70 years of Vallourec in Brazil
1952. This was the year when Vallourec started in Brazil, as Mannesmann Steel Company, originally from Germany. At that time, the place chosen for the construction of the first plant was an old orange farm, located in the Barreiro region, in Belo Horizonte (MG). Initially installed to meet the demand of the still young Brazilian oil industry, the Barreiro plant became an important landmark in the capital of Minas Gerais, besides being the engine for the development of Belo Horizonte’s largest region.
In 1955 Mannesmann Mineração was founded, and in 1961 the Pau Branco Mine, currently operated by the Mineração unit, was acquired to supply the internal iron ore supply needs. And there’s more: the 1960s also saw another investment, the Forestry unit, created in 1969 with the objective of working in the planting of charcoal, one of the main inputs used in the production of seamless steel pipes.
A new century, a new history
As the years went by, the company gained more and more space in the market, the customers’ trust, and on its 25th anniversary it changed its name to Mannesmann S.A. It was a business opportunity, as well as in 2000, when it joined the joint venture Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes, created by the French company Vallourec and the German Mannesmannröhren-Werke, thus creating V&M in Brazil. During this period, the plants went through a major modernization and, in addition to working with new technologies, they also started to serve other segments of the market such as automotive, civil construction, energy and industry.
In 2005, the Vallourec Group became the owner of 100% of the capital of Vallourec & Mannesmann Tubes. With a portfolio of customers and more diversified products, new projects appeared, such as the unit Tubos Soldados Atlânticos, in the city of Serra (ES). Now known as Vallourec Tubular Solutions (VTS) – Serra, it offers high performance internal and external anticorrosive coating for different steel pipes.
Eight years later, in 2013, the Company started to be called only Vallourec, adopting a single brand for all the companies of the Group, in order to strengthen the image of the steel mill in the market. In the same year, another plant was built in Rio das Ostras (RJ), now known as Vallourec Tubular Solutions (VTS) – Rio das Ostras. Since then, the unit has been focused on providing specialized services and accessories for the oil and gas sector.
Vallourec also has commercial offices in São Paulo (SP), Rio de Janeiro (RJ) and Caxias do Sul (RS).
The beginning of a new chapter
“The most modern seamless steel tube plant in the world”. These were the words that guided the construction of the Jeceaba plant, inaugurated in 2011 as Vallourec & Sumitomo Tubos do Brasil.
Years have passed and, seeking to strengthen its competitiveness worldwide, the Vallourec Group has defined a series of strategic actions to remodel its operational structure all over the world. In Brazil, this reorganization took place through the merger of the Barreiro and Jeceaba mills in 2016, developing in the country a production center of seamless steel tubes, the current Vallourec Soluções Tubulares do Brasil (VSB).
Brand new
In October 2021, another project begins: Vallourec Tubos para a Indústria (VTI), a union between the drawn and profiled tube unit of Vallourec and the drawn tubes and parts division of the Açotubo Group. The company’s production lines are concentrated in Guarulhos (SP), Taubaté (SP) and Belo Horizonte (MG), inside the Barreiro unit.
With VTI, the goal is to supply seamless and welded steel pipes and tubular solutions for the industry in general, especially for the automotive, energy, machinery and industrial equipment markets.
Sustainable development
Contributing to the construction of a socially fair and balanced future in the neighboring communities is also one of the areas of action of Vallourec throughout Brazil. With this premise, the company promotes several activities and projects for territorial development. And all this is done based on the Corporate Social Policy of the Group, which establishes three focuses of action: education, volunteer work and environment.
In addition, in yet another transformation, Vallourec seeks to be an increasingly diverse company, with equity in its day-to-day activities. This way, regardless of physical condition, gender, race, creed, sexual orientation or age, all professionals have access to the same opportunities in Vallourec and must be treated equally and respectfully. After all, diversity is aligned to productivity, which makes the Company more competitive.
Vallourec: For 70 years contributing to the economic and social development of the country, with safety, sustainability, innovation and the very best: people.
