Gerdau Group, the leading producer of long products in the Americas, announced this week that it will invest US$400 million in one of its existing Brazilian plants for the installation of a new plate mill.
The new mill will have an annual capacity of 870,000 tons and is expected to go into operation in 2010.
Gerdau says that the mill's production will be sold in the domestic market and will also be exported to serve the growing overseas markets in construction, manufacturing of heavy equipment, manufacturing of tubes for gas and ore pipelines, and shipbuilding.
Currently, Gerdau Group manufactures flat products in Peru (Siderperu) and the United States (Gallatin joint venture). Its flat sales in Brazil have so far been manufactured by third-party companies and sold through major Brazilian steel distributor Comercial Gerdau.
"In Brazil we are expanding our experience in flat steels from sales to manufacturing, with the purpose of providing better services to our clients by offering them a more comprehensive product line," explained Gerdau Group COO Claudio Gerdau Johannpeter.