The company was created in 1991, in Lisbon, Portugal, with the main goal of developing projects in the area of structural engineering.

In 1997, the company extended its activities to projects involving building structures and the area of Engineering Works Supervision.

In 2000, Profico decided to enter the area of environmental studies, creating Profico Ambiente, an entity that enjoys complete technical autonomy to operate in the environment sector.

The company further expanded its services, specifically into water and sewerage, urbanism and technical facilities through creating partnerships with technicians or specialized small businesses, accompanied by internal development of a project coordination department.

Despite having done some relevant work in Angola in the late 1990s, only in 2006 did the company invest more heavily in Angola, as co-founder of a company dedicated to engineering services, Cenga, Consultores de Engenharia de Angola, in which it owns a significant stake.

In 2010, the company acquired a prominent position in the Gesbau company, an organisation with more than 30 years’ experience in the Portuguese market with significant services provided in the area of Project Management, thereby enhancing its responsiveness to more wide-ranging services.

In 2011, following a strategy of sustainable internationalisation, Profico opened a representative office in Maputo, in a bid to approach new customers in that region of Africa, through participation in the company ECM – Engenheiros Consultores de Moçambique

History

The company was created in 1991, in Lisbon, Portugal, with the main goal of developing projects in the area of structural engineering.

In 1997, the company extended its activities to projects involving building structures and the area of Engineering Works Supervision.

In 2000, Profico decided to enter the area of environmental studies, creating Profico Ambiente, an entity that enjoys complete technical autonomy to operate in the environment sector.

The company further expanded its services, specifically into water and sewerage, urbanism and technical facilities through creating partnerships with technicians or specialized small businesses, accompanied by internal development of a project coordination department.

Despite having done some relevant work in Angola in the late 1990s, only in 2006 did the company invest more heavily in Angola, as co-founder of a company dedicated to engineering services, Cenga, Consultores de Engenharia de Angola, in which it owns a significant stake.

In 2011, following a strategy of sustainable internationalisation, Profico opened a representative office in Maputo, in a bid to approach new customers in that region of Africa, through participation in the company ECM – Engenheiros Consultores de Moçambique.



Mission

Providing Engineering Services, Profico's mission is to serve its customers with quality and efficiency, contributing to the promotion of Portuguese Engineering and to ensure adequate working conditions for its employees.



Vision

Profico wants to be recognised in the markets in which it operates as a company that provides quality services, is always prepared to find the best way to fulfil customers’ needs, that sees customers as partners and whose action is focused on technical, economic and ethical aspects.

Having already considerable experience in the international market, Profico is committed to developing and deepening its international activities, either through participation in local companies, or by establishing branches or forming collaborative agreements in compliance with the technical and cultural diversity of each country.

In 2006, the company founded and holds a significant stake in CENGA - Consultores de Engenharia de Angola, S.A., in ECM – Engenheiros Concultores de Moçambique S.A. and is committed to developing partnerships already active with local companies in Brasil and Timor.

In Cape Verde, Spain and Morocco, proposals have already been submitted and/or work performed in partnership with companies based in these countries, whose experience has proven very beneficial.

Profico therefore shows great interest in and willingness to work abroad in a spirit of great complementarity of resources and shared goals.

Quality Policy

The establishing and development of its quality policy allows Profico to attain the Excellency of its services in engineering design, project management and works supervision.

The main goal of the company is to provide services that meet the requirements and needs of its clients, namely: compliance, internal quality requirements, respect for deadlines and contractual price. An essential condition is the legal and regulatory requirements fulfilment.

To achieve these goals the company commits itself to:

- Provide services in the field of its activities that ensure the satisfaction of its clients needs in accordance with the technical constraints and legal regulations;

- Promote innovation and technical quality of services, by constantly updating and providing continuous training to its staff and acquiring technical potential;

- Recognize suppliers as partners, privileging those that respect quality standards compatible with Profico values;

- Continually improving the internal structure and human resources in order to achieve efficiency and growth;

This way, Profico warrants the necessary assets for the operation and continuous improvement of the effectiveness of the Quality Management System, implemented since December 2010 to comply with the requirements of NP EN ISO 9001:2008.



Human Resources Policy

Human resources are the most valuable asset of a services company. Being aware that a critical success factor is staff motivation, the management team has to manage employees’ expectations assuring the quality and fairness of decisions.

Not withstanding the relevance of salaries the company does not neglect the level of work conditions, encouraging team spirit, professional prizing and training, fostering creativity and supporting participation, in a stable and fair contractual environment.

