Votorantin Steel was created in July 2008 and reflects the repositioning of the Group, the growth of the steel mill market, its importance in the domestic and international scenarios, and the pertaining specificities of the steel industry such as technology and product diversity. In 2009 Votorantim Steel increased sales volumes in the three markets where it operates – Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.

Several factors led the company reach a new competitive benchmark in the industry, namely, the Resende (Rio de Janeiro State) steel mill startup with a steelworks capacity of 1 million tons/year and milling of 500,000 tons/year. The beginning of the iron ore extraction in Ubalá (Colombia) which equated the supply of raw materials at competitive costs and the setting up of a service network with cut and fold centers in the three countries.

VS owns four steel mills in Latin America. The Barra Mansa steel mill – the company’s oldest – dates back to 1937 and the newest, Resende, opened in 2009, are located in Brazil. The other two mills (Acerias Paz del Rio in Colombia and Acebrag in Argentina) were acquired in 2007.

Besides producing and trading steel, VS operates iron and coal mines, and it develops and manages eucalyptus forests to produce the charcoal used in the production of pig iron, which is one of the main raw materials used in steel production.

Products: long steel – for construction (annealed wire, steel frameworks, electro-welded wire mesh, and CA 50 and CA 60 rebars), and mechanical construction (flat bars, angle, wire rods, Profile I, Profile U and mechanical rounders); flat steel (hot rolled coils and sheets, products only available from Acerías Paz del Río – Colombia).

Brands: Votoraço (Brazil), AcerBrag (Argentina), Acerías Paz del Río (Colombia).

Employees: 4.7 thousand.

Productive assets:

• Siderúrgica Barra Mansa: the facility where Votorantim began its steel operations. It has a production capacity of 750,000 tons of steel per year;
• Siderúrgica Resende: operating since September 2009, it has an annual capacity of 1.03 million tons of long products. Comprising the most modern equipment worldwide in steel making and rolling, the new plant seeks to become an international model of sustainability;
• Acerías Paz del Río: an integrated steel plant that combines steel making and mining (iron, coal and limestone). Acquired in 2007, it is the second largest steel plant in Colombia with capacity to produce 450.0 thousand tons per year of long and flat products;
• AcerBrag: founded in Bragado in the early 1960s, it was acquired in 2007 and is the second largest producer of long products in Argentina – 250,000 tons/year.

Production capacity

• Brazil: 1,800.0 tons/year;
• Argentina: 280.0 tons/year;
• Colombia: 420.0 tons/year.

Performance in 2009

• Net Revenues: R$2.2 billion;
• Investments: R$0.5 billion in Capex;
• Sales volume: Brazil: 625.0 thousand tons; Colombia: 320.0 thousand tons; Argentina: 250.0 thousand tons.

Learn more about Votorantim Steel