Novacero is launching a new production line to continue growing as it has done in its 50 years

‘Continuous casting’ of red-hot liquid steel, which comes out of the pot furnace at 1500 °C, is poured into molds in which billets or ingots of the same material are formed. The workshop gives off very strong heat, from which the workers are shielded by suits, helmets and special face shields. The temperature and bright reddish colors give the idea that you are in hell. It is the heart of the Novacero steel plant, located in the Lasso plant, Cotopaxi. This red-hot material will later become construction bars, angles, plates, electro-welded meshes, zinc sheets, duratech, wire rod, among others.

The company Novacero celebrates 50 years since its foundation in 1973 as ARMCO and its new phase since 1992, when it became Novacero, with three factories, in Quito, Lasso and Guayaquil. And the management celebrated this anniversary at the Lasso factory this Thursday by opening its doors to suppliers, shareholders, authorities, clients and the media so that they could get to know its work from the inside.

That day was used for the official commissioning of the new production plant, which enables the production of rolled wire at competitive costs and continuously. The general manager, Ramiro Garzón, explained that feeding the raw materials goes through a hot time until the finished product is obtained. Therefore, when the product comes out, they look like rings of fire.

For the executive president, Luis Villacrés, reaching a respectable 50 years is not easy for a company, in these times of pandemics and world wars, and even more so if it is a company in Ecuador, where economic and political problems are a daily occurrence. He assured that obtaining financing is very complex in the country and that is why the company finances itself. Thus, in 30 years, a profit of 305 million dollars was realized, of which 90% was reinvested, and 10% went for dividend distribution. “Aware that this is the only way to grow,” says Villacrés.

Workers also shared their stories and how being part of the company changed them. Like when one of them decided to present his resume at the company stand and waited to be called. However, the call came just as he was about to enter a crucial game for his football team. At the crossroads, he decided to take advantage of the business opportunity and has no regrets. Or when another worker had a serious health problem and needed 40 liters of blood, and several of his colleagues came to the hospital on company buses to support him.

The company has grown exponentially since 1992, when it changed shareholders and name. That year, 17,000 tons of products were already processed and 12.8 million dollars were charged annually, with 211 associates. In 2023, the company became the leader with the processing of 310,000 tons of production and 390 million dollars in revenue with 1,288 employees.

The production process begins with the acquisition of raw materials. It is about the fact that the company, which has been qualified by the Ministry of Environmental Protection as ecologically efficient, produces its products with 62% recycled metal waste due to its recycling process.

In one of the open spaces, within Lass’s 20-hectare facility, about 42,000 tons of mounds of scrap metal were erected. There is everything: you can see useless electrical appliances, car parts, tank structures, it is melted with other ferrous materials to make steel. One day a railroad car even arrived, but in the end it was decided that – rather than melting – it was better to remain as part of the factory’s decoration.

In order to supply this raw material, the company founded Novared, which consists of 100 micro-entrepreneurs with 91 recycling points and which employs 12,000 recyclers. The company is also considered environmentally efficient, as 99% of the water used in operations is recycled, while 1% evaporates. They also have an efficient process of electricity consumption. Thus, the company managed to process 2 million tons of metal waste in 30 years, says Ramiro Garzón, the company’s general manager.

Already in centers for the production of electrowelded nets and drawn rollers, cold steel processing machines are controlled by a system very similar to textile machines. You can see threads and looms, but metal ones.

90% of the obtained products are aimed specifically at the domestic market. This year, the goal is to export 10%. The main current export destinations are Bolivia, Central America, Peru and Colombia.