New Brand Odebrecht Engineering & Construction

Created in 1944 as Construtora Norberto Odebrecht (CNO), the Novonor Group’s main company is going through a new brand update, consolidating a cycle of transformation in its 80-year history. As of May 2, the company’s visual identity will be renewed, following the company’s recent approval of its financial restructuring plan. The acronym “OEC”, which until then had been central to the logo, will be replaced by the name ‘Odebrecht’, while retaining the descriptor “Engineering & Construction”, which indicates its segment of activity. Novonor, the investment holding company which, in addition to the construction company, controls companies in the real estate, concessions and petrochemical sectors, maintains its current name and brand.

With more than 30 active contracts in its portfolio, Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção is the largest heavy construction company in the country, according to the most recent ranking published by the specialized magazine O Empreiteiro. The company employs more than 18,000 people in construction sites and offices throughout Brazil, Peru, Angola and the United States. In the last five years alone, it has delivered more than 36 projects in seven countries – Brazil, the United States, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Angola and Ghana – totaling more than US$ 16 billion in investments from public and private clients.

The name Odebrecht has always been present in the construction company’s brands, including the last piece launched in 2019. In the new identity, it returns more prominently to the center of the logo. The graphic symbol has also been redesigned: out goes the square with arched and overlapping sides and in comes the letter “O” centered on three segments of curved lines, slightly spaced apart, keeping the colors blue, light green and dark green. The proposal conveys the concept of continuous movement and refers to the tripod “Survive, Grow and Perpetuate”. This triad gives its name to the main collection of books written by the company’s founder, Norberto Odebrecht, which systematizes a set of principles, concepts and values that form the basis of the company’s corporate culture.

Keeping the colors in the graphic symbol favors an organic transition in its application on construction sites and in offices. The restyling, on the other hand, recalls its origins, while at the same time launching into the future, at a time when the infrastructure market is reheating.

According to Rodrigo Vilar, Communications and Marketing Director, the brand’s renewal is presented in a context of natural evolution following important moves implemented by the company in recent years. “The change comes to highlight a new moment, after a defining cycle of structuring actions and project deliveries that have repositioned the company in the market, maintaining it as a leader and benchmark in its sector,” he says.

A company made up of people

The triads are part of the company’s internal culture. In addition to “Survive, Grow and Perpetuate”, one of the teachings addresses “discipline, which generates respect and consolidates trust”. It talks about the relationship between knowledgeable people who unite around common goals. It promotes the coexistence of at least three generations, with the transfer of knowledge between the most experienced and the youngest, building on the lessons of the past to shape the future.

The new brand was born inspired by these concepts and values, and also symbolizes the return of the Novonor Group’s focus to engineering and construction, where it all began. “Its design was inspired by the symbol used when the company was founded and which has accompanied it for decades,” adds Vilar.

About Odebrecht Engineering & Construction

With 80 years of history, Odebrecht Engineering & Construction is responsible for carrying out more than 3,000 construction projects in 38 countries around the world, such as power plants, subways, railroads, bridges, airports and refineries. On 22 occasions it has been awarded with the Global Best Projects conceeded by the American magazine ENR – Engineering News-Record, which is considered the most important distinction in world engineering.

Since 2021, it has been ISO 37001 certified, which attests to 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 that aims to promote a more ethical, honest and transparent corporate environment.

Odebrecht Engenharia & Construção currently employs around 18,000 people of different nationalities on more than 30 construction projects throughout the Americas and Africa, including the Rodoanel Norte in São Paulo, the Guaratuba Bridge and PR-092 in Paraná; BR-386 (ViaSul), in Rio Grande do Sul; the Marapicu Reservoir and the Campo Grande Road Link, in Rio de Janeiro; the Lobito and Cabinda refineries, both in Angola; as well as interventions at the port and airport of Miami, in the United States, among other projects.

Check out the brand’s manifesto video by clicking on the link: It’s not about straight lines, it’s about cycles. And some milestones come to reaffirm the best we have to offer. Today, Odebrecht Engineering & Construction presents…