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The story
Founded by Gabriel Donato de Andrade on Sep 2, 1948, in Belo Horizonte.1
Early history
Andrade Gutierrez founded on September 2, 1948, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, by three engineers: Gabriel and Roberto Andrade and their friend Flávio Gutierrez. It began as Andrade Gutierrez S.A., a small construction company. The company constructed its first interstate engineering work, the Rio de Janeiro-Belo Horizonte highway, in the 1950s. It also participated on the construction of the Castelo Branco highway, in São Paulo. Castelo Branco later became a reference of highway engineering.
In the late 1950s, the company benefited from the modernization plans of the president Juscelino Kubitschek, and it expanded its area of operation to different Brazil states. In the 1960s, the group built the Manaus-Porto Velho road, which spans 850 kilometers.
In the 1970s, Andrade Gutierrez built the Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant one of the greatest hydroelectric power plants of the world.
Expansion during the 1980s
In the 1980s, during the "lost decade", Andrade Gutierrez expanded its area of performance within Brazil and into the international market. The company's international expansion focused primarily on Latin America, Africa and Europe. AG built its first international road in 1987. The road spanned 120 kilometers and connected the cities Epena, Impfondo and Dongou, all of which are located in the Republic of the Congo.
Andrade Gutierrez's first work in Latin America was a 150-kilometer stretch of the Chimoré-Yapacani road in Bolivia for the Servicio Nacional de Caminos. Following Andrade Gutierrez's work in Bolivia, the company completed projects in Central America, including the Nassau International Airport in the Bahamas.
In 1987, Andrade Gutierrez bought Zagope, a Portuguese company. Through its Zagope subsidiary, the company built roads, bridges and viaducts in Portugal and Mauritania. The company was also responsible for the extension of the Lisbon subway, which started in 1992. Zagope is one of the most important companies in Portugal.
Andrade Gutierrez also expanded its domestic operations during the 1980s. Projects the company completed during the 1980s include the Confins International Airport located in Minas Gerais, the Lagoinha tunnel in Belo Horizonte and the canalization of the Ribeirão Arrudas. Andrade Gutierrez also constructed the Carajás railroad, which spans 892 kilometers and connects Maranhão and Pará.
Diversification in the 1990s
The company started to diversify its portfolio in the 1990s, when it expanded into public concessions and telecommunication.
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Andrade Gutierrez's industrial business unit achieved its first Brazilian engineering work, the Duque de Caxias Refinery (Reduc), and began a partnership with Petrobras. The company's first concession was with the CCR (Highway Concessions Company), which became the biggest controller of highways under concession in Latin America.
Andrade Gutierrez entered the telecommunications market with the creation of AG Telecom in 1993. In 1998, the company won the auction for the privatization of Telebrás and integrated the operation of Telemar, which was renamed Oi in 2006. The company later founded Contax, one of the three largest contact center companies in the world.
Andrade Gutierrez relocated to Argentina in 1996, where it keeps its infrastructure undertakings.
From Wikipedia’s article on Andrade Gutierrez, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4