João Gerdau (born Johannes Heinrich Kaspar Gerdau, 1849-1917) was a German-born Brazilian businessman and the founder of the steel company

Gerdau Gerdau is the largest producer of long steel in the Americas, with steel mills in Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela. Currently, Gerdau has an installed capacity of 26 mill ...

. In 1869, Gerdau emigrated to southern Brazil, and in 1901, bought a nail factory in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

. His son Hugo Gerdau inherited the business, and in turn, passed it to his son-in-law Curt Johannpeter in 1946. It is now controlled by his fours sons, Klaus Gerdau Johannpeter, Germano Hugo Gerdau Johannpeter, Frederico Carlos Gerdau Johannpeter and

Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter Jorge Gerdau Johannpeter (born December 8, 1936) is a Brazilian businessman of German Brazilian, German descent, great-grandson of Johann Heinrich Kaspar Gerdau, Gerdau, Gerdau Group's founder. He held various positions within the Gerdau Group, an ...

, and their families.

References

1849 births 1917 deaths Gerdau family Brazilian businesspeople Brazilian company founders German emigrants to Brazil {{Brazil-business-bio-stub