Votorantim Cimentos celebrates its 70th anniversary and organizes actions in Itaú de Minas for environment week The company forms a partnership with the Local Government and Environmental Defense Council and offers the community lectures and educational material, besides releasing fish fry in the River São João. The unit of Votorantim Cimentos in Itaú de Minas (Minas Gerais), is creating a series of actions in partnership with the Local Government of the Municipality and CODEMA (Environmental Defense Council) for the week of June 5th to 9th, geared towards environmental preservation. The objective of the firm, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary, is to improve the quality of life of the community, refining and solidifying citizenship practices. One of the most important activities of this week is the cycle of speeches, which has been held for the past four years. On the occasion, elementary and high school public school students will be able to attend the speeches given by professionals of the company, who will address the care required for environmental preservation and greater clarity regarding waste co-processing, besides receiving an explanatory primer. Another action will be the promotion of a writing contest for elementary and high school students about the topics of the speeches and the drawing contest for elementary school students. To encourage participation, Votorantim Cimentos is awarding winners with the "HARRY POTTER” book, while the winning school will receive a DVD. The employees were also involved in the actions of environmental week. In the opening of the event, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Itaú will put on a performance, around one thousand fry will be released in the firm’s industrial pond and trees will be planted in the internal area. The children of these employees that are between 7 and 12 years of age will go on an ecological walk and will release four thousand fish fry in Rio São João, a river located between the hydroelectric plants of Monte Alto and São João. With these actions, Votorantim Cimentos will be fostering the preservation of the region in which it operates and reinforcing its commitment of promoting knowledge among children, adolescents and their family members, strengthening sustainable development. About Votorantim Cimentos Votorantim Cimentos is one of the top ten global cement, concrete and mortar companies. With 25 production units in Brazil and seven in North America, where over eight thousand collaborators work, Votorantim Cimentos invests heavily in innovation, technology and quality. It was a pioneer in the co-processing of waste, contributing towards the sustainability of the manufacturing activity, and is involved in important social projects, in partnership with Instituto Votorantim. The company markets more than 40 products in Brazil in the areas of constructive solutions. Its main brands include Votoran, Itau, Poty, Tocantins and Aratu. In the mortar line, it operates under the Votomassa trademark. In the lime line, it sells the Itau and Votoran brands. In 2005, Votorantim Cimentos attained the threshold of R$ 4.7 billion in net income, maintaining the leadership of the cement and concrete markets, in which it operates through Engemix. Founded in 1936, the company is part of the Votorantim Group, one of the largest corporations controlled by domestic investors, which operates in the sectors of cement, mining and metallurgy, paper and pulp, chemicals, agribusiness and finance.
Further information

CDN - Companhia de Notícias
Sandra Polo – Phone (11) 3643-2821 - sandra-polo@cdn.com.br
Cláudia Alves - Phone (11) 3643-2738 - claudia@cdn.com.br