Gerdau announced its plans to form a joint venture with the Sumitomo Corporation and The Japan Steel Works (JSW) to serve Brazil's growing wind power industry. The project, which will require approval from anti-trust authorities, is expected to be located in Pindamonhangaba (São Paulo) and will supply parts for wind turbine towers starting in 2017. The initiative was made possible by Gerdau 2022, a project launched in 2015 that aims to boost the competitiveness of the company's entire operations guided by a long term strategic vision.

Specific measure includes streamlining internal operations and structures, modernizing the corporate culture, reassessing the potential profitability of assets and developing new business opportunities. The new joint venture is expected to be formed by the partners Gerdau, Sumitomo Corporation and The Japan Steel Works (JSW) and will require BRL 280 million in investments for the acquisition of new production equipment. Gerdau will supply assets for the production of rolling mill rolls, without any expected cash expenditures.

The project will be located at Gerdau's mill in Pindamonhangaba, which will supply special steel for the manufacture of parts for wind turbine towers (main shaft and bearing rings). This project will create 100 new direct jobs. The execution and formalization of the joint venture is pending analyses and approval by the applicable authorities.