhia 

Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) steel mill 

in Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, the 

Carajás Railway in Maranhão, and 

mining projects carried out in Angola 

during the civil war, all of which reflect 

the challenges Odebrecht has taken 

on to maintain its pace of growth. 

Back in Brazil for a bit over a year after 

nearly a decade in Angola and four 

years in Venezuela, he is now tackling 

a new challenge at the recently created 

Foz do Brasil. 

Odebrecht Informa – What 

brought you back to Brazil? What 

are your main focuses of interest 

nowadays? 

Eduardo de Melo – The prospect 

of developing something in a new 

business prompted me to return. As 

the person responsible for Foz do 

Brasil’s operations in the São Paulo 

ABC and Metropolitan regions, I 

am responsible for providing sewage 

treatment in Mauá, São Paulo, 

and engineering the production 

and supply of reused water for the 

ABC Petrochemical Complex, a 

recent contract, in partnership with 

Sabesp (Companhia de Saneamento 

Básico do Estado de São Paulo, the 

São Paulo State water and sewer 

company). 

OI – What is that project all about? 

Eduardo – Aquapolo, as it is called, 

includes treating secondary wastewater 

from the ABC Sewage Treatment 

Plant and installing a pumping plant 

and pipeline. Over BRL 120 million 

will be invested in this project. In 

this case, the effluent is treated at 

a level above that required for disposal 

into rivers. It will be the largest 

water reuse project in the Southern 

Hemisphere and one of the six largest 

in the world. 

OI – What sort of environmental 

impact will Aquapolo have? 

Eduardo – The use of potable 

water by industries is unthinkable as 

long as that natural resource is not 

available to the entire population. 

More than just starting a project, we 

are creating a market that is expanding 

very quickly, with the prospect of 

supplying clients outside the industrial 

complex. Our goal is to help put 

an end to waste and eventually purify 

the wastewater enough to make it fit 

for human consumption. It is a matter 

of time, and it won’t be long. 

OI – More than 60% of the Group’s 

members arrived less than five 

years ago and are under 35. After 

four decades of work, what message 

would you like to share with 

people who are just beginning their 

careers at Odebrecht? 

Eduardo – When I joined the 

company as a trainee, Construtora 

Norberto Odebrecht was a small 

construction company that operated 

regionally (in the North and 

The Carajás Railway, 

one of several projects 

Eduardo has helped build 

Northeast of Brazil). The principles, 

concepts and standards 

of the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial 

Technology (TEO) were already being 

applied, although they hadn’t been 

compiled in a book yet. We received 

Mr. Norberto Odebrecht’s teachings 

in the form of CIs (internal memos). 

But planned delegation has been 

practiced since that time. While 

still a student, I was responsible for 

preparing bids, which terrified me 

because of the huge responsibilities 

that were being entrusted to me. 

Later on, I realized that this concept 

is essential, because the other side 

of taking on that huge responsibility 

is total dedication to your business, 

acting as if the company was yours. 

The application of TEO is rewarding, 

and everyone should make a 

conscious choice to do so. Young 

people should make the most of 

their learning opportunities without 

losing sight of one important virtue: 

humility. 

odebrecht informa

34 social development 


Teamwork 

makes the difference 

The Rights and Citizenship Institute (IDC) marks 

five years of activity in the Southern Bahia Lowlands 

written by Vivian Barbosa / photo by Eduardo Moody 

Joana Bispo sought the IDC’s help in mediating a family conflict. 

The division of property left by her partner was agreed without taking the case 

to court. “Today I live in my own little house,” the 74-year-old retiree says proudly 

Presidente Tancredo Neves is 

a young county. Emancipated just 

20 years ago, the former district of 

Itabaína has grown along route BR-101 

and become one of the fastest developing 

areas of the Southern Bahia 

Lowlands. 

An important agent of local development, 

the Rights and Citizenship 

Institute (IDC), a Civil Society 

Organization of Public Interest (OSCIP), 

is celebrating five years of service to 

the Tancredo Neves community and 

another 15 counties in the Lowlands 

and Extreme South of Bahia. “We seek 

to strengthen social capital and disseminate 

participatory democracy, 

providing civic education and grooming 

leaders who are aware of their role in 

the construction and determination of 

public policy,” says Executive Director 

Maria Celeste Pereira. 

