Brazil: Strong Businesses in Difficult Times

The Covid-19 pandemic hit Latin America's economy hard. But the country in the southern hemisphere has experience in dealing with crises. While most of the country’s employers lost considerable revenue on account of having to suspend production or close their plants for safety reasons, sectors such as the construction enjoyed good results.

"The Covid-19 pandemic stimulated our business," says Sebastião Longuinho de Jesus, who oversees new construction projects for Brasal Incorporações. They posted record sales in 2020—despite the pandemic. Or precisely on account of it. Change of scene to another of Porsche Consulting's clients in Brazil. Marlos Santana de Almeida, industrial engineering manager for Brametal in Linhares, has good reason to view the future in optimistic terms. In the tough year of 2020, his company posted the best results since its inception in 1975, producing 200,000 tons of steel structures for applications such as transmission lines.