Gerdau Building Steel Mill in South America

The Gerdau Group announced plans to invest more than $500 million to build a specialty steel mill in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and expand its existing Cosigua mill. The two projects are expected to be completed by 2007.

With this expansion, Gerdau Group’s annual steel production capacity in Rio de Janeiro will increase 117 percent, from 1.2 million metric tons to 2.6 million metric tons. Annual production capacity of rolled products – rebar, bars, profiles, wire rod and steel angles – will increase from 1.3 million metric tons to 2.1 million metric tons.

The new mill, to be known as Gerdau Aços Especiais Rio, supplies specialty steel for the automotive industry and increase service to the engineering, civil construction and agricultural markets. Aços Especiais Rio will have an annual production capacity of 800,000 metric tons of steel and 500,000 metric tons of rolled products, primarily for use in the domestic market.

Production capacity at Gerdau Cosigua will be increased from 1.2 to 1.8 million metric tons of steel per year, and from 1.3 million metric tons to 1.6 million metric tons of rolled products. With this expansion Gerdau’s Rio de Janeiro operations will become a world steelmaking benchmark for their advanced technology and management practices.