08/05/2008 08h31
Steel industries invest US$ 900 million in thick plates
Gazeta Mercantil - 08/05/2008
A high value-added product with increasing demand, the thick plate has drawn the attention of new and old investors, both to the construction of new lines of production and to research projects and the development of new technologies, which may allow special uses, such as in the future oil rigs in the pre-salt areas. The product, which in the first quarter was negotiated at nearly US$ 1.2 thousand per ton (above the US$ 1 thousand of a cold-rolled bobbin), is used in the manufacture of pipes with seams, ships, agricultural machines and capital goods, therefore, investments of the agribusiness sector, especially in the segment of sugar and alcohol, and oil and natural gas have increased their consumption. According to market estimates, only the construction of new ships and ducts to serve the oil and gas sector will demand at least nearly 8 thousand tons of thick plates, taking into account only the investments foreseen up to 2013. Usiminas, the main manufacturer of thick plates of South America should invest US$ 500 million to increase by 500 thousand tons its capacity to manufacture the product in the Intendente Câmara unit, in Ipatinga (MG). Currently, the Usiminas System, which also includes Cosipa, located in Cubatão (SP), produces 2 million annual tons. Gerdau announced, in the end of last year, its intention to enter the thick plain plate segment. So, it is not part of the traditional area of operation of the company that has always produced long steel plates. The company will invest US$ 400 million in the new line that will be built in the Gerdau Açominas unit. The project foresees the setting up of a thick plate rolling mill with capacity to produce 870 thousand tons a year and will come into operation in 2010. Last year Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN) also informed that it was studying to getting into the segment. The idea was to move forward in the value chain, since the company already operates in the production of plain steel, and take advantage of the demand growth, also as a means to diversify its operations, when entering markets it had not yet operated in. The final definition of the investment was not announced, though.
