New details about Gerdau’s new Santa Fe meltshop, which was initially reported last week by SteelOrbis, reveal the project is expected to strengthen the company’s presence in Argentina, according to the company’s CEO, Andre Gerdau Johannpeter.
“Argentina is a strategic market and the construction of a new meltshop will strengthen Gerdau’s position in the country,” he said.
Gerdau said it invested $232 million in the meltshop, which is located 3.7 miles away from Gerdau’s rolling mill also located in the city of Perez.
Gerdau said that out of the $232 million it invested in the new meltshop, it spent $20 million for “modern processes for the recycling and reuse of feedstock.” The company expects the plant to generate 800 direct and indirect jobs.
Gerdau said the start-up of the Perez meltshop was a strategic decision, as it eyes the long-term in the country.
“The strategic decision to build a new steel mill was made thinking in the next 50 years,” said Fernando Lombardo, Gerdau’s executive director for Uruguay and Argentina.
“It’s been 40 years since a mill was built in the country,” he said.
Gerdau’s new long steel capacity should be increased by 35 percent with the startup of the Perez meltshop, the company said.