João Gerdau (born Johannes Heinrich Kaspar Gerdau, 14 November 1849 - 24 November 1917) was a German-born Brazilian businessman and the founder of Gerdau.

Biography

Early life and education

Gerdau was born in 1849 in

Altona, Hamburg Altona (), also called Hamburg-Altona, is the westernmost Boroughs and quarters of Hamburg#Boroughs, urban borough (''Bezirk'') of the Germany, German States of Germany, city state of Hamburg. Located on the right bank of the Elbe river, Alton ...

, Germany, the son of farmers Johannes Gerdau and Anna Focken. He completed a technical accounting course at a technical school in Hamburg.

Career

In 1869, Gerdau emigrated to southern Brazil to find new business opportunities. He arrived at the port of

Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande () is a municipality (''município'') and one of the oldest cities in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. It was the state capital from 1835 to 1845. It is the most important port city in the state and has one of the most impor ...

aged 20, and established himself in Colônia de Santo Ângelo (now the town of Agudo), where he invested in trade, transport and the subdivision of land. He moved to the town of Cachoeira do Sul in 1884, where he founded a General Store. In 1901, he bought a nail factory in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

and founded Gerdau. His son, Hugo Gerdau, inherited the business, and in turn, passed it to his son-in-law Curt Johannpeter in 1946.

Personal life

Gerdau was married to Alvine Maria Sophie Gerdau and had 4 children.

References

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