Anuário da Indústria de Implementos Rodoviários 2018

91 the use of aluminum. It is already a reality in other countries and today we have tested solutions available in Brazil.” And the investment is continuous. Novelis, for example, develops a new portfolio of high strength aluminum alloys for structural applications in the transport and automotive sectors, according to its marketing and commercial excellence manager, Guilherme Superbia: “With this we hope to increase market share in the implement segment.” The executive says the demand for lighter, more sustainable materials is boosting the use of aluminum globally, a trend that will include Brazil. “With the recovery of the Brazilian economy and the government’s incentives for the sector, we expect the Brazilian market to pay more attention to the efficiency attributes of aluminum use.” The transport segment accounts for approximately 30% of sales in the industrial segment for Novelis in Brazil. Combination of materials A recent move in the raw materials industry is the search for multi-material solutions, says the ABAL manager, which involves, for example, the combined use of aluminum and steel. Themain thing, as the CBAmanager says, is to offer solutions that help customers reduce costs and weight.” Our material, aluminum, has to match with steel in some applications. There is room for both. It’s much smarter to work cooperatively than to get one material competing with the other.” In this spirit of collaboration, CBA has entered into two agreements with the steel industry to provide solutions for the road implements industry. “ I cannot name names, but they are two steelmakers who have R&D in Brazil.” Among the latest new launches by CBA, Fernandes mentions high strength extruded aluminum, which the company started producing in Brazil last year. “There was a delay in the country in relation to this material, which was being used on a larger scale in other countries. We were the first to produce it locally.” A good start The South Atlantic general sales manager at Swedish steelmaker SSAB, Luiz Monegatto, highlights the good performance at the start of the year for sales to the road implements sector. “The heavy line, in which SSAB operates most, managed growth of more than 50% year on year in January. It is expected that the segment will continue to grow this year at over 20%, on average among all the manufacturers,” Monegatto says. The road implements segment, says the executive, was one of the pioneers in the use of SSAB special steels in Brazil and since 2003 has benefited from the unique properties of these materials, which enable the production of implements that are an average of 30% lighter, stronger and longer lasting. According to Monegatto, the development of new projects with customers, a strong feature of the company, contributes to the supply to the road implements industry representing 30% of the turnover for the Brazilian operation. Its wide product portfolio range takes in abrasion resistant 2mm thick sheets in the Hardox 450 grade, widely used in the coating of sand and gravel implements, to Strenx 700MC structural pipes used in forestry and sugar cane implements. The highway implement industry is also one of the most important segments for NLMK in Brazil and worldwide. According to Paulo Seabra, director-general of the South America division, the company’s main focus is on supplying high- strength steel sheets, mainly for mining and construction implements. “More and more implement makers have been looking for steels with a premium level of quality and, in this respect, our Quard and Quend high strength sheets differ from competitors because they are produced with pure iron ore and not scrap,” says the executive. Regarding business for this year, the NLMK director says they are very positive and optimistic .The company forecasts double-digit growth in 2018.”To achieve this we continue investing in logistics, mainly in increasing inventories to ensure prompt delivery to customers in Brazil,” says Seabra. The company invests continuously in technical training for customers, which includes taking them to the head office in Belgium, NLMK Clabecq. “There they have the opportunity to take on board important technical knowledge that can be applied immediately upon their return to their plants in Brazil, improving their products to a global level of technical excellence,” concludes Seabra.