1944
Acesita was founded on 31st October by the engineers Amyntas Jacques de Moraes, Percival Farqhuar and Athos de Lemos Rache. A daring proposal was born: to build a specialty steel plant, practically self-sufficient in raw materials and electric power, near the sources of iron ore, charcoal and water. The objective of the project was to provide supplies to the domestic market, which was going through an industrialization process and having difficulties to import goods due to the World War II.
The construction works for the implementation of the steelworks at the old Timotinho settlement, at the banks of Piracicaba River, Minas Gerais, were financed by Banco do Brasil.
Photo:Company's archives
Timotinho settlement; background, place where Acesita’s Steelworks was built.
1947
Acesita buys the iron ore mines from Brazilian Iron and Steel Co., in Itabira, and at the same time obtain means to open roads connecting the Steelworks to the charcoal supplying centers.
Photo: Company's archives
House of Directors. Timóteo, MG, 1947.
1949
The first iron heat of Blast Furnace No. 1 takes place, the largest charcoal-fueled blast furnace in the world then, with a production capacity of 200 t/day. However, the Steelworks is not capable of producing steel yet, for there is not enough electric power.
Forgery operation is started up in August.
Photo: José Luis Pimenta personal archive.
Pouring of hot metal into mixing vessel. Timóteo, MG.
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