Brazilian flats producer Usiminas is eyeing several investments for the next few years, a top executive said. According to a media report by Diario do Comercio, Kazuhiro Egawa, director for Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC), a major shareholder in Usiminas, said Usiminas will repair its No. 3 blast furnace at its Ipatinga mill in Minas Gerais state between 2021 and 2022. The No. 3 blast furnace repair works at the Ipatinga mill would reportedly cost over BRL 1 billion ($255.6 million).
Other investments, whose exact timeline and value were not disclosed by the executive, include investments at a galvanizing unit at the company’s Cubatao mill in Sao Paulo state, as it is expected to resume activities. Sergio Leite, CEO at Usiminas, indicated last year the Cubatao mill, which was shut down in 2016, would not resume activities before 2021. At the time, he said Usiminas would build the company’s fourth galvanizing line.
Egawa, who is leaving his NSSMC role, said all those investments should take place within the next three to five years.
Usiminas said it appointed Yoshiaki Shimada as a definite member of the company’s board. Shimada will replace Egawa for a short period this year, until a next general meeting is scheduled. Shimada will take his board member role effectively on April 1, 2019, Usiminas said.