Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau announced that it will close its specialty steels plant in São Paulo state's Sorocaba by September, news service Agência Estado reported.

The company will transfer its rolled steel production to other steel units. "Much of this volume will be transferred to the Mogi das Cruzes plant, also in São Paulo state," the company said in a note.

According to Gerdau, the decision is a result of the need to optimize operations in the company's special steel division in the face of "the complex scenario experienced by the steel industry in Brazil and globally."

Gerdau is evaluating the future use of the land on which the factory sits, in a prime area near the center of Sorocaba, the report said.

Porto Alegre-based Gerdau is the biggest producer of long steel in the Americas, and one of the largest suppliers of specialty steel in the world. It has installed capacity of over 25Mt/y.