Gerdau opens new hot-rolled steel production line in Brazil

Gerdau, a leading Brazilian steel company, has officially commissioned a new hot rolled steel (HRC) production line at its plant in Oru Branco, Minas Gerais. This is reported by SteelOrbis.

The new line will increase the plant’s production capacity by 230 thousand tons per year, reaching a total HRC production of 1 million tons annually. This expansion will allow Gerdau to better meet its customers’ demand for high-quality steel and increase the company’s competitiveness in the domestic and international markets. The main consumers of the products will be the automotive industry and machine and equipment manufacturers.

Investments in the new line amounted to about $260 million. The project included the modernization of existing production facilities and the introduction of advanced technologies that will help improve production efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

However, Gerdau CEO Gustavo Werneck warned that the new line could be out of work due to growing steel imports, especially from China. He emphasized that the government should take additional protective measures by the end of the month to limit the flow of cheap imported products.

The opening was attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, which is seen as a signal of possible support for new restrictions on steel imports.

As a reminder, Gerdau CEO Gustavo Werneck recently said that the company may decide to increase production capacity in the United States instead of building a new plant in Mexico.

Last year, Gerdau announced that it was considering building a new specialty steel plant in Mexico with an annual capacity of about 600 thousand tons, a project that would require an investment of $500-600 million.