A reference in the application and development of iron and steel for parts and products in the automotive sector, RIO has become a global brand and is among the main automotive part manufacturers in Latin America.
The versatility and courage to reinvent itself according to market opportunities were crucial for RIO to operate in different segments today. It supplies parts to the main automakers in the world, serves the railway and naval sector, supplies the national and international automotive markets with spare part lines and exports to over 25 countries in Latin America, North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
Since 2019, it has been expanding its business by using additive manufacturing, through 3D printing, to manufacture cast model prototypes. On the other hand, the strategic partnership with Wirklich, entered into at the end of 2020, is allowing RIO to advance and conquer new markets.
Organizational and market intelligence, an eye for innovation and the certainty that everyone matters are pillars that guide the company and motivate people to create movement in all sectors of the factory. United by the same principles and purpose.
INNOVATION IN OUR DNA
RIO is a technological and innovative company whose actions are inspired by the experiences it generates with its customers and collaborator and in what it has learned in its over 75 years of activities. The following stand out as distinctions of the brand:
– Innovation on several fronts: RIO created a prototyping business model that was redesigned and unprecedented in the market, using 3D printing, to leverage the development of new prototypes, with a focus on cost and time reduction. This makes it possible to produce prototypes and parts with low demand, casting and machining, faster and at a lower cost compared to conventional production processes.
– Excellence: RIO has quality and technical laboratories for dimensional analysis and part material, metrology with high-capacity technological equipment and trained engineering teams. This entire structure ensures a product with quality recognized in the market.
– Values: the principles that guide the company’s people are reflected in the brand’s positioning with its customers. The company is known for, among other practices, working on Customer Success and generating technical and management content about the automotive world. For RIO, education and knowledge take all relations with our public further. The company’s communication channels – YouTube, Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram – confirm investment in content.
– Valuing people: the most precious asset of RIO, stamped on all the company’s actions and processes. The company uses a unique and innovative management model for an automotive industry, in which leadership and expression are encouraged in the work environment. All of the over 800 collaborators are fundamental to the company’s trajectory and responsible for its success.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A reference in the research and development of parts in the automotive sector, RIO stands out for the technology it uses and the productive capacity of its factory.
Sustainable business growth is noticeable. RIO grows 35% on average per year, an optimistic index within the metallurgy sector focused on the automobile industry. Along with growth, the company aims to strengthen its brand and expand operations in its markets.
With all the advances it has made, RIO intends to accelerate projects and present intelligent and more complete solutions. The expectation is to double its participation in the segments in which it operates and, thus, have an increasingly sustainable business, making good and promising partnerships, generating more and more jobs and developing social responsibility projects more intensely.
From Riosulense to RIO
With a new face, but maintaining the human and inspiring essence with which it has been working for decades, RIO has transformed its brand and redefined its identity. After intense research and work, which took over a year, Riosulense became RIO.
The company adopted the name it was already being called in the market. The change was to demonstrate the modernity and innovation already present in the company’s DNA. And the slogan “Crie Movimento” [create movement] has come to emphasize that RIO is constantly advancing, in addition to serving as an invitation to all partners.
In addition, the symbolism of the flame represents much more than just metal casting. It represents the talent of everyone that is a part of RIO: partners, customers and collaborators. It is an invitation to “illuminate paths, spark talents and shape the future”. In the words of Mr. João Stramosk, founder of the company. Visionary and innovative, he was the one who started the spark back in 1946 and his legacy sustains the flame to this day.
TIMELINE – 75 YEARS OF TRANSFORMATION
Learn about RIO´s history through the TIMELINE
> 1946 – Provides basic mechanical services for lumber and cassava starch industries, common in the region of Rio do Sul.
> 1949 – Begins to manufacture machines.
> 1956 – Aware of the country’s transformations and growth of the automotive industry, the company begins to operate in this market, manufacturing valve guides.
> 1980 – This experience makes auto part production the main activity of the Company.
> 1997 – Due to its excellence, RIO gains new markets, begins exporting its products.
> 2011 – A new market served: having observed a shortage in the sector, the company begins manufacturing parts for the railway sector.
> 2012 – In constant growth, production begins at the cylinder sleeve factory.
> 2019 – To speed up the innovation process, RIO inaugurates the Prototype Factory, with 3D printing technology.
> 2020 – RIO enters into a strategic partnership with Wirklich to produce high-performance plastic injections and reinforces a strategy focused on the railway sector.
