Votorantim Siderurgia plans to become industry leader in the Americas

Votorantim Siderurgia, the steel arm of Brazilian conglomerate Grupo Votorantim, is aiming to be a leading player - both in terms of quality and cost - in long steel production in the Americas, according to company director Ricardo Henriques Leal.
As part of its growth strategy, the company is also planning to increase output to 3Mt/y from the current 2.53Mt/y. The increase will be achieved through improvements in productivity and developments at its existing units in South America, Leal said.
Votorantim Siderurgia's operations in Brazil comprise a plant in Barra Mansa and another in Resende, both in Rio de Janeiro state. It also has units in Argentina and Colombia.
The company also plans to increase long steel exports from Brazil as part of its growth strategy. Currently, exports accounts for 5% of Votorantim Siderurgia's sales, according to Leal.
In 2009, the company's revenues were 2.2bn reais (US$1.25bn), equivalent to 10% of the group's sales.
PRODUCTION
In Brazil, production capacity is 1Mt/y at Resende and 800,000t/y at Barra Mansa.
At Argentine subsidiary Acerbrag, Votorantim Siderurgia produces 330,000t/y, while Acerias Paz Del Rio in Colombia produces 400,000t/y. In Colombia, Votorantim also has iron ore and coal mining operations, supplying 100% of the raw material for its local steel plant.
Output will be increased by 20% in both Argentina and Colombia, according to Leal. "The hike in production capacity will be achieved through improvements at the current units," Leal told reporters during the Latin American Iron & Steel Trends conference, held in Rio de Janeiro last week.
Leal's outlook for the rest of the year in the Brazilian steel sector is optimistic. "The market has grown consistently this year compared to 2009 and I think that growth level will be maintained," he said.
By Fernanda De Biagio

Stocks in steel distribution sector at record 1.2Mt - Brazil

Brazil's steel distribution sector increased purchases by 85% to 2.35Mt in the first six months of this year, leading to a record stock level of 1.2Mt, according to the president of local steel distributor Frefer, Christiano da Cunha Freire.
The inventory is enough to supply the domestic market for 3.6 months, compared with a historical average of 2.7 months.
Through 2008, stocks stood at an average of 800,000t.
However, purchases from mills have already experienced a significant drop and stocks are expected to return to more favorable levels over the next three months, according to the executive.
From January to June, distribution sales totaled 1.97Mt, up 28% year-on-year. For the full year, national steel distributors association Inda is forecasting sales to reach 4Mt compared to 3.39Mt in 2009.
While sales have been increasing over the last few months, the pace has not been as fast as in Q1 or in the last quarter of 2009, Freire said at the Latin American Iron & Steel Trends conference, held in Rio de Janeiro last week. The executive also said that while the market remains strong, it has not fully returned to pre-crisis levels yet.
With Brazilian steelmakers increasing their prices and end users calling for decreases, the distribution sector will face an imbalance through the end of the year. However, Freire expects prices in the distribution chain to remain steady in H2At the same time, some distributors have been turning to the international market where prices are approximately 15% less, Freire said. Imports have been increasing and currently supply approximately 25% of local demand.
By Fernanda De Biagio