João Gerdau

The Gerdau Group was born from the vision and hard work of Johannes Heinrich Kaspar Gerdau, known as João Gerdau, a German migrant who left the port of Hamburg for Rio Grande do Sul in 1869 in search of new business opportunities.

Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit, he arrived at the port of Rio Grande and, at only 20 years of age, established himself in Colônia de Santo Ângelo (now the town of Agudo), where he invested in trade, transport and the subdivision of land. He moved to the town of Cachoeira do Sul in 1884, where he founded an important General Store.

Always seeking new opportunities, João Gerdau moved again, this time to Porto Alegre, with his wife Alvine Gerdau and his three children, Hugo, Walter and Bertha. There he went into industry, buying the Pontas de Paris Nail Factory in 1901.

His company can now look back on more than a century of activity, and still hold high the entrepreneurial flame of João Gerdau as an example for all.

Hugo Gerdau

Besides being educated in the major industrial centers of Europe, he paid a number of visits to European and North American countries in search of the latest steel-making technologies and processes. With production from the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory, the state of Rio Grande do Sul no longer depended on European nails.

In 1909, Hugo Gerdau married Tilly Bins, and they had two daughters: Helda and Liselotte.

As early as 1914, Hugo Gerdau became one of the founding partners of Companhia Geral de Indústrias in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, which produced the famous Geral stoves. In 1930 he took active part in the creation of the Centro de Indústrias Fabril do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Manufacturing Industry Center of Rio Grande do Sul), which in time became the Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (Federation of Industries of Rio Grande do Sul) or FIERGS. Three years later, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory expanded production with the establishment of a second factory in the regional city of Passo Fundo.

A writer who passed through the south of Brazil described the unique Hugo Gerdau:

"Artless by nature, modest and without airs, Hugo Gerdau reveals a clear-headed intelligence dedicated to his uncommon capacity for work."

Blancato, Vicente S. As Forças Econômicas do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. 1922

Curt Johannpeter

Curt Johannpeter's entry into the Gerdau family marked the beginning of a brave new direction for the company. Born in Germany in 1899, Curt Johannpeter made his career in finance. In 1922 he began to work for the German Transatlantic Bank, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. In 1930 he became the branch inspector for Portugal, Spain and Latin America, and in the same year was introduced to the young Helda Gerdau during a trip to Brazil. They married and had four sons, Germano, Klaus, Jorge and Frederico.

In 1946, Curt (as he was informally addressed) took the wheel of the Gerdau company and directed a critical phase in its expansion. Two years later, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory began its highly successful course as a steel-maker, with the Riograndense mill.

Curt Johannpeter's period as director was crucial for the modernization and professionalization of Gerdau. He brought to the company the same values he cultivated in the family, showing that respect for people is an essential factor in the success of an organization. This respect, summed up in the Corporate Credo as "Commitment to all Publics", is the basis of Gerdau's relationship with its customers, shareholders, employees and community.

Curt was always a great example of social competence, which is the practical ability to develop a daily work environment based on partnership, open dialogue and cordiality, without losing the sense of professionalism.

Everyone who worked with Curt remembers his daily visits around the workplace, greeting employees by name, and always providing personal and professional support for all.

Curt's business talent and the Gerdau family's entrepreneurial tradition were the ingredients for the company's tireless striving for customer satisfaction and consequent business success.