Long Steel Brazil
Brazilian market leader, the Gerdau Group further
developed its services to the civil construction sector
in 2006 with the opening of the Gerdau São Paulo
mill and the expansion of its fabricated reinforcing
steel services.
Gerdau São Paulo is the first mill to be built by the
Group in 25 years. Up until now, the growth recorded
by the Group has resulted from acquisitions and
expansion of existing facilities. With an investment
of US$ 243 million, the facility is the country’s most
modern rebar producer, with the capacity to produce
900,000 metric tons of steel and 600,000 tons
of rebar for the civil construction sector.
Throughout the year, the demand for civil construction
steel was boosted by government measures to reduce
taxes and interest rates and facilitate credit. The civil
construction sector grew 4.5% in 2006, above the
2.9% recorded for the Brazilian GDP .The Brazil Long
Steel Operation manufactured 3.8 million metric tons
in 2006, 3.8% more than in 2005.
Improvements in the distribution and logistics processes
helped increase the geographic coverage of fabricated
reinforcing steel services and value added products,
including mesh, columns and other ready for use
products with welded rebar reinforcement. This
resulted in lower freight costs, reduced loss and
improved customer service. The logistics process
was also revised in the industrial facilities, bringing
greater productivity and improved punctuality in
meeting deadlines.
In Brazil, Comercial Gerdau is an important sales
channel for the complete range of long, flat and
specialty steel products made by Gerdau and other
manufacturers. With 68 stores located throughout
the country, Comercial Gerdau is the main distributor
of steel in Brazil and carries a broad range of
products for civil construction, industry, metallurgy
and agriculture. Comercial Gerdau also provides
value added services, such as fabricated reinforcing
steel and flat steel processing.
In 2006, Gerdau steel was used in large construction
works such as the Sports Complex for the 2007
Pan-American Games to be held in Rio de Janeiro,
including the João Havelange Stadium and the
Olympic Village, expansion of the port terminals
at Santos (state of São Paulo), Suape (Pernambuco)
and Navegantes (Santa Catarina), expansion of the
Congonhas Airport in São Paulo and construction
of the National Library in Brasília.
Perspectives
In the long steel sector, the Gerdau Group will continue
to invest in higher value added products and fabricated
reinforcing steel services, due to the expected growth
of the domestic economy. The expansion plans
include the opening of new fabricated reinforcing
steel facilities in various parts of Brazil.
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