Steel production
Compañía Siderúrgica Huachipato
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The future of the steel industry is highly challenging. On one hand, the global overcapacity that has caused unfair competition, as well as trade diversions as a result of several measures adopted by the major economies, which creates a complex business environment for the development of the Industry.
General Manager interview
Rodrigo Briceño
What are the main challenges, and how is CSH preparing for them?
Without a doubt, the great challenge of the steel industry is to ensure its sustainability in the long term, and thus continue contributing to the development of the region and the country for the next 70 years, a challenge that is not only limited to the financial aspects of the business. The history of the steel industry in the region has been marked by a permanent commitment to its social and economic development, which is an indelible seal of its actions. However, this action cannot remain anchored in the forms that served in previous decades, since the very evolution of society brings with it new demands that force us to rethink our actions, both in environmental aspects and in the way we contribute to the development of the communities where our activities are carried out. In the same way, new global challenges, such as the reduction of CO2 emissions, migratory flows, or the need to incorporate more diversity in work teams, bring aspects that must be considered when defining future development strategies.
This long-term sustainability is greatly challenged by global steel overcapacity, which has led to unfair competition, and trade diversion as a result of the various measures taken by countries to develop their industry. This has generated, over the last decade, poor financial results at the global level. The global economic situation also generates uncertainties that blur the horizon for this industry. The low levels of activity, a product of the global Covid-19 pandemic, follow a year marked by the trade war between China and the United States, which will increase the excess available capacity, bringing with it a price war that will affect cash flows, and with it the ability to invest in the requirements for the development of the steel industry.
The way in which Huachipato has addressed these challenges is based on its people, the main value of any company nowadays. The commitment of the work teams, the knowledge of the processes, as well as the permanent capacity to innovate and improve, allow having the flexibility to face these challenges and to adapt to a future that we only know changes every day.
What are the priorities that CSH has established?
The priorities we have established are determined by the same aspects that mark long-term sustainability, which are those over which we have particular control through our teams.
Safety as an ethical value. We cannot afford to accept that accidents are something that can happen. They are all avoidable and we must work on them tirelessly.
Reduce our environmental impacts day by day. In the first place, through the adequate control of the processes, as a starting point to ensure this objective. Secondly, to incorporate improvements and technology that allow us to exceed the standards with which the facilities were designed is a permanent work of the organization.
Innovating in processes and products. In this way we will be able to reach new markets with lower costs and with products and services that differ from the competition.
Thus, clearly our priority is the culture we expect from the organization, since with it we will be able to build the next 70 years of the Compañía Siderúrgica Huachipato. The future is not in the equipment or the technology, it is in what the human teams are capable of doing with them.
What were the main developments and events in these priorities during 2019?
We focused our efforts in reducing the environmental impact of some operations as a result of the start-up of the Blast Furnace 2, we made investments in maintenance and improvement of our coke plant and we carried out studies to continue reducing the impact of the operations in the long term.
Additionally, we have continued to work with the nearby community through the “Huachipato Buen Vecino” (“Huachipato Good Neighbor”) program, the collaboration agreement with the Municipality of Hualpén for the construction of a communal park, and regular contributions to the institutions Artistas del Acero and Club Deportivo Huachipato, for their community development programs. As a result of the beginning of the social conflict in October 2019, we reinforced the work that was being developed to improve the working conditions of the contractor personnel, improving their habitability and making sure that these companies had adequate salaries for their functions.
Our performance 2019
Corporate governance and ethics
100%
of the directors
are independent.
6
complaints on the Integrity Channel.
100%
of the complaints were resolved during the period.
Own workers and contractors
6%
of our own workers
are women.
0
fatalities.
0
own workers with occupational diseases.
5.4
Frequency Rate .
100%
of own workers are under OHSAS 18001, ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Environment
202
hectares of protected areas.
96%
of the waste is recycled or reused.
2
incidents with environmental impact.
Community
477
local suppliers (35% of total suppliers) and US$ 98 million in local purchases.
96%
of our own workers come from the Biobío Region.
1,347
suppliers make up the CSH value chain. 739 are SMEs and 100% of them are covered by the Propyme Seal (timely payment).
