Gerdau
Encyclopedia
Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel
in America
, with steel mill
s in Brazil
, Argentina
, Canada
, Chile
, Colombia
, Dominican Republic
, Guatemala
, India
, Mexico
, Peru
, Spain
, the United States
, Uruguay
and Venezuela
. It also holds 40% stake in the Spanish company Sidenor and has a joint venture with Kalyani Group
in India
. Currently, Gerdau has an installed capacity of 26 million metric tons of steel per year and it offers steel for the civil construction, industry and agricultural sectors.
The Gerdau Group is one of the agents in the consolidation process of the global steel
business. Gerdau is the world’s 14th largest steelmaker and the largest producer of long steel in the American continent. It has 337 industrial and commercial units in the 14 countries where it operates and it has more than 38 thousand employees. Its products, sold on five continents, serve the civil construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Shares of Gerdau Group companies are traded on the stock exchanges of São Paulo
, New York
and Madrid
and was delisted in Toronto.
, with his wife Alvine Gerdau and his three children, Hugo, Walter and Bertha. There he went into industry, buying the Pontas de Paris Nail Factory in 1901. In the 1930s, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory (successor of the Pontas de Paris Nail Factory) expanded production with the establishment of a second factory in the regional city of Passo Fundo
.
Curt Johannpeter's entry into the Gerdau family marked the beginning of a brave new direction for the company. Born in Germany in 1899, Curt Johannpeter made his career in finance. In 1922 he began to work for the German Transatlantic Bank, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. In 1930 he became the branch inspector for Portugal, Spain and Latin America
, and in the same year was introduced to the young Helda Gerdau during a trip to Brazil. They married and had four sons, Germano, Klaus, Jorge and Frederico.
In 1946, Johannpeter took the wheel of the Gerdau company and directed a critical phase in its expansion. Two years later, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory began its highly successful course as a steel-maker, with the Riograndense mill. Curt Johannpeter's period as director was crucial for the modernization and professionalization of Gerdau. He brought to the company the same values he cultivated in the family, showing that respect for people is an essential factor in the success of an organization.
and agricultural
sectors.
Its operations are based on the integrated regional market mill concept by which raw materials are bought from nearby suppliers and products are primarily sold in the same region. This brand of by-product synergy led to the acquisition of Chaparral Steel in 2007, a company which has been noted for creating interchange between head management and workers and deliberately employs a maximum of 1000 people (the size of a village). Gerdau operates through three different processes:
Associated companies
Joint ventures
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
in America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, with steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...
s in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. It also holds 40% stake in the Spanish company Sidenor and has a joint venture with Kalyani Group
Kalyani Group
The Kalyani Group is one of the leading Industrial Houses in India, with a sharp focus on primarily four sectors, viz. Engineering Steel, Automotive & Non-Automotive Components, Renewable Energy & Infrastructure and Specialty Chemicals...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Currently, Gerdau has an installed capacity of 26 million metric tons of steel per year and it offers steel for the civil construction, industry and agricultural sectors.
The Gerdau Group is one of the agents in the consolidation process of the global steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
business. Gerdau is the world’s 14th largest steelmaker and the largest producer of long steel in the American continent. It has 337 industrial and commercial units in the 14 countries where it operates and it has more than 38 thousand employees. Its products, sold on five continents, serve the civil construction, industrial and agricultural sectors. Shares of Gerdau Group companies are traded on the stock exchanges of São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and was delisted in Toronto.
History
Always seeking new opportunities, João Gerdau moved again, this time to Porto AlegrePorto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, with his wife Alvine Gerdau and his three children, Hugo, Walter and Bertha. There he went into industry, buying the Pontas de Paris Nail Factory in 1901. In the 1930s, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory (successor of the Pontas de Paris Nail Factory) expanded production with the establishment of a second factory in the regional city of Passo Fundo
Passo Fundo
Passo Fundo - RS is a city in the north of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is named after its river. It's the twelfth largest city in the state with an estimated population of 188,302 inhabitants living in a total municipal area of 780 km2.-Communications:The following...
.
