Who we are

Promon Engenharia is a
subsidiary of Promon S/A

History

1960 – 2021...

Our history is a story of people, ideas and accomplishments

An (un)common company

The story begins in December 1960, when a group of young professionals gets together to found Promon Engenharia, a company resulting from the alliance between the North American company Procon and the Brazilian operation Montreal Montagem e Representação Industrial. Together they had won an international tender to develop the design for four new units in the Petrobras Presidente Bernardes Refinery. It was the first project of this type in Brazil.

In the following years, the young company managed to expand its area of activity to the electrical energy, mining and metals markets.

The turbulent political and economic conjuncture in the country at the time led Procon to wind up its businesses in Brazil. This presented the opportunity for a group of twelve company employees to acquire the Americans’ share in the operation. This was in 1966. Later, in 1970, this same group bought out Montreal, becoming the outright owners of Promon. At this time, in a grand gesture, they invited the remaining employees to also become shareholders of a new Promon. This was the birth of a peculiar ownership model, that prevails until today.

Its leaders established profit not as a basic objective, but rather a means of promoting the company’s development. Modern concepts of management, excellence and sustainability, which were only to come to the fore in the 21st century, were incorporated from the beginning. The organization was recognized as the “expression of the value of its people” (read about the Campos do Jordão Charter, a document written in 1970). This resulted in the construction of the pillars of the culture of an original company, whose owners were not a group of businessmen, but the people who actually worked in it. This led our company to follow quite an unusual path.

Time to grow

The boom in Brazilian infrastructure investments in the 1970s provided opportunities for accelerated growth. We were involved in landmark projects, such as the Itaipu and Marimbondo hydroelectric plants, the Angra dos Reis nuclear power plants, as well as telecommunications systems. We took on our first projects overseas, marked by the implantation of the Nigerian National Telecommunications Plan. We assumed the technological challenge of implanting one of the first direct current transmission lines in the world, to bring power from Itaipu to the southeast region of the country, the first major turnkey contract involving global responsibility.

The economic crises and the exhaustion of the country’s investment capacity in the 1980s generated turbulence in the Brazilian engineering sector. For us, it was a time for profound reinvention: we started working more consistently in the Telecommunications sector and expanded our activities to segments such as Special Constructions. Worthy of note were the plans for the subways in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Lisbon and Caracas, and those undertaken for the works executed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer during that decade.

We created a company to work on the geophysical prospection of oil and minerals. We adopted a stronger positioning not only as a designer of engineering projects, but also as a manager and integrator of complete solutions. In telecommunications, we dived headfirst into the project to develop a Brazilian digital switching technology, which led to the incorporation of Trópico, a company dedicated to this segment.

We also started to cultivate a more entrepreneurial facet, initially in the real estate development market, with the construction of the Condomínio São Luiz in São Paulo, which is where the company’s head office is located until today, as well as the Shopping Galleria mall in Campinas.

photos: Promon archives

Life in a network

The boom in the Telecommunications sector in the 1990s, in a conjuncture characterized by the acceleration of global growth cycles and the opening up of the Brazilian economy, enabled us to maintain our intense activity as integrators in the implantation of networks.

Based on the establishment of alliances with leading international technology companies, we supplied the second generation of Brazilian communication satellites and solutions for connecting the branches of some of the main Brazilian banks. We built offerings of packet switching systems and participated in the implantation of the newborn cellular telephony market.

From 1992, we had a significant shareholding in ACT Networks, a North American developer and manufacturer of data and voice communication systems. Investment in the company and our effective engagement in its management guaranteed the success of its IPO (initial public offering) on the Nasdaq index in 1995. We developed advanced solutions associated with the emerging internet universe, an area that was to transform society.

The beacon of excellence

At the turn of the century, stimulated by the emergence of a new business world and opportunities arising from the major technological transformations underway and the nascent pursuit of more sustainable paths for society, we once again sought renewal.

We focused Promon Engenharia’s businesses on the more strategic sectors related to infrastructure requirements in Brazil. We saw the transformation of Promon Tecnologia, hitherto responsible for the organization’s telecommunications businesses, into PromonLogicalis, which was to become the largest independent integrator of Information and Communication Technology Solutions in Latin America.

Our entrepreneurial activities were extended to sectors related to our main businesses. We implanted the thermoelectric plant Bahia I and created Netstream, a pioneering operator in the corporate data communication market, later sold to the American company AT&T.

