Vilmar Ferreira, president of the Aço Cearense Group, receives the Abolition Medal

On May 19, Vilmar Ferreira, president of the Ceará Steel Group, received the 2023 Abolition Medal from the Ceará State Government, an award that will be presented by Governor Elmano de Freitas and Lieutenant Governor Jade Romero. In addition to Ferreira, the state's highest honor will also be bestowed on: Dom José Aparecido Tosi Marques, Archbishop of Fortaleza; Katia Magalhães Arruda, Minister of the Superior Labor Court (TST); and Eudoro Walter de Santana, former Congressman.

Born in Marco, northern Ceará, Vilmar Ferreira has 43 years of solid experience in the steel and metallurgy sectors. He combined his history with professional management, following modern corporate governance principles, and built the Aço Cearense Group based on values, ethical principles, and faith in God. Today, he owns four companies and one institute located in Ceará, Pará, and Tocantins: Aço Cearense Comercial, Aço Cearense Industrial, SINOBRAS, SINOBRAS Florestal, and the Aço Cearense Institute, generating 4,000 direct jobs and approximately 20,000 indirect jobs, with revenue of R$6.5 billion. As a way of giving back to society and honoring its values and origins, the group invests in social initiatives focused on education, health, culture, sports, and entrepreneurship, benefiting more than 294,000 people.