HAGA4 Haga

Haga S.A. Indústria e Comércio is a traditional Brazilian company in the metalworking sector, with common and preferred shares traded on B3 under the tickers HAGA3 and HAGA4. Founded on April 1, 1937, in the city of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, by civil engineer and German immigrant Hans Gaiser, the company emerged in a context of hardware shortages in Brazil, resulting from the shutdown of European imports in the pre–World War II period. Following the partnership between Hans Gaiser and his nephew Frederico Sichel, Haga began producing locks and set up a white malleable iron foundry considered a pioneer in the country, laying the industrial foundations that would support its trajectory in the following decades.

From the 1950s through the 1980s, Haga diversified its production and expanded its presence across different industrial chains. The company began supplying cast-iron parts to various capital goods manufacturers, such as sewing machines, typewriters, combustion engines, refrigerator compressors and fuel pumps, as well as hardware for the construction industry and the shipbuilding industry. In this process, the company participated in the creation of related businesses, such as a heat treatment company for steel and metals in the late 1960s, and acquired mechanical and machining companies with the aim of integrating production stages and supplying already machined components. Haga also contributed to the domestic production of equipment for natural gas installations for industrial use, such as regulators, meters and valves, using technology validated by major gas and oil utilities in the country.

The 1986 IPO marked the entry of Haga’s shares into the Brazilian capital market, with trading on the Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo stock exchanges, which are now concentrated on B3. The late 1980s and early 1990s, however, were marked by a severe financial crisis resulting from a period of what was considered reckless management, which led the company to file for preventive receivership in 1989. Subsequently, there were changes in corporate control, with the founding family selling its controlling stake to a new shareholder and, later on, the divestment of the locks and automotive cylinders division, which at the time was one of the company’s main businesses. After a period of legal disputes and renegotiations, control was transferred to an employees’ association, giving rise to a governance model in which employees took on a central role in running the company and restoring its operational capacity.

From the mid-1990s onward, Haga focused on rebalancing its financial position and restoring its production structure, while at the same time renegotiating debts with financial institutions, suppliers and public agencies. The company implemented cost-cutting programs, workforce adjustments, continuous process improvement and recovery of industrial equipment. It entered into long-term agreements with major banks, joined tax installment programs, regularized tax and labor liabilities and gradually settled lawsuits. This process culminated in the full settlement of obligations under the former receivership, with a final court ruling recognizing the termination of that regime. The financial reorganization enabled Haga to maintain its industrial operations, preserving its production base in Nova Friburgo.

In its current business model, Haga focuses on the manufacture, sale and distribution of locks, padlocks, hinges and hardware for the construction industry. The company operates through its industrial plant at its headquarters in Nova Friburgo and through a wholly owned subsidiary in Brazil that also operates in the metalworking segment, maintaining a focus on a single operating segment. Its product line covers residential, commercial and industrial applications, serving projects ranging from the mid-income segment to developments aimed at lower-income segments. Its mortise locks for wooden, steel and aluminum doors are developed according to national technical specifications, with variations for moderate, medium and heavy traffic, and different levels of corrosion resistance, forming a portfolio aimed mainly at exterior doors, interior doors and bathroom doors.

Haga’s industrial process is based on transforming metal alloys such as steel, zamac and brass into parts and components through stamping, injection molding, machining, sanding, polishing, painting, electroplating, assembly and packaging. The supply chain involves suppliers of relevant metallic and chemical inputs in the Brazilian market, including steel coils, non-ferrous alloys such as zinc, aluminum, copper and nickel, as well as paints, varnishes and brass strips and bars. Production costs are influenced by the volatility of international metal prices, which are often linked to London Metal Exchange quotations and to exchange rates. For distribution, the company uses road logistics operators for point-to-point delivery to construction companies, door manufacturers and retail chains of building materials and home centers, in addition to selling to specialized hardware stores.

Haga’s main revenue base is concentrated in the domestic market, operating throughout Brazil with a marginal presence in some Latin American countries, without generating significant revenue abroad. The regional distribution of sales shows a strong concentration in the Southeast region, followed by smaller shares in the South, Northeast, Center-West and, to a residual extent, North of Brazil. Its main market is the retail trade of construction materials, which mainly serves end consumers who build, renovate or expand their own homes, particularly in the mid-income segment. The company operates in a highly competitive environment, facing competition from larger companies with broad portfolios and national and international presence, as well as from smaller manufacturers, some operating in the informal economy, which puts pressure on prices and margins. There is no significant customer concentration, with no individual buyer accounting for more than 10% of net revenue.

From a regulatory and environmental, social and governance standpoint, Haga is subject to licenses and permits mainly related to industrial operations and the use of natural resources. The plant is located in the Serra dos Órgãos region, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, and the company holds an environmental operating license issued by a municipal agency under an agreement with the State Institute of the Environment, as well as a water use right granted by the National Water Agency. The company also has specific permits from agencies such as the Fire Department, Federal Police, Civil Police and the Ministry of Defense for activities related to the use and control of chemical products and associated risks. Its environmental policy includes rational water use, effluent and air emissions treatment, and waste management based on reduction, recycling and reuse, with selective collection and proper disposal of hazardous waste. In social and governance terms, Haga declares a focus on compliance with labor laws and International Labour Organization guidelines, investments in employee training, transparency policies, equal treatment of shareholders and fulfillment of corporate and tax obligations, structuring an ESG agenda aligned with the continuity of its industrial operations.

Haga’s presence on B3 under the tickers HAGA3 and HAGA4 places the company among publicly traded industrial players linked to the construction sector, providing exposure to a business intensive in the manufacture of hardware and metal components. Its operations are concentrated in a relatively specialized portfolio focused on locks, padlocks and hinges for doors and buildings, in a market sensitive to the construction and renovation cycle, income and credit conditions, and the dynamics of national and regional competition. The company operates with a single reported revenue segment, based on the production and sale of these hardware items, maintaining an integrated manufacturing structure, a diversified supplier base and relationships with sales channels ranging from door manufacturers to building materials retailers across the country.