You can read more about our history in the book "Para chegares ao que não sabes", written by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão.

photo: Promon archives

All these decades of activity – with their successes, challenges and accomplishments – have made us a better, more mature and more experienced company. And they have eternalized the source of our youth: the questioning vision of the future, the energy to explore new frontiers, the challenge of always pursuing innovation and renovation. The ingredients of these initial decades will continue to be valuable as we write the coming chapters of our history.

Culture

Promon is a community of professionals based on knowledge

Some of the elements of the organizational culture that underpins Promon’s activities are an implacable respect for ethical business conduct, the provision of services of the highest quality, the goal of professional and personal fulfillment for its people and active participation in the process of the social, economic and natural development of the ecosystem in which we operate.

Moreover, there are some other elements that define the company’s organizational culture in an extremely particular manner. These differentiating attributes are the models of ownership and governance adopted by the company which combine with the internal relationship model based on the formation of a community of professionals.

These models were inspired by the “Charter of Campos do Jordão”, written in 1970 and whose text remains alive today, given that its spirit has been maintained throughout all the transformations that the organization has undergone.

A fundamental element of the doctrine, forged during the course of all these years of work, “Beliefs, Reason for being and values” captures and formally expresses the spirit that has always been manifest in company practices, decisions and positions.

Beliefs

A company is a live system, an integral part of the social, economic and natural ecosystem with which it interacts, upon which it depends and for which it is co-responsible.

Knowledge will be an instrument for the fulfillment of individuals and of society if it is shared and used in a conscious manner.

photo: Promon archives

Reason for Being

Values

Promon is a community of professionals, structured based on knowledge, identified by its capacity to innovate which, adopting the pursuit of excellence as a guiding concept, wants to:

Do business and provide infrastructure solutions that add value for its clients and other stakeholders.

Enable the professional and personal fulfillment of its professionals.

Be an active agent in the development of society and the preservation of the environment.

Community means having things in common, shared understandings that transcend the parts in which the company is divided. Community implies the willingness to observe principles and rules, but also implies voluntary collaboration, much richer and far less programmed. Collaboration is not altruism. It arises when people share a cause, feel that they are part of a common destiny. A community may be described, it may be mapped in formal terms, but it also has an emotional meaning, a feeling of connection, of union. Communities have a body, but they also have a soul.

Integrity − To be fully, completely dedicated. To behave ethically, consistently and professionally.

Respect − To take into account the other person’s motivation, to understand all the viewpoints involved. To listen to opinions, to build consensus.

Confidence − To consider oneself capable, to understand one’s potential and limitations, to strive to improve constantly. To believe in oneself and in others, to contribute to the group.

Dignity − To have self-respect and self-love. To command respect, built on authority arising from knowledge and experience.

Equality – To perceive oneself as part of a whole, to recognize each one’s contribution. To combat any kind of discrimination, including prejudice based on race, creed, gender and sexual option.

Justice − To offer each person what they are entitled to, to understand the impacts of a decision. To adopt positions with wisdom, courage and generosity.

Independence − To use knowledge to always offer the best solution, to act impartially. To be capable of deciding one’s own destiny.

Good humor – To have the capacity to see things and take them lightly, to be creative. To find meaning and satisfaction in the things one does.

We believe that the concept of excellence is incorporated into various dimensions of the life of our company. It is manifest in our commitment to the quality of the solutions we conceive and the services we provide, in the selection of our people and in our concern for their quality of life, in the constant pursuit of the highest technical standards and in the type of relationship we form with our clients, partners, suppliers and other stakeholders.

Quality

The pursuit of excellence, a guiding principle for Promon, is an active foundation of the company’s history and the driver of its Quality Policy.

As a company that provides complete solutions for the entire life cycle of a project, we have as permanent objectives:

To supply products and services that ensure complete client satisfaction;
To maintain highly professional, ethical relations based on trust with clients, associates and suppliers;
To enable the professional and personal fulfillment of employees;
To contribute to the development of the societies in which the company operates.

Consistently maintaining important differentiating attributes over time: working closely with clients, commitment to adding value to their projects and businesses, high quality in the company’s deliveries and the rigorous observation of deadlines are elements that ensure the company maintains its high levels of client satisfaction.

In 2021s (01/04/2020 a 31/03/2021), median overall client satisfaction scored 86 on a scale of 100 points, and the NPI (Net Promoter Index), which indicated client loyalty to the brand and willingness to recommend it to others, was 66, with no clients demonstrating dissatisfaction with Promon’s performance.

