Aluar facts for kids
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| S.A.I.C | |
| Traded as | BCBA: ALUA MERVAL component |
| Industry | Aluminium |
| Founded | 1970 |
| Headquarters | Buenos Aires, Argentina |
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Key people
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Javier Santiago Madanes Quintanilla, (Chairman) |
| Products | aluminium products, aluminium alloys |
| Revenue |  US$14.6 billion (2017) |
| US$1.95 billion (2017) |
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Number of employees
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2,200 |
Aluar is a very important company in Argentina. It is the only company in Argentina that makes aluminium. It is also one of the biggest aluminium makers in all of South America.
Contents
How Aluar Started
Aluar was created in 1970. It was a partnership between FATE, a company that made rubber, and a businessman named José Ber Gelbard. Other private investors also helped start the company. The government at the time, led by General Alejandro Lanusse, gave Aluar special permission. This permission allowed Aluar to be the only company making aluminium in Argentina. The government wanted Argentina to make its own aluminium. This metal was very important for industries. After the government helped build a big dam for electricity in Trevelin, Chubut Province, Aluar opened its first factory. This factory, called a smelter, started in Puerto Madryn in 1974.
Growing Bigger
By 1979, Aluar was the 47th largest company in Argentina. It produced 140,000 metric tons of aluminium that year. Aluar's shares were also listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange. In 1983, Aluar grew even more. It bought Kicsa, a company that made aluminium products. Kicsa used to be part of Kaiser Motors. Manuel Madanes, who was a main owner of FATE and Aluar, passed away in 1988. After some family discussions, Dolores Quintanilla de Madanes took control of the company group.
More Growth and Challenges
Aluar continued to expand in the 1990s. In 1993, it bought Camea, a local company that belonged to the Canadian firm Alcan. Then, in 1996, Aluar bought Alcan's other local business, C&K Aluminio. In 1995, the government sold the Futaleufú Dam. Aluar bought this dam, which nearly doubled its electricity power. This was important for making aluminium. In 1998, Aluar bought Uboldi & Compañía. This helped the company make even more different aluminium products. From 1998 to 2002, Argentina faced a very tough economic time. Many companies struggled. However, Aluar did well and even grew during this period. The value of Argentina's money, the Peso, went down. This made goods made by Aluar cheaper for buyers in other countries. So, Aluar was able to sell most of its products abroad. In 2006, the company produced 275,000 tonnes of aluminium. Aluar then started new projects to make even more. By 2008, its production increased to 410,000 tons.
How Aluar Makes Aluminium
The factory in Puerto Madryn has four main production lines. These lines use special cells to make aluminium.
- Lines 1 and 2 each have 200 Montecatini P-155 reduction cells.
- Line 3 has 144 Pechiney AP18 reduction cells.
In 2007, the first part of Line 4 was started. It has 168 Pechiney AP18 reduction cells. These cells work with a strong electric current. This new part helped the factory make 105 thousand more tonnes of aluminium. Aluar plans to make Line 4 even bigger in the future, with 336 cells.
See also
In Spanish: Aluar para niños
