Fernando Correa

What has sustained the success of SEMAICA over three generations?

I would say it is due to resilience; this is the case for many family-owned businesses in Ecuador. The crisis has been a status quo in Latin America; however, a part of our Enterprise culture is to apply lessons learned and new approaches to solve the challenges ahead, using forward-looking strategies. This mindset characterizes our agility to overcome each hardship quickly, it was proven successful during the pandemic, by responding promptly and effectively. The pandemic was an undoubted statement of the changing world we live in. SEMAICA has built prestige during decades completing 100% of its work to customer satisfaction. Since its beginnings, the implementation of innovative construction techniques and the use of state-of-the-art technologies have made it the solid company it is today. Quality standards and certifications such as ISO 9001:2015, EDGE, LEAN, Eco-efficiency, among others, make us stand out in the construction industry because it not only construction that built to last and high-quality works but aims at developing a more sustainable environment.

Have there been any major advancements in your plans to participate in extractive services?

SEMAICA has been in the market for more than 66 years, and during this period we have evolved into a six-company holding to better suit the needs of the Ecuadorian market, satisfy the needs of our clients in different fields, and work on our continuous growth policy. We build mining infrastructure, projects for oil and gas and renewable energy industries, as well as engineering and construction of infrastructure for underground and open-pit mining, together with their ancillary facilities. We operate mining projects. We also represent, distribute, and install specialized supplies for the oil and gas and renewable energy industries. In addition, we are present in the technological sector, we execute and develop AI technological projects, with support from their adoption to their implementation and maintenance. As we believe the extractive industries are the new age of Ecuadorian development, SEMAICA is committed to being a big part of it.

How will SEMAICA participate in the national push to become a circular economy?

SEMAICA’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint are remarkable, as evidenced by the certifications obtained with the EDGE and LEED platforms. Furthermore, we recently became one of the 100 companies that participated in an initiative of the Ministry of the Environment called Ecuador Zero Carbon Program, where we will initially measure the carbon we produce in our administrative operations to lower the indicators to the maximum. We are also part of the Ecuador Green Building Council, a member of the Global Compact. Although we face great challenges in this area, we are confident that our commitment to the environment is solid, and that each one of us is a key player in this change.

Can you highlight any other projects SEMAICA is working on now?

We recently completed the third campus of the Universidad de las Americas UDLA, and it was a rewarding experience. While we were designing and constructing the building with our client, we agreed to intensify the sustainability effort. Currently, we are building a hotel in Quito that has also obtained the first Edge Advanced certification for a hotel in all Latin America. I am proud of these projects because of the environmental concepts they embrace, as well as the design and construction techniques. In addition, we initiated the construction of educational infrastructures with the government, designed to maximize the well-being of the most disadvantaged, which will continue until the end of this year. We are also committed to presenting solutions for social housing projects. In 2022, we want to participate and do it well. Education and housing are our goals for 2022.