Sidor is guided by the following values and principles: humanism, patriotism, socialist ethics, discipline, efficiency, loyalty, excellence, collective vision, solidarity and honesty. The establishment of Sidor was a long process that started in 1955 when the Venezuelan government signed a contract with the Italian firm Innocenti of Milan to build a steel plant. The process started with planning, and went on to construction and eventually to operations in 1981. The company was once owned by private investors but in 2008 at the discretion of President Chaves the company became state owned.