Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau has started operations at the flat steel rolling unit in the company’s subsidiary Gerdau Ouro Branco (formerly known as Açominas) located in Minas Gerais state. Porto Alegre-based Gerdau is the biggest producer of long steel in the Americas, and one of the largest suppliers of specialty steel in the world, with installed capacity of over 25Mt/y.
The new flat steel rolling unit consists of a hot rolling line for coils—Gerdau’s first in the country—and a heavy plate rolling line. The project’s total investment was budgeted at USD 1.19B.
Gerdau Ouro Branco’s flat steel rolling unit is designed to meet local demand from oil and gas, shipbuilding, construction, and heavy machinery sectors. Initially, the company intends to sell 300,000–350,000t of flat steel. The plant has a 770,000t/y capacity.
In addition, Gerdau’s heavy plate rolling unit, which is also expected to be ready by the first half of 2014, would further increase Gerdau’s share in Brazil’s flat steel market. The company’s two rolling units will boost its installed capacity to 1.9Mt/y of flat steel.
Gerdau’s increased share in the flat steel market through the manufacturing of heavy plates, primarily used by the shipbuilding industry, should replace much of Brazil’s current steel imports, according to reports.