The performance evaluation system in place is an objective way to identify areas of improvement for staff and management in order to unfold better individual capabilities and team engagement.

In what concerns the recruiting of technical employees the company favours the hiring of young graduates providing them in-house continuous training supported on the supervision by senior staff as well as external courses or lectures when deemed fit. Favourable additional conditions are provided to these promising elements allowing them to develop their career within the Company.



Envionmental Policy

The company is aware that, despite being responsible for producing little solid waste, it has an obligation to help preserve the environment. Thus, Profico meets all current environmental legislation.

In order to comply with this obligation, the following measures have been implemented in relation to common consumer goods:

- Whenever available, Profico uses recyclable products;

- Almost all solid waste produced by the company is sent directly for recycling – cardboard, paper, batteries and ink cartridges for printers and plotters;

- The decision to purchase products supplies or otherwise, preferably takes into account the size of their carbon footprint.


Profico advertises and promotes environmental control practices among its employees, including the reuse of the back of printed paper, or the use of two-sided printing whenever possible.



Financial Policy

Profico meets all the contractual rules with its suppliers keeping with the payment terms and demanding the delivery in time of products and services, not conditioning its payments on the collection of related services from its customers.

Likewise Profico considers that its receivables should be subject only to the terms of the contract established with its final client.

Investment decisions are taken based on a cost-benefit analysis in which the acquisition price is considered taking into account the environment characteristics, maintenance costs and life expectancy of the product.

Since it was founded PROFICO has followed a policy of hiring highly qualified new employees.

Currently 73% of our employees are university educated, 92% of whom are Civil Engineering graduates.

Currently the average age of permanent employees is 40.

Throughout our history we have followed a policy of promoting employee training through attendance on training courses and participation in specialized seminars.

We prefer to train our engineers through guidance in the relevant traineeships. Many trainees subsequently join the Company's workforce.

PROFICO has been participating in Portuguese and international engineering meetings, mainly regarding subjects related with structural design.

Over the years we have been active in the structure of the Portuguese professional engineering industry association - the APPC - either by working as a management position or by participating in the working groups.



Key People

JORGE GIL
MENESES

Managing Partner - Sales
& Projcets Director
 

Civil Eng. - IST_1978

13 years with Betar, occupying positions of bridge design engineer and Director and Managing Partner (1978/1991). Founder of Profico in 1991, accumulating management with designs of bridges and various activities related to engineering, such as arbitration, advice, project review and structural rehabilitation. Post-graduate qualification in Management from UNL in 99/2000. Member of the board of APPC between 2003 and 2009.

CARLOS MANUEL
LOPES

Manager - Director
of Proj. Infrastructures
& Special Structures

Civil Eng. - IST_1984-89

Founding partner of Profico in 1991, Manager since 2004 and Special Structural Projects Director; Designer of Special Structures, having participated in the design of more than five hundred structures located on roads and rail links.

MANUEL PERA
FERNANDES

Special Structure
Projects Director
 

Civil Eng. - FCT UC_1990

Joined Profico in 1997, acting as a designer engineer and projects director for bridges and special structures; currently performs these functions in conjunction with those of Project Management and Supervision Director: Managing Partner of Microdim - Software Engineering between 1997 and 1997. Designer of structures at Finitus between 1991 and 1996.

EDUARDO SEIXAS
MONTEIRO

Projects Director -
Building Division
 

Civil Eng. - UC_1991

Specialist Member in Structures of the Portuguese Engineering Association Joined Profico as a Structural Engineer in 1996 and simultaneously, from 1997 to 2006, taught several Structures and Design subjects as an invited professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria.

TERESA
PROENÇA

Administration
& Finance Director
 

Econ. - UCP_1980-85

With Profico since July 2009, she has developed her professional activity in private companies, taking up various management positions, specifically in Administration, the Administration and Finance Division and Human Resources.

Carlos
Duarte

Director of Project
Management and
Construction Supervision

Civil Eng. - IST_1982

20 years of experience in management, coordination and supervision of works (Soares da Costa, Amadeu Gaudêncio, Obrecol). From 2002-2015 exercising functions in management and supervision, as Technical Director and Director of Gesbau. He is currently the Director of the Department of Project Management and Construction Supervision. Security Coordination Course - IST (2002-2003). Post - Graduation in Sustainable Building - UNL (2011/2012).

