Aluminij is a Bosnian

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

manufacturing company with headquarters in

Mostar Mostar (, ; sr-Cyrl, Мостар, ) is a city and the administrative center of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is sit ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2016, it was one of the largest regional producers of aluminium with sales of 156,500 tons of aluminium, and third-largest exporter from Bosnia and Herzegovina with 171 million euros worth of exports (as of 2017).

History

The history of Aluminij began in the first years of the 20th century, with the discovery of

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

ore deposits in Herzegovina and the subsequent exploitation of the resource. After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1945, a new company was created, Bauxite Mines Mostar, with the goal of exploring, exploiting and transporting bauxite commercially. It was this first company that carried out the initial construction studies for

smelters were conducted, the birth of the aluminium industry that was to come. In 1969, the

Mines Mostar Company merged with Energoinvest Sarajevo to form a new organisation focused on aluminium production. The Government of the Socialist Republic of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

tasked the group with maximizing the potential of the resources in the region and develops a new facility that could turn

into a global aluminium producer. This was achieved by 1975, as regular aluminium production began in the new Alumina Factory. This successful development was based on cooperation between Energoinvest and the French company Pechiney. Aluminij was established in 1975 in

. It soon emerged as one of the largest aluminium manufacturing companies in former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. The company's facilities were largely destroyed during the 1992–1995

war in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war ...

and were later rebuilt. By the end of June 2002, an extensive modernization project for Aluminij Factory had been completed. At a cost of 250 million Euros it brought new technologies and introduced production upgrades that increased output, efficiency and quality, this allowed Aluminij Factory to remain competitive on the world stage, matching the global leading producers for quality. In 2007, the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed to privatise Aluminij. Among the companies who placed a bid were; Alcoa, Alcan Inc., Rusal, Norsk Hydro and Swiss-based metals trader

Glencore International Glencore plc is a Swiss multinational commodity trading and mining company with headquarters in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's oil and gas head office is in London and its registered office is in Saint Helier, Jersey. The current company was ...

. The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina blocked the sell off and decided to annul the tender. , the company was owned 44% by the government, 44% by workers and former workers and 12% by the Croatian Privatization Fund. The government's and workers' shares are to be sold to international investors. In April 2020, the Israeli-PanamenianM.T. Abraham Group
took the factory under a lease for a duration of 30 years by an agreement with the

Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,; hr, Vlada Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine; sr, Влада Федерације Босне и Херцеговине commonly abbreviated to the Federal Government,; hr, Federalna Vla ...

, together "with its partners

China Machinery Engineering Corporation China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) is a construction and engineering company, forming one part of the China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach) group of companies. A specialization of CMEC is construction of power proje ...

(CMEC) and China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC).

Community

Mostar area alone receives an income of 40 million euros annually from Aluminij. That kind of development trend enabled investments in cultural institutions, among which are: the construction of the little scene of the

Croatian National Theatre in Mostar The Croatian National Theatre in Mostar ( hr, Hrvatsko narodno kazalište u Mostaru) is a theatre located in Mostar, home to the largest population of Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. HNK Mostar was established on September 22, 1994 and the f ...

and

Aluminij Gallery The Aluminij Gallery (Croatian language, Croatian: ''Galerija Aluminij'') is an art gallery located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is sponsored and run by one of the largest companies in the area, Aluminij. The gallery most commonly hos ...

. (one of the most important for the city of Mostar and wider region).

Partnerships

The partners with which the Aluminij does business are renowned global companies, from which the most important are: Venture Coke Company L.L.C. (Venco-Conoco joint Venture) from the US,

AG from Switzerland, Debis International trading GmbH,

Daimler-Chrysler The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufactur ...

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world an ...

ASA from Norway,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

from Italy, TLM-Šibenik from Croatia,

, an
China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering And Construction Co., Ltd

Market and financial data

In 2017, Aluminij had revenue of 249.41 million euros and exported goods worth 171.01 million euros.

References

External links