Mauricio Restrepo GENERAL MANAGER, GONVARRI COLOMBIA

What has been the focus of business, and what has been the driver of company growth for Gonvarri in Colombia?

Gonvarri has a business line called Almaceno, which offers logistics solutions for all kinds of customers. Among our clients we have Grupo Exito, Grupo Nutresa, Colombina, and Contegral, among several others. Around 30% of Almaceno’s revenues comes from international markets. Our other business line is Mecano, which focuses on the electrical sector of the industry and has been an important player in the region participating in projects such as the expansion of the Panama Canal and Campo Rubiales in the south of Colombia. The third business unit is road steel. Gonvarri is a global leader in road safety solutions, and in Colombia, it is our main business unit in terms of revenue. It has been growing over 20% in the last two years, especially because our focus in innovation and partnerships for the main road infrastructure projects in the region.

Gonvarri aims to reach carbon neutrality between 2030 and 2050. What steps are being taken?

For the first stage in 2030, the goal of the company is to classify and analyze the life cycle of the main products that we produce. We hope to reach this goal in 2050. In the meantime, in Colombia, we are setting up solar panels that will generate around 10% of the energy we currently use. We are also implementing several circular economy initiatives in some of our subproducts such as dross and zinc, partnering with local companies in order to reuse these products.