The Institute’s activities include 

grooming Protection Councils and 

Boards for the Rights of Children 

and Adolescents, mediating conflicts, 

The IDC’s many partners include 

the Federal Comptroller General, the 

State of Bahia, the Public Prosecutor 

of Bahia, the State Board for the 

Rights of Children and Adolescents, 

Municipal Governments in the 

Southern Bahia Lowlands and the 

Odebrecht Foundation. 

Since its inception, the IDC has 

provided over 270,000 services. 

In 2009, 11,000 people have 

benefited from the IDC’s work. By 

September, it had mediated 171 

conflicts, resolving 81% without 

going to court. 

providing legal advice, and facilitating 

access to basic civil documentation 

(such as ID cards and birth certificates) 

and land titles. For educator José 

Alves, Chairman of the Presidente 

Tancredo Neves Board for the Rights of 

Children and Adolescents, the partnership 

with the IDC goes even further. 

“We get more than just support for the 

planning and execution of social projects. 

We have also learned that, if we 

are united and persistent, we can make 

things happen.”

Corporate 

memory 

w 

Efforts to retrieve their own history are part 

of business organizations’ public and cultural commitment 

What motivates a business 

organization to invest in projects 

that retrieve their own history and 

create memory centers? There 

are many answers to that question. 

However, let us focus on 

some of the principles that should 

guide these initiatives. Such 

organizations are both economic 

and social units. Preserving their 

memory helps preserve a nation’s 

culture as well. 

A business is an integral part 

of society that forms part of a 

system that “imports” different 

kinds of energy and converts 

them into goods, products and 

services, and then “exports” 

them back to society. They 

therefore have a socioeconomic 

connection that goes beyond 

the business’s functional 

boundaries. 

Accordingly, when a company 

decides to document its history 

argument by MARGARIDA M. KROHLING KuNSCH 

in the public arena through the 

retrieval of its memory, it is also 

spotlighting its cultural commitment. 

The systemization of 

its history is a living source of 

knowledge. It is a saga with a 

narrative permeated by the subjective 

outlooks, emotions, crises, 

tensions, conflicts, achievements 

and accomplishments 

experienced by its founders and 

generations of workers. 

All these elements help 

maintain a unique culture and 

a strong institutional identity 

while laying solid foundations 

for the business’s sustainability. 

The memory centers of 

Brazilian business organizations 

are proliferating. 

Organizational Communications 

and Public Relations have 

found a fertile field of action on 

that front, which has come to 

stay and thrive. 

This subject was the focus of 

a PhD dissertation by Professor 

Paul Nassar, whom I had the 

privilege of advising, defended 

at the University of São Paulo 

School of Communications and 

Arts and published in 2007. The 

richness and scope of the work 

businesses are doing to preserve 

their memory are clear in 

the author’s field research, and 

the Odebrecht Culture Center 

has been rated as exemplary in 

his study. 

Margarida M. Krohling Kunsch 

is the Chair of the Brazilian 

Association of Organizational 

Communications and Public 

Relations Scholars, and a full 

professor and researcher at the 

University of São Paulo School of 

Communications and Arts. 

35 

odebrecht informa

36 


Emílio Odebrecht at CIEE 

The CIEE (Center for Business-School Unity) Social-Cultural Facility in São Paulo, hosted 

over 450 people who attended the lecture/debate “Looking at the Brazil of the Future: 

Prospects and Challenges” chaired on September 23 by Emílio Odebrecht, Chairman of 

the Board of Odebrecht S.A. 

Emílio Odebrecht discussed the topics covered in his Sunday column in the Brazilian newspaper 

Folha de S. Paulo: he discussed education, political reform, employment, sustainability 

and the opportunities currently available for young people on the job market. “Education is a 

competitive factor that makes the difference for our countries and companies. I take great pride 

and pleasure in seeing highly skilled and competent young people who are using new work 

tools that increase their potential for making a contribution and boost their productivity,” he said. 

Representing the CIEE at the event were Executive President Luiz Gonzaga Bertelli; 

Chairman of the Board Rui Martins Altenfelder Silva; Board Member Hermann Heinemann 

Wever and Consulting Board Member Ney Edson Prado. 

Multipurpose Terminal project 

resumes in Santos 

At a meeting in October, representatives 

of the four groups that 

control Empresa Brasileira de 

Terminais Portuários (Embraport), 

the company responsible for the 

construction of a new multipurpose 

maritime terminal in the Port of 

Santos, set the date for resuming 

construction of that facility. During 

the initial phase, by 2012 it will be 

capable of handling 1 million TEUs 

(20-foot equivalent units, a measure 

used for capacity in container 

transportation) per year and 2 million 

cu.m/year of ethanol. 

