Company that gave birth to Novonor turns 80 with a history of of emblematic works and training people

Operating in 38 countries on four continents, with more than 3,000 projects carried out by the talent and dedication of an incalculable number of men and women, OEC has left its mark through engineering

Past and present, side by side, with an eye on the future. This is the tone in which OEC – Odebrecht Engenharia e Construção, Brazil’s largest heavy construction company and the originator of the Novonor investment holding, is celebrating its 80th anniversary in 2024. With the motto “80 years, a story of people and engineering”, the concept was created to highlight the engineering challenges overcome with the support of the work force of hundreds of thousands of members who, over these eight decades, have dedicated themselves to carrying out relevant works for society, forged in the principles and values of the corporate culture systematized by the founder, engineer Norberto Odebrecht.

Since its creation in 1944, OEC has sought to deliver innovative projects of recognized quality, capable of having a positive impact on the lives of the communities that benefit from them. In all, the company has completed more than 3,000 projects, including hydroelectric, thermal and nuclear power plants, highways, ports, airports, subways, railroads, bridges, sports arenas, petrochemical plants and refineries, among others, in 38 countries. From the first project, a small bridge in Itacaré, in the south of Bahia, to the Vasco da Gama Bridge in Portugal – the longest in the European Union – to Miami International Airport, one of the busiest in the United States, and the Laúca hydroelectric plant in Angola, a project recently delivered by the construction company, technical excellence has always been an asset praised by clients and partners who have joined it on this journey.

Norberto Odebrecht’s renowned experience in highly complex construction projects was built on the solid pillars he established and spread. A spirit of service, trust in human beings, decentralization, planned delegation, partnership and sharing of results were concepts introduced by the founder and which have shaped the philosophy currently replicated by the more than 15,000 members spread across 14 countries, five of which have works in progress.

“OEC’s mission is to serve the client with agility and efficiency, delivering customized solutions in a sustainable and innovative way. In addition, we are proud to connect deeply with the communities in which we operate because caring for people is part of our DNA. We are a local company wherever we operate. This includes hiring our workforce and partners, as well as the respect we nurture and encourage for the culture of each region,” says Héctor Núñez, Chairman of the Board of OEC.

Maurício Cruz, CEO, who began his career at the construction company as a trainee, emphasizes the role of people in what the company is today. “Our sense of belonging and the trust placed in us to comply with our PAs [Action Programs – a plan with actions and targets aligned annually between leaders and subordinates] gives us a sense that each attitude matters to the whole, that each person’s role is fundamental if we are to achieve the goals we have set. Today we are able to look ahead and see a promising future, certainly with a lot of austerity, but one that excites us because we know that we have solidified the respect and recognition of those we set out to serve, who are our customers,” he says.

It is this recognition of the excellence of OEC’s deliveries that has led the company to have 20 of its projects awarded the Global Best Projects prize, awarded by the American magazine ENR – Engineering News-Record, considered the most important distinction in world engineering, as well as other relevant awards offered by entities such as Skytrax, O Empreiteiro, Cemex, among others.

ESG – OEC’s Sustainability, Integrity, People and Diversity and Inclusion policies define the references, commitments, roles and responsibilities that guide the company’s ESG practices and the delivery of timely and positive results. The company adopts measures that ensure the protection of life and physical integrity, well-being and the rights of all people, while at the same time committing itself to preserving the environment, acting proactively in the face of climate change.

In this sense, OEC’s contribution to achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the quality and accuracy of its Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory stand out, having been awarded the “Gold Seal” of the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program for 11 consecutive years. The recognition is also reflected in the ISO 9001 (Quality Management), 14001 (Environmental Management) and 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety Management) standards, which make consistent contributions to the evolution and strengthening of the markets in which the company operates.

People, the source of the strength and capacity to deliver that give the company its identity, are both the means and the object of attention in programs dedicated to the engagement, awareness, training, development and well-being of its members. Reinforcing its commitment to social responsibility, OEC’s training programs have already educated thousands of people in Brazil and other countries. The former Acreditar Program, for continuing professional qualification, enabled around 100,000 people to be trained in 13 countries.

OEC Educação, which succeeded Acreditar in this new phase of the company, was set up on the company’s construction sites to reduce the literacy challenges faced by its employees and is expected to train 108 workers in Brazil and more than 470 in Angola, Africa, in the short term. In addition to these initiatives, there is also the OEC Job training program for future leaders and the Internship Program, which recruits students from all over the country to put into practice what they learn at university.

Integrity – In line with the best corporate practices, OEC and the Novonor Group, the investment holding company that controls the construction company, have promoted an in-depth governance reform in recent years. The investment in the new Integrity structure has resulted in practical actions, such as the creation of ethics channels, the development of risk analyses in all phases of projects, the revision of the Code of Conduct, the creation or revision of Integrity policies and guidelines, frequent communication and training actions and the reinforcement of independent governance measures, such as the creation of Integrity and Audit Committees, independent functions in both areas and the participation of independent members on the Boards of Directors, for example.

The changes implemented and the Integrity Program have been endorsed by national and international bodies, such as the US Department of Justice (DoJ), the World Bank, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Office of the Comptroller General. Since 2021, the OEC has been certified with ISO 37001, which certifies anti-bribery and integrity practices at an international level. In 2022, it received the Infra+ Integrity seal, offered by the Ministry of Infrastructure, and in 2023, it obtained the Pro-Ethics Seal, an initiative of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) and the Ethos Institute aimed at promoting a more ethical, honest and transparent corporate environment.

Background – At the age of 23, Norberto Odebrecht founded the construction company and began to carry out a series of projects in Salvador and the interior of the state. The first move towards expansion led to the opening of an office in Recife, but it was the arrival in Rio de Janeiro in 1969 that established OEC on a new level. Accredited for carrying out important projects, including the Petrobras headquarters building, Galeão Airport, the campus of the Guanabara State University (now UERJ) and the Angra dos Reis Nuclear Power Plant, OEC became a nationwide company and laid the foundations for its internationalization and business diversification.

In 1979, the construction company’s first international team landed in Peru to build the Charcani V Hydroelectric Power Plant. Next came Chile and then Angola, with the largest hydroelectric power plant on the African continent, Capanda. In less than five years, OEC was already in Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia, Bolivia and the United States, where it became the first Brazilian company to carry out a public project. Then it was time to move on to Central America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and expand its presence in Africa, reaching Ghana, Libya, Mozambique and other nations.

Over the last eight decades, OEC has used technology and innovation to overcome challenges that were considered insurmountable. One of these was the Olmos Project, which brings water from the Amazon Basin to one of Peru’s most desert regions, with a tunnel two kilometers deep under the imposing Andes Mountains, one of the most geologically unstable regions on the planet.

The ability to create solutions is also being used at the moment in the construction of the Barra do Dande Ocean Terminal in Angola, which required a complex logistical operation to transport giant pressure vessels produced in China to the African country, reducing the project’s delivery time by six months. In the last five years alone, the company has won more than R$20 billion in new contracts.

Social action – In 1965, the Norberto Odebrecht Foundation was created, a private non-profit institution whose purpose is to contribute to the fight against poverty and inequality, with a view to building a more responsible, harmonious and supportive society with equal opportunities for all. With 20 years of an evaluated social program with proven impacts, initially implemented by Norberto Odebrecht in the Southern Bahia Lowlands and expanded in recent years to the mountainous region of Macaé (RJ), the Foundation has already impacted more than 650,000 people.