Minas International

Minas Newcomers is hosting our first monthly Newcomer’s Coffee on May 25th!

Click here for details…    

Our first stop:  

Museum of Mines and Minerals - Friday, 27 May 14:00-17:00

Click here for all the details!

During the week of 25 April, Minas International’s Minas Mentors program was in the news!  If you missed it on the news stands you can check it out below.  Click on the PDF files below the images to read the full articles.

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Fun, Food and Easter Eggs!!

On April 9th, Minas International held our First Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic at Mangabeiras Park.  Sixteen of Minas International’s “junior” members hunted for eggs, played and enjoyed seeing the monkeys and quatis of the park.  They then got down to some serious business of decorating eggs and participating in an egg judging contest.

For us “senior” members, the afternoon was a great chance to meet other ex-pat families and some who had moved from other parts of Brazil.  We shared information and experiences about raising kids in Minas Gerais; had great fun watching the kids hunt and decorate eggs and enjoyed some great food, fruit and sweets.

In all, a great day.  A big thank you for all those who participated!

Click here to see photos!

If you’d like to get involved with helping to plan Minas Social events please click here!

Join us Saturday, 9 April  - 12:00 – 16:00 Mangabeiras Park

“Here comes Peter Cotton Tail, hopping down the bunny trail.
Hippity-hoppity, Easter’s on it’s way”

Spring has sprung and Easter is just around the corner.  Time for the
Minas International First Annual Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic!

Food, Fun and Easter eggs!!

The Easter egg hunt is open to kids and adults alike.

WHERE: Managbeiras Park (see specific directions below the video)

WHEN:  Saturday, 9 April  12:00 – 16:00 – HUNT STARTS at 13:30! (rain date:  16 April)

WHAT TO BRING: Your egg-hunting skills and something to eat or drink to share.

COST:  There is no cost to join us*

Please register to join us!

Here’s an old time clip to get you in the spirit!

DIRECTIONS

The location of the event inside Mangabeiras is “Ilha Mistica”, inside
the “Ilha de Passatempos” area (marked as number 6 on the map.  Take
the “Roterio do Mato” trail down from the far side of the Koi pond.
Our area will be the last set of picnic table circles.  Look for our
Minas International banner as you head down the trail.

You can arrive to Parque Mangabeiras by car, taxi or bus.  Line 4103
stops right at the front gate and has stops all the way along Alfonso
Pena, starting at the Praça in front of the Rodoviária.  The park has
parking charge of R$2.30 per car.

Our Picnic Area

* Although Parque Mangabeiras is a municipal park, there was an
unforseen charge of R$88 to reserve our picnic spot.  While there is
no charge to attend our Easter event, any donations to offset this
rental cost are welcome and appreciated.

Who knew hot steel could be so cool!

Well the Minas International group got to find out just how cool the production of steel and hot rolled seamless steel tubes really is when we toured the Vallourec & Mannesman production facility on 1 March.  As part of MI’s Minas Business program we were privileged with a visit to one of the worlds leader of hot rolled steel tubes.

To see all the great photos from tour day click here.

The Gang Ready To Tour

Luiz Alexandre

Luiz Alexandre Costa, Minas International Board member and V&M Quality manager,  walked us through the process of making seamless rolled steel tubes from forming to finishing.  We learned about the rigorous quality control standards of V&M and their 100% quality inspection.  At times we were so close to the flaming tubes shooting by we had to physically turn away from the scorching heat which reach temperatures over 1000 degrees Celsius.

Rodrigo Barroso

After leaving the rolling mill area we headed over to  the steel making/melting area where our tour continued with V&M’s “Man of Steel” Rodrigo Barroso.  Rodrigo is passionate about metallurgy saying, with a sparkle in his eye, “it’s beautiful isn’t it… truly art.” Art indeed as we watched the various ingredients come together to form a molton style lava that through a complex process turned into steel bricks.

It was a good thing we had our walking shoes on as the V&M facility is simply huge.  It covers 750 acres and is a mini city unto itself.  The seamless rolled steel tubes produced in Barreiro are used in the automotive, oil & gas and civil construction industries.

We had an overwhelming response to the tour but only the first 10 to register were able to join us.  Our group was internationally and professionally diverse with people from Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Denmark, the United States and Brazil representing companies and organizations such as Worley Parsons, Lumiart, Elba Equipamentos, Heppenstall, Usina Hidrelectrica Risoleta Neves, CEFET, OrbiFish, Voitto and Siemens.  Some people had experience in or knowledge of steel and tube making while others simply wanted to learn more about one of Brazil’s largest companies and biggest industries.  All had a great time speaking English and making new connections.

Minas International had a great tour of a great company by some great ‘tour guides’. We are very appreciative to Vallourec & Mannesman for hosting us and especially thankful to Luiz Alexandre Costa and Rodrigo Barroso for their time, energy and enthusiasm.

Minas International’s Minas Business program aims to bring globally minded English speaking professionals together for networking, education and the opportunity to learn about business happenings and industries vital to Minas Gerais.  We meet on the first Tuesday of each Month.   To learn more about Minas Business click here.

ALL SPOTS FILLED AND WAITING LIST CLOSED

You won’t want to miss this!  Minas International is being given a rare opportunity to tour the production facilities Vallourec & Mannesman,  one of the world’s leading manufacturer of hot rolled steel tubes.

Click Here for all details and registration info.