BDLL4 Bardella Indústrias Mecânicas

Bardella Indústrias Mecânicas, now Bardella S.A. Indústrias Mecânicas, is one of the country’s most traditional industrial companies, founded in 1911 in the state of São Paulo. It was founded by Italian immigrant Antonio Bardella, who began operations in a small blacksmith workshop producing and repairing transmission elements, closely following Brazil’s industrialization process. As early as 1916, the former “Officinas Bardella” acquired their first lathe and installed their first in-house foundry, expanding production capacity. Over the following decades, the company changed its corporate name until reaching its current denomination in 1942, consolidating itself as a manufacturer of mechanical capital goods designed to meet the growing demand of the domestic industry.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Bardella significantly expanded its product line, entering the manufacture of steel mill overhead cranes, hydraulic turbines and hydromechanical equipment. To support this expansion, it acquired a large site in Cumbica, in Guarulhos (SP), where it installed a manufacturing complex with more than 65,000 m² of built area. Later, in the 1970s, the company resumed growth with the creation of associated companies and the installation of a unit in Sorocaba (SP), on a 100,000 m² site. In the 1980s, it established Energo Agro Industrial Ltda., demonstrating a track record of diversifying activities, although forestry operations and the cattle herd were discontinued in 2010 with the sale of rural assets.

Bardella Indústrias Mecânicas, whose shares BDLL3 and BDLL4 are traded on B3, operates essentially as a made-to-order manufacturer of capital goods aimed at infrastructure-intensive industrial sectors. The business model is centered on the engineering, manufacturing and supply of large mechanical equipment, such as overhead cranes, gantry cranes, lifting and material-handling equipment, as well as spare parts and maintenance and machining services. The company organizes its operations into two segments: the mechanics segment, which corresponds to the manufacture of made-to-order equipment and accounts for about 92% of consolidated net revenue, and the steel and services segment, which represents approximately 8% of revenue and encompasses complementary service activities and component supply.

Bardella’s main markets are mining, metallurgy, oil and gas, and energy, as well as general industries that require heavy material handling. In the metallurgy and steelmaking segment, the company manufactures heavy-duty steel plant overhead cranes, overhead and gantry cranes for steelmaking processes, parts and components for coke plants and rolling mills, hot metal and liquid steel ladles, scrap buckets, roller tables and transfer cars for ladles, slabs and coils. For the energy sector, it supplies hydromechanical and lifting equipment for hydroelectric power plants, such as gates, trash racks, trash rack cleaning machines, penstocks, overhead and gantry cranes, servomotors, fish ladders, and parts and components for hydraulic and wind turbines and generators, as well as equipment and parts for nuclear power plants. In oil and gas, demand is concentrated in process equipment for offshore oil and gas installations, linked to investments by operators such as Petrobras and private companies.

The company’s client base is made up of large corporations of strategic relevance to Brazil’s infrastructure. Recent highlights include Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), Companhia de Ferroligas da Bahia (FERBASA), Eletrobrás Eletronuclear and public agencies such as SEINFRA-CE, in addition to a diversified group of clients classified as “miscellaneous”. Annual net revenue is significantly concentrated in these large contracts, reflecting the nature of non-serial capital goods and customized projects. Commercial activity takes place mainly through tenders and invitations to submit technical and commercial proposals, in an open and competitive market environment with a strong presence of domestic and foreign competitors, such as Delp, Mausa, Hidroser, Danieli and Konecranes in different application niches.

From an operational standpoint, Bardella maintains a production flow structured around sales, contract management, engineering, procurement, manufacturing, delivery and after-delivery processes, supported by administrative, financial and resource processes. Manufacturing involves cutting, boiler shop work, welding, heat treatment, machining, pre-assembly, painting and testing, with a focus on meeting the stringent technical specifications of each project. The company emphasizes the use of concurrent engineering, value analysis and advanced IT tools in its projects, seeking productivity gains and cost reduction. As a made-to-order equipment manufacturer, it does not work with finished goods inventories, and distribution is carried out mainly by road to the domestic market and Southern Cone countries, and by sea in export operations.

Bardella’s corporate structure includes subsidiaries that complement its industrial operations. Duraferro Indústria e Comércio Ltda., headquartered in Araras (SP) and fully controlled by Bardella and its asset management company, manufactures overhead cranes and metallurgical equipment and is a relevant source of operating revenue. Barefame Instalações Industriais Ltda., currently under court-supervised reorganization, aims at the industrialization and installation of machines and equipment for lifting cargo and people, as well as industrial installations. IMMA Indústria Metalúrgica e Mecânica da Amazônia Ltda., a joint venture with GE Energias Renováveis Ltda. located in Rondônia, was conceived to supply hydromechanical and lifting equipment for hydroelectric power plants, although it has not recorded recent net operating revenue. There is also Bardella Administradora de Bens e Empresas e Corretora de Seguros Ltda., focused on arranging insurance for the company and its subsidiaries.

On the regulatory and environmental front, Bardella states that it does not encounter material difficulties in obtaining environmental and operating licenses for its industrial plants. The company maintains an Integrated Management System structured in processes and aligned with ISO 9001:2015 (quality management) and ISO 14001:2008 (environmental management), with performance monitored through objectives, indicators and targets. Its environmental policy emphasizes respect for the environment and the prevention and combat of pollution, with control of the significant environmental aspects of its activities, products and services. The company reports that it does not depend technologically on foreign companies for the development of its product line and has not, to date, disclosed more detailed social, environmental and governance information. Shares BDLL3 and BDLL4, traded on B3, give individual investors exposure to a classic manufacturer of mechanical capital goods focused on sectors such as energy, metallurgy, mining, and oil and gas, with revenue predominantly concentrated in the domestic market.