This project resulted from a 

partnership between the global maritime 

terminal operator Dubai Ports 

World (DP World), from the United 

Arab Emirates and Odebrecht 

Investimentos em Infraestrutura 

(OII) – which jointly own 5l.4% of 

Embraport – the Caixa Econômica 

Federal FI-FGTS Investment Fund 

(33.33%) and the Coimex Group 

(15.27%). 

During the ceremony held in 

Santos to mark the resumption 

of the project, the Brazilian partners 

honored Abdullah bin Zayed 

Al Nahyan, the UAE Foreign 

Relations Minister. Also present 

were Chief Minister of the Special 

Department for Ports Pedro 

Brito do Nascimento, Santos 

Mayor João Paulo Tavares Papa, 

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, CEO 

of DP World; Marcelo Odebrecht, 

President and CEO of Odebrecht 

S.A.; José Roberto Serra, President 

of Companhia Docas do 

Estado de São Paulo (Codesp); 

Benedicto Barbosa da Silva 

Júnior, Construtora Norberto 

Odebrecht (CNO) Vice President 

for Infrastructure-Brazil; Felipe 

Jens, CEO of Investimentos em 

Infraestrutura (OII); Valter Lana, 

CNO’s CEO for Southern Brazil, 

and Marcelo Jardim, Odebrecht’s 

representative on the Board of 

Embraport. 

Luiz Roberto 

Chagas 

gives talk 

Engineer Luiz Roberto Batista 

Chagas gave a presentation at the 

“Challenges and Opportunities in the 

Public Works Market” seminar held 

by the Editora Pini publishing house 

in São Paulo on October 22. 

Luiz Roberto, who has worked at 

Odebrecht for 40 years and provides 

engineering support for the Group’s 

construction projects in Brazil and 

other countries, was one of the guest 

speakers at the event, which brought 

together professionals in the fields of 

construction and architecture. 

In his talk, he discussed the main 

concepts applicable to the construction 

of major works detailed in his 

book Engenharia da Construção – 

Obras de Grande Porte (Construction 

Engineering: Major Works) published 

by Editora Pini and Construtora Norberto 

Odebrecht in 2009, which was 

one of the 10 finalists in the Exact 

Sciences, Technology and IT category 

of the Jabuti Award, Brazil’s most 

prestigious book prize. 

PHOTO: CIEE ARCHIVE

HOLANDA CAVALCANTI 

Award-winning 

graphic design 

The book Frei Vicente do Salvador’s 

História do Brazil was one of 

the winners of the 2009 Jabuti Award 

in the Graphic Design category. The 

trophy was presented on November 

4. Published in 2008, the book resulted 

from a research project by Maria 

Lêda Oliveira, the winner of the 2007 

Clarival do Prado Valladares Award, 

sponsored by the Odebrecht Group. 

The graphic designer was Karyn 

Mathuiy. 

Divided into two volumes, Maria 

Lêda Oliveira’s work reconstructs 

História do Brazil, a work written by 

Friar Vicente do Salvador between 

1626 and 1630 that became a hallmark 

of the Portuguese Empire’s 

political culture in the 17th century. 

Honorary 

Member 

of the Air Force 

José Raimundo Lima, the officer 

Responsible for the Visitor Program 

and the Odebrecht Culture Center 

at Construtora Norberto Odebrecht 

(CNO), on November 23 received the 

title of Honorary Member of the Brazilian 

Air Force. The commendation 

was presented by Major-Brigadier 

Louis Jackson Josuá Costa at a commemorative 

ceremony held at the 

Salvador Air Base. 

Combating Hepatitis C 

Rota das Bandeiras, the concession company that manages the D. Pedro I Corridor 

(a 297-km road network in São Paulo State that includes state highway SP-065) on 

September 17 launched a social responsibility program to combat hepatitis C. 

Initially, 99,000 residents of Itatiba county will have access to the program, which will 

map the incidence of the disease, transmitted through contaminated blood. It will also 

include awareness-raising lectures and conduct diagnostic tests. In addition to the general 

public, motorists who use the D. Pedro I Corridor will also benefit from the program. 

