Brazil’s Gerdau and RHI Magnesita announced a joint venture that will use blockchain technology to measure performance contracts. The Refrac Chain project will track transactions and data in blockchain with financial calculations. Additionally, performance measurement functions will be made actively by a dedicated program instead of manual, fragmented analysis.
Stefan Borgas, chief executive officer of RHI Magnesita, noted that security, digitalization, and Industry 4.0 were changing working relationships and the sales to production processes.
The joint venture will allow for continuous information exchange and traceability of processes between the two firms. Vinicius Moura, General Supply Manager at Gerdau said that this exchange will bring agility, reliability, and speed to the steel production process.
The Gerdau site in Minas Gerais, Brazil implemented the pilot program earlier in 2021.
RHI Magnesita provides essential refractories for Gerdau’s steel production. The Refrac Chain project will help guarantee a continually high performance of the refractory products supplied to the steel industry. The contracts will also be assessed against operational data.