Work to reactivate the aluminum plant will begin immediately and Alcoa expects the first production batches in Maranhão to take place in the second quarter of 2022

On Monday (20/09), Alcoa announced that it will restart the aluminum smelting operations at the Alumar plant, in São Luís, in the state of Maranhão, paralyzed since 2015. The company will make an investment of R$ 400 million to resume the production process immediately. The resumption will still involve the creation of 750 new direct jobs, in addition to generating 1.500 indirect jobs in the region. Also read: More than 100 jobs will be created by ArcelorMittal, with reactivation of a rolling mill in Minas Gerais

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Reactivation of the plant in São Luís, Maranhão

The process to restart idle capacity at the aluminum plant will begin immediately. The delivery of the first aluminum ingot is scheduled for the second quarter of 2022 and the total capacity of 268 thousand tons per year should be operating in the fourth quarter of 2022. By 2024, the reduction will be Alumar will be supplied with 100% renewable energy.

John Slaven, Executive Vice President and COO of Alcoa, says, “Our decision to reclosing is based on analysis that shows that downsizing can be competitive across cycles, leveraging the refinery located on the same plant, a strength of strong work and renewable energy structure”. The executive also says that with this planned resumption of production, they will be able to take advantage of the strong capabilities of this location and capture benefits for investors, customers, employees and partners in the state of Maranhão.

Investments and creation of new jobs in Maranhão

Otavio Carvalheira, Vice President of Operations and President of Alcoa in Brazil, said, “We are excited about the work ahead to safely and effectively restart Alumar's downsizing and appreciate the government and community collaboration as we begin this important months-long process to reinforce Alcoa's leadership and further improve our global competitiveness”.

The restart of the aluminum plant in Maranhão will involve the hiring of more than 750 employees and will increase the 850 direct employees of the alumina refinery located in the plant. The cost of the reboot is estimated at approximately US$75 million (R$400 million). Projected restart expenses for the fourth quarter of 2021 are estimated to be between $15 million and $20 million pre-tax. With this planned resumption, Alcoa will have approximately 80% of its 2,99 million metric tons of global aluminum smelting capacity operating.

Check out this news: To expand production capacity, Gerdau will invest US$ 500 million in a plant in the state of Minas Gerais

Gustavo Werneck, Gerdau's chief executive, said in a conference call that the company will expand its hot coil rolling capacity and the production of structural profiles at its mill in Ouro Branco, in the state of Minas Gerais, in investments that have as a reference a total of US$ 500 million.

“Our hot coil rolling mill is already operating at full capacity…The investment in the plant starts now and should be concluded in 2024”, said Gustavo Werneck in a conference call with journalists about the record result of the Gerdau in the second trimester. The rolling mill period is the same as that of the structural profile equipment, which produces metallic beams for civil construction. The capacity of the hot coil (HRC) rolling mill will be 250 tons per year, while that of the profile machine, a product that Werneck said Gerdau is the only producer in Latin America, will be 500 tons per year.