Curt Johannpeter's entry into the Gerdau family marked the beginning of a brave new direction for the company. Born in Germany in 1899, Curt Johannpeter made his career in finance. In 1922 he began to work for the German Transatlantic Bank, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank. In 1930 he became the branch inspector for Portugal, Spain and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and in the same year was introduced to the young Helda Gerdau during a trip to Brazil. They married and had four sons, Germano, Klaus, Jorge and Frederico.
In 1946, Johannpeter took the wheel of the Gerdau company and directed a critical phase in its expansion. Two years later, the Hugo Gerdau Nail Factory began its highly successful course as a steel-maker, with the Riograndense mill. Curt Johannpeter's period as director was crucial for the modernization and professionalization of Gerdau. He brought to the company the same values he cultivated in the family, showing that respect for people is an essential factor in the success of an organization.
Today
Gerdau's core business is to transform steel scrap and iron ore into steel products. It clients encompasses the civil construction, industrialIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
and agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
sectors.
Its operations are based on the integrated regional market mill concept by which raw materials are bought from nearby suppliers and products are primarily sold in the same region. This brand of by-product synergy led to the acquisition of Chaparral Steel in 2007, a company which has been noted for creating interchange between head management and workers and deliberately employs a maximum of 1000 people (the size of a village). Gerdau operates through three different processes:
- Mini mills;
- Integrated mills;
- Direct reduced ironDirect reduced ironDirect-reduced iron , also called sponge iron, is produced from direct reduction of iron ore by a reducing gas produced from natural gas or coal. The reducing gas is a mixture majority of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which acts as reducing agent...
plant.
Board of directors
The Board of Directors monitors the implementation of its policies and is responsible for determination of the long-term strategy, choosing the Executive Board and designating the members of the Executive Committee, in addition to deciding matters relevant to the business and to operations. It has eight members, listed below:- Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter: Chairman
- Germano H. Gerdau Johannpeter: Vice chairman
- Klaus Gerdau Johannpeter: Vice chairman
- Frederico C. Gerdau Johannpeter: Vice chairman
- Affonso Celso Pastore: Board member since 2002
- André Pinheiro de Lara Resende: Board member since 2002
- Oscar P. Bernardes Neto: Board member since 2002
Officers and Executive Committee
The Executive Committee (GEC) consists of the chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) and six vice presidents. They are responsible for general business operations, presentating plans to the Board of Directors, leading the proposal and application of approved strategies, promoting synergies and improving results by working directly with the Business Operations and Functional Processes.- André Gerdau Johannpeter (Chief executive officer and president of the Gerdau Executive Committee)
- Claudio Gerdau Johannpeter (Chief operating officer)
- Alfredo Huallem (Executive vice president of the Long Steel Brazil Business Operation),
- Manoel Vitor de Medonça Filho (Executive vice president of the Açominas Business Operation),
- Marcio Ramos (Executive vice president of the Latin America Business Operation),
- Mario Longhi Filho (Executive vice president of the North America Business Operation and CEO of Gerdau Ameristeel),
- Osvaldo Schirmer (Executive vice president of Finance and Investor Relations),
- Paulo Fernando Bins de Vasconcellos (Executive vice president of the Specialty Steel Business Operations).
Business operations
- Long Steel Brazil
- Specialty Steel: BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(Aços Especiais Piratini e Aços Villares), Spain (Corporación Sidenor), United States (Gerdau Macsteel) - Açominas: BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
- Latin America: ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
(Sipar Gerdau), ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
(Gerdau AZA), ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
(Diaco), Mexico (Sidertul and Aceros Corsa), PeruPeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(Siderperu), Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
(Inca), UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
(Gerdau Laisa), GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
(Corporación Centroamericana del Acero), VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
(Sizuca) - North America: Canada and United States (Gerdau Ameristeel)
- India (Kalyani Gerdau Steels Ltd)
Assets
- 48 steel mills
- 21 downstream operations
- 94 fabricated reinforcing steel facilities
- 4 flat steel service centers
- 80 retail facilities
- 32 scrap collection and processing facilities
- 4 iron ore extraction areas
- 2 solid pig iron production units
- 2 private port terminals
Associated companies
- 10 steel mills
- 7 downstream operations
- 13 retail facilities
Joint ventures
- 2 steel mills
- 4 downstream operations
- 1 fabricated reinforcing steel facilities