ArcelorMittal Brazil Sites Supply Half the Steel Needed for 2014 FIFA World Cup
07/12/2013 - As football (soccer) fans and national teams the world over started the countdown to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil on 11 June, ArcelorMittal is also looking forward to the event, when the world will get a chance to see how the company's steel products have been used for the tournament.
More than half of the steel used for the infrastructure works related to the World Cup has been supplied by ArcelorMittal Brazil, for a variety of buildings from stadiums, to train stations to giant aquariums.
Mineirão stadium, officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto, is the second largest football stadium in Brazil. Located in the town of Belo Horizonte — where ArcelorMittal Brazil is headquartered — it will be a host stadium for next year's World Cup. 80% of the tubes used in the stadium's 64,000 seats were produced by ArcelorMittal Manchester in Brazil — a flat and long steel service company controlled by ArcelorMittal.
Additionally, ArcelorMittal Brazil’s new steel product Securifor 3D — produced by the Belgo Bekaert Arames joint venture site — is used in the fences around the Governador Magalhães Pinto stadium. Securifor makes fences impossible to cross since they cannot be scaled, or easily cut.
The company’s steel has also been used in the new Estádio Governador José Fragelli, usually known as Verdão, in Cuiabá, Brazil. The multi-purpose venue used to have the capacity to hold 28,000 people, but to be able to host World Cup matches in 2014, has been rebuilt.
Now with a capacity of 45,000 spectators, the venue is currently being tested by the Confederations Cup matches being held from 15–30 June.
ArcelorMittal’s steel has been used in the stadium’s new bleachers (a tier of seats), removable roof and parking areas. The products supplied include rebar, annealed wires, nails, trellis and chords. Having been involved since the planning stage, ArcelorMittal Brazil teams also advised on how to make the project and construction as sustainable as possible.
Making a visit to the stadium a greener experience, it features a park, lakes, small woods and a wide walking path.
As part of ArcelorMittal’s involvement with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the company also launched a unique training project. Since last year, ArcelorMittal Brazil has been offering training for construction foremen, masons and builders. The ‘truck school’, as it is known locally, has been travelling around the country providing lessons and development opportunities, free of charge.
The course includes a compulsory safety module, regardless of the type of training chosen, and an official certificate is given upon successful completion.
The ‘truck school’ has already travelled to São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Cuiaba, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Recife to train professionals in the host cities of the World Cup. In recent months, classes have also taken place in Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza.
