Translations

Integrating the Informal sector at the steel value chain of Gerdau

7. Community involvement

Community development

Sector Industry

Year 2012

Country Brazil

Transmitter

Context

Gerdau is a leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special steel in the world. With over 45,000 employees, it has industrial operations in 14 countries - in the Americas, Europe and Asia. It is the largest recycler in Latin America, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development.

With the challenge of one business area from Gerdau to diversify and improve scrap suppliers, keeping the company tradition to support the development of customers and suppliers, the main goal for these projects is to increase the number of suppliers in various regions of Brazil.

Objectives

- Increase the number of scrap suppliers

- Increase volume of scrap purchases from small suppliers
- Regularization of cooperatives, allowing direct sales for Gerdau
- Support for a local organization and the company's involvement with a socio-environmental project

APPROACH

The main stages are the alignment with the business area, involvement of an organization (NGO) to support the project with know-how and the acceptance from the suppliers to do this project and the improvements that are required.

The main resources are financial to contract an organization, support training activities. For equipment is important to look for personal protection equipments (PPE) and some production equipment. To human resources, besides the NGO consultants and the leaders from each supplier, is important to have the involvement from the company (CSR and business area).

CONTRIBUTION TO COMPANY PERFORMANCE

- Increase in the number of direct suppliers (by 8).
- Increase the volume of scrap purchase from this kind of supplier (more than 100%).
- Reducing price paid for scrap purchase with the removal of intermediaries in the purchase transaction.

- Sustainability certification for the final product (steel) - Falcão Bauer Certification.