The Eternit way of building
Strategy and investments
Eternit’s sustainable growth strategy is centered on expanding and diversifying its businesses through organic, diversified organic and inorganic growth. Now, the Company is working to consolidate the investments it has made in recent years that are essential for ensuring the achievement of its long-term goals, such as the creation of the companies Companhia Sulamericana de Cerâmica (CSC) and Eternit da Amazônia. These investments are in various phases of their development cycle and are experiencing adjustments and advances in areas such as breaking down entry barriers in the case of bathroom chinaware, and adjusting capacity and demand to leverage competitiveness.
EXPANSION & DIVERSIFICATION STRUCTURED PLAN
| Organic growth | Diversified organic growth | Inorganic growth |
|---|---|---|
| Expanding the current capacity of operating segments |
Diversifying the portfolio by developing and launching new products and entering new business segments, using own infrastructure or the idle capacity of third parties | Acquisition of companies in the construction materials industry |
The Company has also been striving to attain excellence in its efficiency and productivity indicators, especially in its industrial operations. In 2015, the continuous improvement corporate program identified more than 40 projects, as mentioned in the section “Innovation.” Proving fundamental to this effort were the investments made in the programs to train and qualify leaders, such as GoLeader, which disseminated the Group’s strategic goals throughout the entire organization to reach even the purely operational teams.
Eternit’s greatest strength is its brand, but its growth is supported by the strategic location of its plants, which imparts greater efficiency in its logistics operations, and by its broad distribution channel, which makes Eternit products available at 15,000 points of sale. In 2015, the commercial team worked very hard to maintain a qualified base of distributors to ensure highly disperse and nationwide coverage. Deliveries, including to small stores, are made on average within 72 hours (after issue of invoice), which represents a significant competitive advantage.
Competitive intelligence tools also play an important role in the Company’s agility, since they use geographic data and analyze it together with information on product demand and market trends to ensure the right product is available in the right amount. Other data is also evaluated, such as market monitoring, GDP, social and demographic growth, consumption potential, market profile and other indicators.
Since quality is one of the Company’s key values — and given that it must permeate all processes — Eternit implemented management processes in its production chain and constantly works to develop and expand processes to ensure efficient management and continuous improvement.
Eternit Plant in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)