Special Structures Division

The Special Structures Division focuses its activity on the drafting of bridge and road and rail viaduct designs, containment structures and special foundations. It also operates extensively in bridge inspection and developing rehabilitation and structural reinforcement projects.

Within the field of its speciality, it has played a significant role in the design of the main roads and rail links executed or serviced in the country over the past two decades, as well as numerous large-scale and complex works within large cities, including Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra.



Building Structures Division

The Special Structures Division focuses its activity on the drafting of bridge and road and rail viaduct designs, containment structures and special foundations. It also operates extensively in bridge inspection and developing rehabilitation and structural reinforcement projects.

Within the field of its speciality, it has played a significant role in the design of the main roads and rail links executed or serviced in the country over the past two decades, as well as numerous large-scale and complex works within large cities, including Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra.



Supervising and Project Management

Profico operates in the ever growing field of Project Management, in the full range of aspects or phases of the “chain of the construction process”: Strategy, Concept, Design, Procurement, Construction Scheduling, Supervision, Health and Safety in construction.

In the comprehensive management of the construction process, it offers services in the areas of Project Management and EPCM (Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management).

Within the “chain of the construction process”, the company is qualified and certified by ISO 9001 to provide these services to public or private entities.



Organization Chart

Throughout its existence, Profico has positioned itself as a company providing services in the area of construction and public works projects with a strong focus on structural projects.

Within these projects, not only do road and railway bridges have special significance, but also common structures (multifunctional buildings) and containment and special foundations.

In recent years, the company has sought to develop the provision of services in related areas, specifically Project Management, which includes the supervision, preparation and coordination of multidisciplinary projects and road, hydraulic, electrical and mechanical engineering project activities.

In parallel with these services, Profico has also developed activity in the area of the inspection, rehabilitation, and structural strengthening of bridges and buildings.

Another emerging activity consists of reviewing projects and contributing to guaranteeing the quality thereof, which ultimately represents a contribution towards ensuring high standards in terms of the engineering involved.

In addition to the activities mentioned above, within its area of activity, Profico has been widely sought to carry out services in condominiums, whereby it has already gained extensive experience in providing Design, Auditing, Inspection and Supervision services for works within condominiums, or to companies that represent them.



Scope of Services


Civil engineering design projects

_ Bridges and Overpasses
_ Building Structures
_ Tank and Silo structures
_ Water, sewerage and gas
_ Foundations and retaining works
_ Roads and Highways Infrastructures
_ Rehabilitation and structural reinforcement


Coordination and Implementation of Multidisciplinary Projects

_ Architecture ^(a)
_ Electrical and electromechanical installations ^(a)
_ Integrated water supply systems


Management and Construction Supervision

_ Buildings Construction and Rehabilitation
_ Water supply and distribution and wastewater treatment systems
_ Roads construction works infrastructure


Technical Consulting

_ Design Project Review
_ Preparation of technical advice documents in the civil engineering construction field
_ Urban planning
_ Licensing of industrial facilities ^(b)
_ Feasibility studies
_ Organization and issue of tenders


Other studies

_ Environmental Studies ^(b)
_ Thermal Studies (RCCTE)

^(a) These projects are always carried out using subcontractors.
^(b) Through the Profico Ambiente subsidiary.

Since its establishment and in the previous activity of its senior technical staff, Profico has adopted a technically responsible attitude, but one open to technical innovation in the search for reliable creative solutions to meet the difficulties and constraints that works sometimes face.

For instance, some cases may be cited where Profico’s interest in innovation, and that of its managers, contributed to the rationalisation of the works:
 

Studies involving aspects that, while not unprecedented, were not common at the time when they occurred are also worth mentioning; specifically the study of a bridge floor using prefabricated box girders (1997), the use of vibro-replacement of soils (1995), land support using anchored walls and rock bolting, (1992) study of the manufacture of support equipment in Portugal (1986), foundation with prefabricated piles, etc.

PROFICO Ambiente
PROFICO Ambiente is a consulting company in the Environmental area and its scope of activity involves the preparation of studies and projects in the areas of Environment and Spatial Planning.
www.proficoambiente.pt


CENGA
Cenga is an Angolan company that offers engineering knowledge in the areas of Projects, Project Management, Inspection and Consultancy.
www.cenga-angola.com


ECM
ECM is a Mozambican company that offers engineering knowledge in the areas of Projects, Project Management, Inspection and Consultancy.
ecm-consultores.com


PROFICO BRASIL
PROFICO is in Brazil through a company that offers engineering services in the areas of Projects, Project Management, Inspection and Consultancy.
www.profico.com.br