RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Porto Alegre-based Gerdau, Latin America’s largest long steel producer, revealed on Friday (06) at a press conference in Belo Horizonte an investment plan of R$6 (US$1.1) billion in Minas Gerais, to be applied over five years.
The resources will be used to modernize, upgrade technology and expand local operations. The company expects to generate 6 thousand new direct and indirect jobs with the investments.
The plan includes the modernization of the Ouro Branco, Barão de Cocais, Divinópolis, and Sete Lagoas plants. In Ouro Branco, as already announced, the annual production capacity of hot-rolled coils will be increased by 250 thousand tons, with production planned to start in 2024. The production of structural profiles will be increased by 500,000 tons per year, doubling the current capacity as of 2025.
In the Barão de Cocais, Divinópolis and Sete Lagoas units, Gerdau plans to expand the automation systems, improve energy efficiency and modernize the particulate emission control equipment.
In the mining area, Gerdau announced that it will decharacterize the Alemães dam in Ouro Preto. The company will also adopt dry stacking technology for tailings. With this, Gerdau will eliminate the use of dams in its operations.
The company also announced an investment in the growth of its renewable eucalyptus forest base by 20% for the production of charcoal, used for steel production. The company already has a forestry base of 250,000 hectares in the state.