Hyderabad, March 18 : Gerdau, the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special steel in the world, Monday announced acquiring majority ownership of its first plant in Asia at Tadipatri in Ananthpur district of Andhra Pradesh.

The plant's name has also been changed from Kalyani Gerdau to Gerdau.

In 2007, Gerdau entered into a joint venture with Kalyani group company Kalyani Steels Ltd to acquire SJK Steel Plant Ltd with an equal partnership of 45 percent each to form a joint venture. Post acquisition of Kalyani's shares, the operation is now majority owned by Gerdau, said a statement from the New York Stock Exchange listed company.

However, the company has not announced financial or other details of the acquisition of majority ownership.

The plant recently started operations of its blast furnace, melt shop, sinter plant, power plant and rolling mill. It has an installed capacity of 300,000 tonnes of special steels, mainly focused on the automotive market.

"This is a new and very important chapter in Gerdau's history. As we begin our 112th year of business, the start of the production of special steel in India represents our expansion to an important country, with an impressive cultural richness, good economic prospective and very dedicated people", said Andre B. Gerdau Johannpeter, CEO, Gerdau. (IANS)