Rota das Bandeiras members will take part in these activities after undergoing a training 

program including lectures and instructions on how to test for hepatitis C infection. 

This campaign resulted from a partnership between the NGO “C Tem Que Saber C 

Tem Que Curar” and the government of Itatiba County, and will be extended to 16 more 

counties in the concession company’s sphere of operations. The aim is to reach all of 

the region's 2.5 million residents. 

OCS: Two seminars in São Paulo 

Odebrecht Administradora e Corretora 

de Seguros (OCS), the Group’s captive brokerage, 

held two seminars in September 

to discuss the group’s policy on insurance, 

finance and political risks. 

The two events took place in São Paulo. 

The first was the Second Political Risk 

Seminar (PRI), held on the 8th and 9th, 

which dealt with damage calculations and 

insurance markets. The second, Policies 

on Insurance and Finance, was held on the 

11th and 12th, and discussed the Odebrecht 

Group companies’ policies on insurance 

and financial matters. 

Marcos Lima, the Director Responsible 

for OCS, organized these events. During 

the first, the speakers were Nigel Alington, 

OCS Consultant on PRI matters, and AON 

Political Risk Director Matthew Shires, 

from Odebrecht’s partner company in the 

insurance area. At the second seminar, the 

presentations were given by Marcos Lima 

and Mário Augusto Silva, the Construtora 

Norberto Odebrecht (CNO) officer Responsible 

for Finance. 

Marcos Lima summed the events up 

this way: “This was a tremendous opportunity 

for the participants to understand how 

political risk insurance can bolster exports 

of engineering and construction services. 

And our review of policies on insurance 

and financial matters led to highly productive 

discussions.” 

Members of Odebrecht companies’ 

Financial and Legal areas also participated 

in the seminars. 

Journalism students at CNO 

Students of Journalism and Cultural Production at the Federal University at Bahia 

School of Communication (FACOM/UFBA) attended the first CNO Technical Seminar on 

Corporate Communication on October 30 and November 6. This initiative enabled the 

students to get to know Construtora Norberto Odebrecht’s Corporate Communication 

Program. In the first half of 2010, the project will be extended to other universities in 

Salvador. “Although this is not the Group’s core activity, Odebrecht is recognized as a pioneer 

in the field of Corporate Communication in Brazil. This was a wonderful opportunity 

for students to get a closer look at the work being done from day to day by an innovative 

organization that is committed to education,” says Professor Claudio Cardoso, Vice 

Director of the FACOM. 

odebrecht informa

38 


organization 

Everyone’s heritage 

Odebrecht celebrates 30 years of international operations 

with an exhibition and lecture cycle 

written by Rodrigo Vilar / photos by Beg Figueiredo 

Over 1,200 people, including college 

students, professors, partners 

and other guests participated in 

the lecture cycle titled “Odebrecht, 

30 years of Internationalization” 

held from September to November 

at the Group’s Salvador headquarters. 

Part of the Odebrecht Culture 

Center’s (NCO) program, this initiative 

aimed to share the global 

knowledge the organization has 

acquired with the local community 

and the world. 

“We hold temporary exhibitions 

at the NCO every year to spotlight 

different aspects of our history. 

In 2009, we decided to open our 

doors to celebrate three decades of 

international growth with an exhibition 

and lecture cycle,” explains 

José Raimundo Lima, the officer 

Responsible for the NCO. 

The speakers included Group 

members who have played a 

significant role in Odebrecht’s 

international operations: Renato 

Baiardi, a Member of the Board 

of Odebrecht S.A; Genésio Couto, 

Responsible for People and 

Organization for the Executive Vice 

President of Construtora Norberto 

Odebrecht (CNO) for Latin America 

and Angola; Roberto Ramos,

Vice President of Braskem’s 

International Business Unit; 

Márcio Polidoro, Responsible 

for Corporate Communication at 

CNO; Felipe Cruz, Responsible 

for Sustainability at CNO; and 

Renato Martins, Responsible for 

Opportunities Development and 

Representation at Odebrecht S.A. 

“For Braskem, consolidating a 

robust presence in the domestic 

market was essential. It provided 

a springboard for the company 

to enter the foreign market. We 

did our homework in Brazil, and 

now we are setting off for other 

countries,” said Roberto Ramos, 

summing up the petrochemical 

company’s trajectory. 

