Anuario Brasileiro do Cobre | Brazilian Copper Yearbook 2020

2020 Anuário Brasileiro do Cobre Brazilian Copper Yearbook 28 responsibility is shared between the associated companies and the entity itself. What are the advantages of this action for the market and the consumers? Mostly, greater security. Of the samples we collected last year, nearly 60% had less copper contained than needed. The worst is not only the number of manufacturers working this way, but the parameters at which they are making the materials. The average sample is 30% less copper contained in the cables, and today we have somewhere between 50% and 60%. Therefore, we really need to raise consumer awareness with a publicity work showing that the Qualifio Seal will bring security to electrical installations. What other initiatives have helped the consumer market? Today we have a number of partnerships with other industry-related associations that have helped with security. One is Casa Segura (Safe House). This initiative points out which problems a poor quality cable can generate and the risks it brings to everyday life. Both Casa Segura and the Programa do Eletricista Consciente (Conscious Electrician Program) are partnerships we made in order to make society increasingly aware of the need to acquire quality drivers and to demonstrate that Qualifio monitors this work. We want to go beyond analysing the materials we find on the market and reporting to INMETRO. We aim for a certification for electrical installations, which is an important step in this universe focused on safety actions. When a facility is certified, everything is evaluated and not just the quality of the product. Then, the consumer market itself begins to create a requirement that will impact the manufacturer. What is the expectation of the sector regarding the development of new public policies in the current government? There have been many changes in INMETRO. One of the main ones is that the agency will start to transfer the responsibility of supervising to institutions specialized in the sector, such as Qualifio. INMETRO is multidisciplinary, so there are often no specialists for each area. Therefore, they should delegate this responsibility for these entities to monitor and report to INMETRO to mitigate these problems. This change is a major evolution that this government is making. What are the necessary policies to improve the safety of installations? What we see for the future is the certificate of the installation and, besides that, doing a retrofit of the electrical facilities. Many of them are more than 20 years old. Thinking about the evolution of a 20, 25 year old home, there is a lot of technology from new electric equipment that are demanding a bigger charge in these residences and in commercial buildings. This provides more savings because the electrical equipment is of high power, and often the electrical installation is not prepared for this load. How do you evaluate the economy’s performance so far? In the cable industry, we depend on investments in infrastructure and new works. Cables are not like light bulbs, which burn out and are replaced. The cable is part of the electrical installation, which is usually done once and is not replaced. So for us, a country where GDP is slowly evolving causes our market not to expand either. We have been seeing a virtually stagnant sector for four years. All segments of the economy needs investment, and with the copper chain is not different. If it does not happen, the industry does not advance either. Is there a deadline for the implementation of Qualifio’s new actions? This work is gradual. We are doing serious work, increasingly seeking to make consumers aware of buying quality products. However, consumers are not cable experts. So we need to highlight Qualifio and show that our seal guarantees quality. We have the support of the board, which today is made up of representatives from various companies, with technicians and qualified people, to make this happen. We are aware of our challenges and perhaps the biggest one is to eliminate from the market non- conforming materials. It is an ungrateful reality, I believe that, slowly but surely, this illegal practice will decrease by a consumer demand. QUALIDADE QUALITY