Holcim Ecuador inaugurated this Friday its new Loma Alta Aggregates Plant, in the Daule canton, where 52% of its staff is female
“One day I dreamed of being part of the construction sector, many told me that I couldn’t because I was a woman, thank God they were wrong and today I am part of the Loma Alta team.”
Were the words of Andrea Mina, production supervisor of the new Aggregates Loma Alta plant, of Holcim Ecuador, who with his protective helmet, reflective clothing, safety boots and his intercom intervened during the inauguration of this new facility, in the Daule canton, where women literally rule.
This is because Mina is part of the 52 % of the personnel of that plant, which is made up of women, and who carry out activities and functions that are normally carried out by men, such as handling excavators, bulldozers, trucks and other heavy machines.
“We are paving the way for other women to enter this work area,” she said. Ruth Arreaga, who works as an operator in the new plant, in which Holcim Ecuador invested $ 10 million, of which $ 1.5 million were invested in technology to control noise, dust and safety issues.
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This female supremacy is no coincidence and is classified as the achievement of an important milestone that the company purposely sought, she said. Dolores Prado, Executive Director of Holcim Ecuador, that she is also the first woman to hold that position in the 100 years of the company.
“It is something that we looked for and wanted to do, it had a lot of cost and also a lot of effort (…) the personnel that is needed is operating personnel, personnel that operate machines, bulldozers, backhoes, heavy trucks and that is not so usual that we find women, ”said Prado, who pointed out that the company invested about $ 500,000 in a school to train women in this type of work, although he clarified that they looked for women who had, as a basic requirement, licenses to operate buses or trucks.
“It was not starting with someone totally from scratch because that would have been very difficult,” added Prado, who announced that the trainings will be sustained over time, not only for women but also for men; and also that they will seek to replicate this initiative in the other plants of the company in the country, as he assured that the firm, worldwide, has proposed to increase the percentage of women, to at least 30%.
Paúl Montero, general manager for Concrete and Aggregates businesses at Holcim EcuadorHe recalled that the selection and training process took them around five months.
He commented that the inclusion of female personnel in the plant was presented at the beginning of the project, so that it would be at least 50% of the personnel.
“It did not look easy, we did a different process, out of the ordinary, in what is recruitment and selection, it is not easy to find in the Ecuadorian market operators of loaders, backhoes, dump trucks, shredders, they are not common professions in the that women have great expertise ”, acknowledged the manager, who assured that the challenge is to make it sustainable over time.
“It would be unfortunate to start with 50% women today and in two years to find that 90% are men again,” said Montero, who on the new plant indicated that it guarantees the supply of construction materials, specifically stones and sand for the market of the province of Guayas.
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The plant has a production capacity of one million tons per year in a normal shift, but could reach up to three million tons, depending on the increase in shifts.
Montero pointed out that the new Loma Alta plant joins the ten concrete plants, five mobile concrete plants, the main cement plant in Guayaquil, a cement mill in Latacunga and the aggregates plant in Pifo, in the city of Quito.
Regarding new projects, the manager explained that the firm has made a strong investment in the transformation of the Disensa network with 600 franchises in the country and a fortnight ago they launched a Business Unit that is in charge of waterproofing roofs; and they have considered having a presence with aggregates plants in all markets that have concrete plants.
“This would be a challenge of more or less growing with one plant per year in different markets in Ecuador,” said Montero, who clarified that these plans must go hand in hand with the demand generated in the market. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