Genésio Couto, who teamed 

up with psychologist Andréa 

Fuks to give a joint presentation, 

listed some of the curious 

situations expats have had 

and stressed the development 

opportunities provided by international 

experience. He underscored 

these words by Emílio 

Odebrecht: “Moving in the direction 

of other countries has given 

us an extraordinary capability to 

increase people’s expertise, and 

consequently, that of the Group.” 

All the speakers imparted a 

common message: the Group 

always seeks to be a local company, 

wherever it is present. The 

key is “being open to the new 

and unfamiliar, and allowing 

ourselves to be influenced by the 

culture,” said Renato Baiardi. 

*TO VISIT THE “30 YEARS OF 

INTERNATIONALIzATION” 

EXHIBIT ONLINE, LOG ONTO 

www.culturaodebrecht.com.br 

and click on “Exhibition Areas.” 

“We must be open to the new and allow ourselves to be influenced 

by the culture" [ Renato Baiardi ] 

Above, psychologist Andréa Fuks, lower photo, Genésio Couto, giving their presentations: 

challenges and opportunities of international experience 

odebrecht informa


1 

2 

3 

5 6 

4 

1.Roberto Campos, 2.Benedito Luz, 3.Nilo Pedreira, 4.Gilberto Silva, 5.Ezequiel Bittencourt, 6.Piero Marianetti, 7.Emilton Rosa, 

8.Walter Caymmi, 9.Herbert Stelter, 10.Norberto Odebrecht, 11.Manoel Rodrigues, 12.Renato Visco, 13.Antonio Osório, 14.José 

Bonifácio, 15.Nelson Peixoto, 16.Fernando Balallai Alves, 17.Angelo Calmon de Sá, 18.Otto Schaeppi, 19.Alfredo Nascimento, 20. 

Hélio Fontes, 21.Francisco Valadares. Odebrecht members in a 1960 photo: confidence in people is the basis and origin of every 

step taken over the course of the Group’s 65-year history 

Odebrecht, 65 years 

In 2009, while marking 30 

years of international operations, 

Odebrecht is also celebrating 

65 years of existence. 

Norberto Odebrecht created 

his individually owned firm in 

1944. The following year, he 

founded Norberto Odebrecht 

Construtora, which changed its 

name to Construtora Norberto 

Odebrecht in 1954. 

Today, the Odebrecht 

Group has over 100,000 professionals 

in its ranks in 

18 countries on four continents, 

working in the areas of 

Engineering & Construction, 

Chemicals & Petrochemicals, 

Ethanol & Sugar, Oil & Gas, 

Environmental Engineering, 

Real-Estate Developments and 

Infrastructure Investments. The 

basis, touchstone and inspiration 

for the work of all its teams 

is the Odebrecht Entrepreneurial 

Technology (TEO), as they contribute 

to the social, economic, 

environmental and cultural 

development of the countries 

where they are present. 

7 

8 

10 

9 

Rio de Janeiro 

International 

Airport: project 

symbolizes 

the Group’s 

national 

expansion phase 

11 12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

Florida 

International 

University 

Stadium 

in Miami: 

firmly established 

presence in the 

United States 

Propriá-Colégio 

road/rail bridge 

in Sergipe, 

Brazil: 

challenging 

project built 

in the 60s

Begun 30 years ago, Odebrecht’s 

history in the Chemicals & Petrochemicals sector 

marked its first milestone when the Group acquired 

one-third of the voting stock of Companhia Petroquímica 

Camaçari (CPC). With the decisive participation 

of Odebrecht, during those three decades Brazil 

became the home of three petrochemical complexes 

equipped with cutting-edge technology and endowed 

with excellence in R&D, as well as the biggest 

petrochemical company in South America. 

ODEBRECHT ARCHIVE

PROGRAM TO COMBAT AIDS 

Created by Odebrecht in Angola took volunteers out into the streets of Luanda 

and rural towns and cities with the mission of distributing posters, condoms and 

hope. Over time, other initiatives have emerged in the context of this pioneering 

endeavor. One of them is the Safe Birth Program, which trains traditional Angolan 

midwives. Esther Arlindo (photo) performed her first delivery when she was 16 in 

1973, as her grandmother’s assistant. Seven years later, she started working on 

her own. Today, in addition to her traditional knowledge, she also uses scientific 

information. And she feels more confident. 

PHOTO: LuCIANO ANDRADE

145 nov/dec 2009 - Odebrecht Informa

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