Overall Client Satisfaction

Net Promoter Index

Safety, Environment, Health [SEH]

Considering the nature and the scale of occupational health and safety risks and environmental impacts inherent to the provision of consulting, engineering and management services and integrated solutions, Promon adopts a policy to guarantee occupational health and safety and environmental protection (SEH):

to act preventively, planning and using risk assessment and mitigation practices;
to ensure adequate SEH standards for the work force in the projects in which it is engaged;
to comply with SEH legislation and other legal and contractual requirements applicable to its activities;
to continuously improve its SEH performance, seeking to protect the environment, to minimize adverse impacts, to reduce risks and to prevent pollution;

to educate, train, raise the awareness and place value on the good performance of its employees, suppliers and partners in SEH.

The SEH Management System was established in compliance with the requirements of the ISO 14001 and OHSAS ISO45001 standards; it is also compliant with legal, regulatory and statutory requirements, as well as stakeholder specifications.

The company’s performance in SEH is maintained at levels that make Promon Engenharia a Brazilian and international benchmark: : in 2021, the rate of work leave due to accidents of professionals working for Promon Engenharia or its contractors was zero.

Information Security

Promon Engenharia values information security initiatives once it recognizes that protecting information assets is a determining factor for competitiveness and fundamental to achieving excellence and quality in its solutions. In its information security policy, it defines the importance of assuring integrity, availability, and confidentiality for information protection.

For this reason, Promon Engenharia has an Information Security Management System (ISMS) established under the requirements of ISO 27001, the legal, regulatory, and statutory requirements, and the demands of interested parties.

Data Privacy

Promon Engenharia recognizes the importance of upholding the compliance of its operations, so it is reinforcing its information security practices to protect the personal data of customers, associates, employees, and any other person with whom it has a relationship.

Personal data is handled according to applicable law, especially the General Data Protection Act, and according to Promon's data privacy and information security policies.

Promon has a direct channel with the Data Officer (email protecaodedados@promon.com.br) in case of doubts, requests from data holders, and reporting of incidents or potential data breaches. The Data Officer is responsible for answering requests from data holders, besides interacting with the National Data Protection Authority.

Certifications

ISO 9001

Quality Management System

ISO 14001

Environmental Management System

ISO/IEC 27001

Information Security

ISO 45001

Occupational Safety and Health

Commitments and Awards

We are proud of the impressive recognitions we have received. These accomplishments convince us that we are on the right path and encourage us to proceed with confidence and enthusiasm.

Its distinctive positioning in people management and ongoing commitment to the incorporation of socioenvironmental questions into business activities mean that Promon has been recognized for its management practices by diverse renowned publications and organizations for many years.

Promon assumes public commitments and belongs to groups of companies that promote more ethical and transparent relations in the Brazilian market. The company is a member of the Instituto Ethos - Empresas e Responsabilidade Social; it has been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2006 and also to the Business Integrity and Anti-Corruption Pact (‘Clean Company” Pact). Additionally, Promon is a signatory to the “Empresas pela Gestão Sustentável de Resíduos Sólidos” (Companies for Sustainable Solid Waste Management) pledge and the “Carta empresarial pelos Direitos Humanos e pela promoção do trabalho decente” (Business Charter for Human Rights and the Promotion of Decent Work).

Promon is a sponsor of Brazil’s quality council, Fundação Nacional da Qualidade, having members on the institution’s Curator Council and Honorary Council.

Social Responsibility

We acknowledge our role as an agent of the development of society.

We do business and work in a manner that reconciles the interests of our employees, clients, suppliers and other stakeholders. We place value on human beings in all our relationships and strive for harmony in the communities in which we conduct our activities, respecting the people, their traditions and their values. We have operated under these principles since the very beginning.

We always give consideration to nature and to the scale of the risks to safety and the social and environmental impacts inherent to the services we provide. We use natural resources rationally. We use recyclable material whenever this is feasible and adopt sustainable technologies in our projects in line with the characteristics of our business.

We develop new competencies in the environmental area and more efficient, optimized solutions in our clients’ facilities, always based on respect and good commercial practices. Our relations with public authorities are based on an institutional perspective that incorporates political impartiality.

We publicly repudiate child, forced and slave labor and do not maintain commercial relations or contract services from organizations that engage in these practices.