Gerdau’s Fort Smith employees buy Christmas gifts for area children

Employees of Gerdau’s North American special steel producing mill in Fort Smith have purchased $7,500 in Christmas gifts for area children less fortunate.

The gifts were purchased with the money raised by Gerdau employees and will be distributed to children at Darby Junior High, a Van Buren Elementary School, and Poteau Elementary School on Friday (Dec 21), according to a statement from Gerdau.

“We’re proud to have such kind and generous employees,” said Darrel Moore, general manager of Gerdau’s Fort Smith special steel mill.

He said “Gerdau is committed to supporting its employees in their social responsibility efforts and encourages volunteerism and onsite fundraising drives.”

The company supports community initiatives in all the countries where it operates. Each location has a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee that is responsible for identifying the needs of local non-profit organizations. Fort Smith’s CSR committee was granted $35,000 in corporate funds to help support non-profits in 2012.

Gerdau is one of the world’s largest suppliers of special steel bars for the automotive industry and the leading producer of long steel in the Americas. The company’s North American special steel division is based in Jackson, Mich., and has steel manufacturing plants in Jackson and Monroe, Mich., as well as Fort Smith.

Gerdau is a producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special long steel in the world. It has more than 45,000 employees and industrial operations in 14 countries with operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel per year.