Odebrecht

Global presence, local touchKeith Regan finds out how melding big-company resources with a small-company approach has paved the way for OdebrechtÔÇÖs growth in Florida and beyond. Odebrecht is one of Latin AmericaÔÇÖs most formidable construction companies, with a significant presence around the world. The companyÔÇÖs US division is based in Coral Gables, Florida, and has become a fixture in helping to build out the infrastructure of southern Florida over the past two decades.   Odebrecht and joint venture partner Parsons are now the main contractors on Miami International AirportÔÇÖs $2.7 billion North Terminal Development project, a sprawling 3.2-million-square-foot, 51-gate terminal designed to expand and modernize the airport, a project that Parsons-Odebrecht expects will have as many as 100 subcontractors and 1,500 workers on it during its peak construction period between now and 2011. Other examples of┬á OdebrechtÔÇÖs work abound in southern Florida, including the about-to-open football stadium on the campus of Florida International University, American Airlines ArenaÔÇöhome to the NBAÔÇÖs Miami HeatÔÇöand the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, as well as extensive road, bridge and mass transit work. In its early days in the US, Odebrecht operated a California office and during that time became a contractor for the US Army Corps of Engineers. That connection to the Corps has led to other opportunities that included the efforts to rebuild infrastructure in Iraq and Kuwait and work now under way in New Orleans to build the Hurricane Storm Damage Risk Reduction System (HSDRRS). Odebrecht has won contracts to construct two sections of what will eventually be some 350 miles of levees and hurricane barriers around New Orleans and surrounding parishesÔÇöall meant to provide the city with protection against another storm on the scale of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Odebrecht is constructing earthen levees in Jefferson Parish, along the west bank of the Mississippi River and in St. Bernard Parish, where damage and flooding from Katrina was extensive. Government plans call for work on the levees to continue until at least 2011, and Odebrecht hopes to be in position to capture more work in the area. In fact, becoming a favorite contractor for clients is a key part of OdebrechtÔÇÖs growth strategy, according to CEO Gilberto Neves, who says Odebrecht sets itself apart by becoming a local player in its markets. ÔÇ£As a contractor, I donÔÇÖt necessarily consider us better than any other firm, but I do consider us different in the way we go about developing relationships,ÔÇØ Neves says. Through relationships with subcontractors, employees and clients, Odebrecht essentially becomes a local company that knows which contractors can be relied upon to produce high-quality work on time and on budget. When Odebrecht first arrived in New Orleans to take on the Corps of Engineers work, it began by reconstructing a breached section of the London canal wall project, which was part of the emergency work after hurricane Katrina.Project executive Dimas Salvia, who is overseeing the Louisiana work, notes, ÔÇ£Our entrance in the Louisiana market at the time could have been perceived to be the 800-pound gorilla arriving from out of town, but instead we set out to work cooperatively with the local firms and to bring them into the fold on our parts of the project,ÔÇØ he says. As a result, Odebrecht helps the Corps not only with its expertise and experience on similar large projects but also through its management of other contractors. ÔÇ£You cannot come into a city like this and think you know everything. It has to come little by little, as you show you have the resources and the expertise but are also willing to listen and learn from the local companies and work alongside them in cooperation with them.ÔÇØTruly acting locally means giving people on the ground the ability to make even the toughest decisions, says Neves, which is why Odebrecht favors a decentralized structure that gives authority to project managers. ÔÇ£With another company of our size, a client might have to wait for a decision to work its way up and down from corporate headquarters. But we know people canÔÇÖt wait for that, so we give the power to make decisions to the project managers. It can save a lot of time and eliminates any doubt about who is in command of a project.ÔÇØOdebrecht also promotes heavily from within as a way of ensuring that its culture is retained. Neves himself has been with the company for 26 years, and Salvia has been with it for 12 years since graduating from college, learning through work in different places and countries the Odebrecht way of handling projects. ÔÇ£Other firms can go into the market and hire someone to come in and assume that project manager role, but it takes too much time for someone to learn how we do things and to learn that culture,ÔÇØ Neves says. ÔÇ£We feel much more comfortable promoting to that position from within.ÔÇØOdebrecht has showed its local commitment to the New Orleans community in other ways. For instance, it has joined in the Coastal Builders Coalition, a group of contractors, designers and others pushing for congressional support for the reconstruction of eroded coastlines that will then act as the first line of defense against hurricane and floods. It has also gotten involved in the cityÔÇÖs childrenÔÇÖs museumÔÇÖs efforts to create educational campaigns on the levee work and why itÔÇÖs important for the cityÔÇÖs long-term security. Going forward, Neves sees extensive opportunities for additional work in the Miami region of southern Florida. The new football stadium project at Florida International University is the start of a major campus expansion that Odebrecht hopes to have a major role in helping to realize. Odebrecht also hopes to be involved in infrastructure projects being funded through a tax levy in Miami-Dade counties, including as much as $2.4 billion worth of extensions and expansion of the public transportation system. The Florida Department of Transportation will also likely be a major client going forward. Odebrecht was among the firms qualified to build a billion-dollar tunnel under Biscayne Bay that was never actually funded and completed. ÔÇ£We have a good relationship and good reputation with the DOT,ÔÇØ he says, ÔÇ£so weÔÇÖre looking at future opportunities there as well. We think there are plenty of very good opportunities out there for us to go after in the coming years.ÔÇØ