In 122 years, Progreso has become one of the engines of the region’s economy, and a large part of this achievement is due to the fact that human beings are always the center of all imagined actions, planned and executed in the company.
Disruptive ideas are one of the fundamental pillars of Progreso and, more than ever, innovation processes have been taken into account to adapt to the new normal the world is experiencing.
However, and despite the adversities the health crisis posed for all companies, in Progreso they decided to stay «together» and reaffirm the commitment to put people first. In the imagination of the members from that great family, the motto that accompanies this new celebration today was built: «Together We are Progress.»
And each story from each collaborator, each service provider and each beneficiary of Progreso’s actions, creates a new coordinate to continue in search of excellence and passion for service.
The Progreso family is made up of over 10 companies that provide support, services or improve the experience of clients and collaborators.
In 1899, Cementos Progreso was founded, the first cement factory in Guatemala, which was called Carlos F. Novella y Compañía, and the first product to be marketed was Cal Horcalsa, years later the name was changed to Cementos Progreso. This was the first step in creating the concept of a company dedicated to manufacturing building materials.
This allowed creating a vision at a regional level that in 2018 materialized in Belize with the start of operations in Cementos Rocafuerte Limited, dedicated to the production and commercialization of Cement in the neighboring country.
However, that is not all, at the end of 2019 the Panamanian Cement group emerged, dedicated to the production and commercialization of cement and concrete in the canal country.
In 2021, and despite the pandemic, Colombia received Progreso as “Cempro Colombia” dedicated to the commercialization of cement in the Colombian market. The plant is located in Barranquilla, Colombia.
The great depression put our founder’s ingenuity to the test to preserve jobs and in 1995 our collaborators went from manufacturing cement to reforesting “El Tablon”, founding Agrobosques with this action.
In 1986, Sacos del Atlántico was founded, with the vision of being leaders in the production of high-performance paper sacks for the transport of construction products, and in 2004 Agreca (first Agregua) dedicated to the manufacture of aggregates that constitute the essential raw material for the production of concrete, asphalt, block, and other precast elements.
In 2006, the Enernova energy unit was born, with the vision of guaranteeing a self-sustaining source of energy supply for Cementos Progreso. In 2020 AgroProgreso begins labors in order to generate development through economic engines that improve the standard of living of the families around the Progreso farms.
Thinking about providing solutions for construction led the authorities in 1954 to found Mixto Listo with the vision of supplying each construction with quality concrete.
In 2010 ConstruRed and ConstruFácil came to light, franchises that have a wide assortment of construction materials, finishes and homes in Guatemala.
In 2012, Rocafuerte began operations, a distribution center for hardware products, and in 2018 Renova and Hogarísimo were born as an initiative to enhance improvement in the attention and development of key accounts of Cementos Progreso.
In 1993, Financiera Progreso was born, a financial company that operates within the regulated system of Guatemala, whose main objective is to support the growth and production of the country.
In 2015, the unit called “Strategic Projects” began operations, whose initial objectives were to manage Progreso’s non-core assets.
Progreso Labs was born in 2019, and its main objective is to enable Progreso innovation projects through methodologies and experimentation platforms.
In the same year, Progreso X started the corporate accelerator that seeks to create and carry out disruptive ideas for the benefit of the world through collaborative innovation between Progreso, startups and their ecosystem.
The Private School “Enrique Novella Alvarado” (ENA), was born in 1977 as part of the social projection, integral development of its collaborators and the community in general, considering education as the decisive factor for success. The schools are located on the San Miguel and San Gabriel production plants
In 1987 the Carlos F. Novella Foundation was created, with the mission of contributing to the integral development of Guatemala through innovation, excellence, education and community development programs.
The Carlos F. Novella Museum, began in 1999, and its main function is to register, preserve, disseminate and promote the industrial heritage of Cementos Progreso.
In each stage of Guatemala´s recent history, Progreso has been collaborating, participating and building options and new ideas to build together the country where we all want to live in.
With 4,271 employees in Guatemala, Progreso is one of the most ethical companies in the world and all employees are treated with respect and dignity. That is why the rotation in positions is not so great and there are great testimonies of dedication and life like the ones we will read below:
46 years of working for Progreso:
“I´m proud to work for a company like Progreso. I´m very happy because I have achieved with work, the stability of my family and I have managed to get ahead. With honorable and honest work «
33 years of working for Progreso.
“This trajectory has allowed me to develop myself and my family. By learning to manage finances, you learn to achieve what you set out to do. Since I started in the company, I joined the lime scale since its inception and I have seen the evolution of the process and production of lime. That makes me proud».
