The Gerdau Group sees suppliers as strategic partners
for success and encourages them to adopt responsible
practices in regard to people and the environment
The Gerdau Group considers its suppliers as important
allies in reaching goals related to product and service
quality, work safety, and social and environmental
responsibility. This means that our suppliers are also
responsible for the successful fulfillment of such goals,
and that is why we require them to adopt responsible
practices of respect for people and the environment.
To reinforce this position, Gerdau makes periodical
audits and holds training sessions for suppliers,
focused on improving management quality, developing
business, stimulating social investment and corporate
citizenship, among other issues.
In Brazil, one highlight in this area is a project to
encourage the creation of cooperatives for the
recycling and selling of scrap; an essential raw material
in steelmaking. This initiative is based on three principles:
income generation, improvement of business, and
environmental education. The pilot project is taking
place in the towns of Divinópolis and Barão de Cocais,
both in the state of Minas Gerais, in partnership with
the non-profit organization Brazilian Business Commitment
for Recycling (Cempre). In 2007, the project will be
extended to eight additional municipalities.
In South Brazil, 40 companies were selected to take
part in the Gerdau Supplier Development Program,
which is an 18-month program to stimulate an increase
in market competitiveness. The companies involved are
equipment, parts, maintenance and service suppliers.
Throughout the training they analyze the performance
of specific management indicators, and establish
action plans to improve them.
Supplier profile
Whenever possible, Gerdau hires local suppliers
to leverage development in the regions where the
Group operates. In Brazil, between 30 and 35%
of the total value of products and services bought or
hired by the Gerdau Long Steel and Gerdau Specialty
Steel operations is provided by regional companies.
In North America, this ratio reaches 50%. An item
of note is the creation of cooperatives, made up
of local labor, to provide, for example, passenger
transportation and engineering services or to supply
medications or food.
Supporting local entrepreneurship is also
a common practice at Gerdau. In Uruguay, 50%
of the suppliers for Gerdau Laisa are micro, small,
or medium-sized companies.
The standards for suppliers are described
in the Gerdau Group Ethical Guidelines (see www.gerdau.com).
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