The investment plan for modernization, technological upgrades and expansion of its local operations will take place over the next five years and will generate more than 6,000 jobs.

Two key investments in the expansion of steel production will take place in Ouro Branco at the company’s main production plant, where the annual capacity of production of hot-rolled coils will increase by 250,000 metric tons/year. Production is scheduled for the beginning of 2024. In addition, production of structural profiles will be increased by 500,000 metric tons/year — doubling the current capacity — and production is anticipated to start in 2025.

“The new hot-rolled coil capacity will allow us to deliver steel with increasing added value to our customers,” says Marcos Faraco, vice president of Gerdau. “In turn, the additional production of structural profiles, a segment in which we have been pioneers in Brazil since the 2000s, is in line with our strategy for the development of the metal construction industry, contributing to greater productivity in the real estate, industrial and infrastructure segments.”

Investments will also be allocated to the improvement of environmental practices and technological modernization within the scope of Industry 4.0 of Gerdau’s entire industrial park in Minas Gerais, as well as the growth and modernization of its renewable eucalyptus forest base for the production of charcoal.

Read the full announcement here.