PROFILE:

Facilities:

Installed in an area of 18000 m2, of which 2,800 m2 are currently built, we have CN and CNC equipment for the main stages of production. We are undergoing an expansion plan with the support of FUNDOPEM (Fundo Operação Empresa do Governo do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul) (Corporate Operation Fund of the Government of the State of Rio Grande do Sul), under which we forecast investments in the range of R$ 1.5 million. These investments aim at amplifying the factory and purchasing new equipment for production.

Continuous improvement:

Our projects department works toward meeting the needs of our clients, besides developing new applications for our products and in an attempt to surprise our clients with technological advancements, with a view to improving aspects such as productivity, operational safety, noise level and pollutants emissions level, etc. Many of our products are recognized worldwide as the best in their category. Even thus, we continue improving these aspects. This policy has provided significant growths to our company: 57.8 % in 96/97, and 52.3 % in 97/98.

Quality:

Our quality policy has been based on investment in training. We have organized several courses from metrology to the most modern quality management techniques. Besides training sessions aimed specifically at the quality assurance, we also organize operational and labor safety training sessions, to ensure our collaborators have a level of knowledge that allows the execution of their tasks with quality and safety.

HISTORY:

Founded in November, 1973, our company started its activities in only 40 m2 (Rua Antônio Divan) in Porto Alegre (RS- Brazil). The first product was a (pneumatic) vacuum cleaner for vehicles, called "PAPAPÓ" . The production of this product was discontinued in 1978. In 1975, we made the first enlargement, by moving to Av. Pará, also in Porto Alegre, to an area of 75m 2. On this date, we started operating in two shifts, a policy that remains in force until today.

In 1976, we started producing blasting equipment. At this first moment, we produced only pressurized blasting machines and a range of road building machines which consisted of the Dirt Scraper and the Distributor of Aggregates. With the inclusion of these products, a new enlargement took place. We moved to Rua Ernesto da Fontoura, also in Porto Alegre to an area of 250 m2. In 1977, with a policy of constant improvement of our products, we made a new enlargement, when we moved to Rua Souza Reis, also in Porto Alegre, to an area of 1000 m2. At that time, our associate, CMV Laminados e Trefilados Ltda., also operated in the same building.


In 1978, we included the Sheep's Foot Roller in the range of road building machines.

In 1981, we built and started using, along with our associate, the factory that presently features 3,200 m2 in a 30,000 m2 plot in the Industrial District of Cachoeirinha (RS — Brazil).

In 1982, we included the Suction Blasting Cabinets in our range of blasting equipment the. At the end of this same year, we installed a sales office in São Paulo (SP - Brazil).

In 1984, along with the growing concern regarding environmental conservation, we included the blasting room with abrasive material recycling in our range of products.

In our constant efforts toward providing a better service to the needs of our clients, we developed, in 1987, a new abrasive material reclaim system which, in some cases, eliminates and in other cases drastically reduces the need for foundations (patented system). Still during this same year, we started exporting our products, at first to Latin America.

In 1989, we started producing the Towable Vibrating Rollers (product object of two patents), and also the suction blasting equipment.

In 1990, we started selling the dust collectors, which we had developed for the blasting rooms, for other applications.

After a long period of development, we started selling the Collector Sweepers, products which were also patented, in 1993.

A survey performed by Thomas/Lund (joint-venture) on brand name preference confirmed our leadership in blasting machines, in the Latin American market, in the year of 1995.

In 1996, we started a partnership with the company Bottarini Spa, from Italy, which comprises the distribution and technical assistance of screw air compressors, manufactured by Bottarini, on the Brazilian market, with the CMV brand name. In the same year, we developed a new abrasive material recycling system for the cabinets (suction and pressurized), which significantly reduced the operating cost of this equipment. Also in this year, we started exporting our products to the United States.

In 1997, we participated at the EMO Trade Show in Hannover, ands started exporting to the European market. We moved the company to our own headquarters in the Industrial District of Cachoeirinha, where we own a plot of 18,000 m2 and a built area of 2,800 m2. We also purchased the brand name and all projects of the company Blastibrás, which was our main competitor in the blasting range, in the Brazilian market. With this acquisition, we completed our range of products, including wheel blasting machines and a large quantity of automated machines for special applications.

This year, we are making a series of investments in our productive process, with the introduction of new processes, besides an intense work toward improving our products. We presently have 75 co-workers, the majority of which are qualified technicians of intermediate or higher level.