CENIBRA is a 50-year-old pulp and paper company in Minas Gerias, Brazil, that maintains exceptionally high standards, and goes beyond what most other pulp and paper companies do. Ronaldo Ribiero, Head of the Department of Information and Technology, shares with us his insider's experience today. Be certain to check out their website to learn more about what CENIBRA does at their locations.

www.cenibra.com.br

Interviewer: Ruthanne Giordano, Staff Writer, Paperitalo Publications

Ruthanne Giordano: What excites you the most about working at CENIBRA?

Ronaldo Ribiero: I have been with CENIBRA for 36 years. It is a company that has very strong ethical values, we are extremely focused on compliance, and this is a value that I greatly admire.

In addition, CENIBRA has a group of high-performance people with a corporate environment that facilitates dialogue and day-to-day coexistence. It is a company that invests and supports initiatives for innovation, for me as I am from the IT area (Information Technology) this support is essential so that we can apply new technologies.

Ruthanne Giordano: Of all the initiatives CENIBRA takes, and all that CENIBRA accomplishes (forestry management, pulp manufacturing, fire prevention, quality of living program,...), which has the largest impact with production? With employees? With the community?

Ronaldo Ribiero: CENIBRA is very careful with social and environmental impacts; we do not produce at any "costs." Instead, we do everything in a planned manner and very much within legal parameters because we understand that our sustainability depends on these items.

Obviously, the achievement of production goals is a constant quest, however, we value respect for neighboring communities and preservation of the environment. CENIBRA still seeks an organizational climate within the required standards, and for this, it frequently conducts surveys and develops action plans for improvement when needed.

Several campaigns are often carried out. For example, the physical and mental health campaign, safety at work and in traffic, as well as campaigns for the development of local culture, among other initiatives.

Ruthanne Giordano: What makes CENIBRA truly unique from its competitors?

Ronaldo Ribiero: CENIBRA manufactures high quality pulp, which delights our customers. In addition, we are in a mountainous region of Brazil where planting and harvesting is difficult. This means we have to be very innovative, and this culture of innovation is a differential for us to overcome the constant challenges of this type of manufacturing, pulp production. Also, taking the legislation very seriously is another factor that makes our customers decide for our product. We have all the certifications required by the pulp market and we are advancing towards the reduction of GHG emissions (Greenhouse Gases).

Ruthanne Giordano: What are the challenges you face at CENIBRA?

Ronaldo Ribiero: CENIBRA is a company that will complete 50 years in September of this year (2023). We have equipment from different generations, and this is a challenge to maintain the production rhythm throughout the year, so we have been working on modernizing the plant and increasing our production capacity. Our production is currently 1,200 kton/year.

Another great challenge is in the forestry area, as we are in 54 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais (Brazil). This dispersion causes an enormous challenge in managing the different laws of the municipalities, promoting social equity in them and still having to control the logistical costs of an average radius of more than 100 km from the forests to the factory. All of this is very challenging.

Ruthanne Giordano: What accomplishments are you most proud of, since you have been the Head of the Department of Information and Technology?

Ronaldo Ribiero: I am an electrical engineer with a master's degree in Artificial Intelligence, I started my career in the maintenance area at CENIBRA in 1987, during my career here I had several changes and in 2011 I was invited to take over Information Technology Management. It was a huge challenge, because I worked in the field of Automation and Electrical Engineering. It was a radical change, but I faced this challenge with great joy. I returned to school to specialize in the new area of with a lot of dedication and a very competent IT team, and it was possible to take CENIBRA to a level of excellence in digitalization and new tool fingerprints. It's been a long career with a lot of dedication and a lot of recognition from the company for this. I am very grateful to CENIBRA for my entire career here, and today I still work with the same enthusiasm and motivation as in 1987, when I started. I also think that the exponentiality of technologies favored this pride that I feel today in belonging to CENIBRA and having had the support of the Board of Directors to develop them here at CENIBRA.

Having participated in this transformational process of the company in recent years is something that I am very proud of, as I was able to contribute to this growth. Today we have a well-defined future journey and the indicators show that we are on the right track.

Ruthanne Giordano: Is there anything you'd like to share about future plans or trends for CENIBRA?

Ronaldo Ribiero: All the technologies that we have applied at CENIBRA within the IT area, have given significant results, however, we do not go by the excitement or wave of the market, we always evaluate the new technologies and trends that are applied and effectively give results for the business. For this reason, we always promote Concept Tests before the definitive use of technologies. When the results are promising, then we move on to the definitive use of these technologies.

IT has assumed an essential role in the company's operations, from the forestry area to the industrial area, we have built in partnership with the business areas in which it is possible to develop IT systems that effectively offer process improvements. It is important to point out that IT cannot be successful on its own. For this reason, we have Key Users within the business areas who leverage the use of technologies in the processes under their responsibility. So we build from digitization to IoT applications, Artificial Intelligence, augmented reality, process robotization, cloud computing, edge computing and others. We are on the path of discovery for the use of other technologies such as Blockchain, GPT Chat, Metaverse and others, as long as they present effective results for the business.

Ruthanne Giordano: Is there anything else you'd like to mention about Cenibra?

Ronaldo Ribiero: CENIBRA is a sensational company to work for, it has values that make us proud to be here, in addition, it generates jobs and wealth for more than 54 municipalities in the state of Minas Gerais, it is strongly inserted in the context of environmental preservation and strengthening society in the places where it operates. For this, it has highly qualified and dedicated employees in what they do.

I am proud to belong to this company and to contribute to it through the use of technologies, the use of which is very intense and the results are visible, as we can be competitive in a market that has a new pulp mill every day. We are working hard to remain attractive to the market and environmentally and socially sustainable.

Please consult the website: www.cenibra.com.br

I am grateful for the opportunity to provide these testimonials about CENIBRA.