Beyond the horizon

Due to the decreasing demand of construction, companies from the concrete industry are reinventing themselves with new technologies and specialized services, in addition to invest in the external market

Enlarging exportation, betting in new technologies and diversifying working niches are some of the strategies used by the companies that work in the national chain of concrete that—as occurs in other areas directly connected with the construction industry—was severely affected by the economic crisis.

And in fact the reduction was not small. According to the Estudo do Mercado Brasileiro de Equipamentos para Construção (Study of the Brazilian Market of Construction Equipment) issued each year by Sobratema, the volume of machine sales in 2013 (the peak of concrete and construction industry) was of 72,000 unities. In 2016, this figure was severely reduced to 14,000 machines, a historic reduction of 81 percent. “To point out this specific moment in the sales of equipment for concrete, approximately 2,000 mixers were sold in the country in 2013. In 2016, sales reached only 300 units”, says Silvio Amorim, CEO from Schwing-Stetter.

STRATEGIES

To pass through a so delicate moment, the companies of the industry are also being forced to restructure themselves, providing investments for recomposing resources, training professionals and improving logistics, for example, in a way to optimize their answers to the growing demand of equipment users in a scenario of continued commercial shortage.

In the meantime, the areas of aftersales and exportation became the niches mostly explored by the companies even as a way of survival. Exportation of equipment, especially for South America passed to be the main focus of operation in many companies. “When the crisis hit Brazil, a quick movement of our headquarters in Germany was carried out to make the country responsible by the exportations to South America”, confirms Amorim. “Currently, 70 percent of the sales from Schwing-Stetter Brasil are directed to this region, and only 30 percent to the internal market.”

The strategy developed by Putzmeister Brasil also bets in the Latin-American continent. According to Thiago de Paula, commercial manager of the company, countries such as Argentina, for example, bought “much more” machines than Brazil in the first half of 2017. “For the next year, we intend to reserve for exportation 100 more machines of the towed line. We are also waiting for an increase in the external demand for equipment with boom”, completes the executive.

In addition to this focus in the external market, other movements are being carried out by the companies. For example, the RCO Group is investing in a repositioning, with a path marked by the recent acquisition of Siti—manufacturer of concrete mixers and tower cranes—to concentrate all operations in a single brand.

With this acquisition, RCO binds Siti as a company of the Group and starts to offer a complete solution for each project, involving from load lifting with tower cranes to concrete production and transport to the work fronts. “This platform of solutions may now be duly worked in the Latin-American market, where both companies were working separately”, says Carlos Donizetti de Oliveira, director from the RCO Group.

In fact, as pointed by Alexandre Zaccara, director of business development from the RCO Group for Latin America, the purpose is not just to strengthen its presence in Brazil but also to enlarge its participation in the Latin-American market. This shows how foreign trade became the real “lifeline” for the local industry. “The group is focusing its operations in the area of concrete in countries such as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay, in addition to Argentina”, says him.