Embraco develops complete and innovative refrigeration solutions for a better quality of life
- Present in more than 80 countries, the company is a global reference in products and services focused on energy efficiency, high performance and sustainability for refrigeration
- Annual production capacity of 37 million compressors for the household, commercial (food retail, food services and medical applications) as well as distribution and aftermarket.
- 1 out of every 5 compressors worldwide has the Embraco brand.
With the mission of developing innovative solutions for a better quality of life, Embraco is one of the largest manufacturers of hermetic compressors and refrigeration solutions in the world. Founded 48 years ago in the city of Joinville, in Brazil, the company is recognized for delivering products and services that differentiate themselves for innovation, energy efficiency and high performance.
With production capacity of 37 million compressors per year, the company directly employs approximately 10 thousand people, has 11 business units (among factories, sales offices and a global business shared services) located in Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico, Slovakia, USA and Russia, and is present commercially in more than 80 countries.
Embraco’s activities and relations are based on its values: respect, integrity, diversity, inclusion and the spirit of winning. With an innovative DNA, it has close to 600 professionals dedicated exclusively to this area, with 120 partners from leading engineering universities around the world, as well as 47 research laboratories on four continents. The company invests 3% to 4% of its net revenue in R&D annually and is among the private companies with the highest number of patents in force in Brazil and the United States, reaching the 1,200 patents granted globally.
In management processes, innovation is present through innovative tools, which has been contributing to reduce, by up to 50%, the launch time of new products and solutions making it possible to foresee errors and correct the path with more agility.
In the operation, one of the examples, in Brazil, to encourage generating new process improvement ideas comes from the Quality Control Circle (QCC), which for more than 20 years has been promoting incremental innovation in the company. In 2017, for example, 37,000 ideas were applied – an average of 13 suggestions per person. The goal for 2018 is to have 15 suggestions per person.
Additionally, the company uses sensors in machinery, virtual reality and augmented reality, collaborative robots, tablets for maintenance and applications in smartphones for real-time monitoring of the production process in factories. Such initiatives have an impact, among other things, on reducing costs, failures, waste, rework and facilitate information sharing among Embraco units around the world.
In line with this, Embraco has been working to achieve excellence in its operations by implementing World Class Manufacturing. The methodology seeks maximum quality in production processes under the goal of zero failures, waste, work accidents and machinery breakdowns.
Cooling Solutions
Embraco is a pioneer in developing solutions and products that revolutionize the refrigeration market in the household, commercial as well as distribution and retail segments. In the last five years, 59% of revenue came from solutions launched in this same period. An example of innovation is Plug n’ Cool, a complete refrigeration system that’s easy to install and maintain for supermarket sector customers and significantly reduces energy costs; Wisemotion, the world’s first oil-free household compressor; and Fullmotion Inverter technology, which allows variable speed to the system reducing energy consumption by up to 40%. This technology meets the most stringent energy efficiency levels established by legislation around the world.
People management
Excellence in people has a great impact on the company’s results and achievements, for boosting individual and collective talents and inspiring a winning culture. Embraco invests in developing its team through training programs, respecting individual learning styles, stimulating interaction among different areas and cultures.
The W Career management system is an example of valuing talent. In force since 2014 in all of the company’s plants, it makes professional growth possible at different levels, respecting each ones profile and the objectives he/she wants to achieve. Employees can choose to follow management, technical or administrative careers.
Sustainability
Sustainability is a strategy that drives the company processes through three work streams: sustainable solutions, focusing on energy efficiency to reduce environmental impact throughout the product’s life cycle; value chain, which ensures care starting from the raw material to the operations; and engaged people, promoting the employees’ safety and professional growth, as well as sharing value with the community.
In this way, the company integrates economic, social and environmental criteria in developing initiatives and making decisions. Energy efficiency, recycling, conscious consumption of energy and water as well as carrying out social projects are premises that illustrate this tripod well.
Considering the life cycle of refrigeration solutions, Embraco assumes that improving the energy efficiency of its products, value chain and operations is the most effective way of addressing issues related to climate change, reducing costs and bringing quality of life to people. In line with this is the pioneering use of natural refrigerants (for over 20 years) as an alternative to reduce the negative effects on the ozone layer and improve the equipment’s energy efficiency index.
In operations, the pursuit of process excellence also aims to minimize environmental impact, with a strong focus on training employees to achieve the objectives. Of particular note is the high global recycling rate, which reached 87% in 2017, especially Brazil’s compressor unit and China’s electronic unit (EECON), which already reached the goal of zero out the sending of industrial waste to landfills, and more than 7% reduction in both electricity and water consumption in all its plants in 2017.
The company also understands its responsibility to all publics by building and maintaining partnerships that generate value. The relationship with surrounding communities is promoted in all countries where Embraco operates, through volunteer activities, its own social projects or by supporting local institutions, committed to society’s advancement.
Among the main social investment actions is the Embraco Ecology Award, which has been held in Brazil since 1992 and also in Slovakia, since 2007. The award has already benefited more than 100,000 people. With regard to the engagement of employees in volunteer work, in 2017, globally, 1800 hours of volunteer work benefited more than 15 thousand people.
These are some of the results that contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Embraco has also been a signatory of the Global Compact since 2004 – an initiative that aims to engage the business community in adopting fundamental and international values and best practices in the areas of human rights, labor relations, environment, and anti-corruption.