Gerdau invests approximately $10 million in non-ferrous scrap separation system

“We are excited about the capabilities of the separation system and the advantages that it will bring, including reducing our overall environmental footprint,” said Alan Lamb, vice president and general manager of Gerdau’s Whitby mill. "This investment will significantly increase the amount of ferrous and non-ferrous materials we’re able to recover and ultimately recycle, and we feel it provides an opportunity for growth that will allow Gerdau to remain globally competitive."

The technology for the new system allows Gerdau to sort and extract non-ferrous scrap metal that is not used in the steelmaking process. The non-ferrous metals, such as aluminum, copper and stainless steel, can be separated from the scrap steel mix and recycled or sold to be used in other manufacturing processes. When the system is fully operational, Gerdau will be able to process more than 40 million pounds of non-ferrous scrap material annually.
“Our skills in systems integration and proprietary automation along with a well-equipped global supply chain will help our client to meet their requirements for output, quality and schedule,” said Jake Allen, technical director of Danieli Centro Recycling. “Moving forward, we expect that the project will realize a step change in plant performance for Gerdau’s Whitby mill.”
For Danieli Centro Recycling, the project represents an important and valuable reference point in North America. It demonstrates the company’s focus and commitment to grow in this market and become one of the leading players in the recycling business.
The Whitby mill uses ferrous scrap steel from end-of-life vehicles and other sources to be melted and produced into merchant bar quality products and reinforcing steel used in a variety of applications, including major commercial buildings, freeways, bridges, parking garages and other concrete structures throughout North America.

Gerdau employs approximately 385 people at the Whitby mill and has a strong presence in Canada, including additional steel mills in Cambridge, Ontario, and Selkirk, Manitoba. The company has seven additional recycling facilities in Ontario.
Gerdau has supplied steel to many major projects, including the World Trade Center Vehicle Security Center in New York, the Wilshire Grand Center in Los Angeles, the Panorama Tower in Miami and the Panama Canal expansion.

About Gerdau

Gerdau is a leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special steel in the world. It has industrial operations in 14 countries - in the Americas, Europe and Asia - which together represent an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel per year. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and around the world it transforms, each year, millions of metric tons of scrap into steel, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable development in the regions where it operates. With more than 140,000 shareholders, the Company is listed on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York and Madrid.