Gerdau Ameristeel joins the FIU Construction and Structures Lab Sponsoring Team

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at FIU welcomes Gerdau Ameristeel to the FIU Construction and Structures Lab Sponsoring Team.

This lab will help the department reach its next level of educational distinction and prominence in the State of Florida. As the only large-scale structural testing facility south of Gainesville, the FIU Lab will play a major role in providing our local industry with innovation and state-of-the-art research.

In its quest to build the premier lab, the department sought the help of the industry, and the Gerdau Ameristeel’s Ft. Lauderdale reinforcing steel operation has responded by providing approximately 32 tons of reinforcing steel for the 3 ft thick floor that is approximately 36 ft wide and 63 ft long with a tie down pattern of 3 ft x 6 ft . The market value of the donated materials is about $35,000. The project construction is expected to start in early August.

Gerdau Ameristeel is the fourth largest overall steel company and the second largest minimill steel producer in North America. The company has the capacity to manufacture over 8.4 million tons of mill finished steel products annually. The company is headquartered in Toronto, with executive offices in Tampa, Florida.

Ameristeel started in Tampa in 1937 as Florida Steel Products, a construction industry-oriented reinforcing steel fabricating company, and became Florida Steel Corporation through a merger of steel fabricating groups in 1956. Through a series of major expansions and acquisitions, it grew significantly until in 1996, changed its name to Ameristeel to better reflect its increasing market area and continuing focus on growth and diversification. A historical merger between Ameristeel, Co-Steel, Gerdau Courtice Steel and Gerdau MRM Steel took place in 2002, making it the second-largest steel mini-mill organization in North America. After the successful merger, the new organization took the name Gerdau Ameristeel. Gerdau Ameristeel is one of the largest producers of reinforcing steel in the .U.S., operating 15 steel mills, 16 scrap recycling facilities and 42 downstream operations.

For more information on this project, please contact Dr. Amir Mirmiran, tel (305) 348-2314,e-mail: mirmiran@fiu.edu or Stephanie Shelton, Gerdau Ameristeel Communications Manager, tel (813)207-2257, e-mail sshelton@gerdauameristeel.com