Today, Altus completes 39 years of history! It has been almost four decades developing and producing the technology that drives Brazilian industry. Yes, since 1982, our engineers and scientists have focused on creating equipment and designing solutions with high embedded technology capable of adding value to various market processes. From small applications to large systems integration projects, our talented team of professionals has faced and overcome the most complex challenges possible.
The great challenges in Altus’ history
As one of the longest-running technology companies in Latin America, Altus has had remarkable adventures in the jungle, at sea and even on other continents. One of the biggest challenges we have ever faced was the construction of the Urucu-Manaus gas pipeline, a 662 km long pipeline that crosses the Amazon Rainforest. Another equally extraordinary project led by the company was the modernization of the Paulo Afonso Hydroelectric Complex, in Bahia. The project concentrates some of the plants with Altus technology which, together with other units, are responsible for producing around 15% of the energy consumed in the country.
Another example of an immense challenge that we overcame with flying colors throughout our history, perhaps the most significant of them, was the automation of Petrobras' E&P platforms. Installed in the Brazilian pre-salt exploration region, the units operate based on technology and engineering solutions developed by Altus. Recognized for their productivity and availability, FPSOs account for around 40% of all oil produced in Brazil, currently the ninth largest producer in the world.
In addition to the technical complexity, language and culture were also factors that contributed to increasing the level of challenge of this project, since two of the units in operation today in the Pre-salt were built and commissioned in shipyards in China! To further fulfill this great mission, our engineers had to have the flexibility and resilience to work, literally, in international waters.
The internationalization of the Altus brand
The international market, however, is not new to us, as we have been selling our products in countries on different continents since 1988, the year in which we made our first exports to Germany. However, with the international expansion strategy that we have implemented since 2016, the reach of our technology has extended to the most diverse territories. Over the last 5 years, we have consolidated our position in Europe and South America, expanded operations to West Asia, started opening channels in North America and taken our first steps to access the Oceania market.
Today, our products can be found in countries such as Germany, the international territory with the largest number of Altus PLCs sold in 2021, India, Turkey, Italy, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Morocco, Canada, Netherlands, Taiwan, Australia, Norway, China, the United Kingdom, the United States, among others. This year, we even reached a new record for the volume of equipment sold to the foreign market. Although the global industry generally slowed down between 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our results in the domestic and international markets have been fantastic.
Resilience and reinvention in times of change
The events of the last two years have affected the world globally, causing people and organizations to reinvent themselves and readapt to the new reality presented during the pandemic. To minimize the expected impacts, we acted quickly, promoting changes in specific processes and making investments with the aim of allowing a relevant part of our employees to continue working remotely and protected, from the comfort of their homes.
We proudly state that no cuts to staff were made during this period. On the contrary, we promote growth in the number of professionals in the company. This addition of personnel was essential to continue meeting market demands which, contrary to expectations, increased, both in 2020 and in the first 10 months of 2021. In fact, in these last few months, we reached a new record volume of products sold through multiple channels of sales, an extraordinary result not only due to the exceptional times we are living in, but also due to the accelerated changes in the world of technology.
As we encourage innovation, we maintain our investments in research and technological development to continue offering disruptive solutions capable of adding high value to our clients' businesses. However, even with these changes, we have preserved our essence unchanged, the genetic load that we have carried in our DNA since 1982: a robust company, with developed intellectual property, based on solid values and driven by challenges.
