Slovalco is a large Slovak metallurgical company that produced 160,000 tonnes of

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 ...

and alloys per annum. In 2022, Slovalco laid off most of its 450 employees, citing high energy costs. Instead of concentrating on primary aluminium production, the company re-oriented to remelting with an expected annual output of roughly 75,000 tons. In January 2023, the company shut down the remaining 10 cells, ceasing aluminium production in the city after almost 70 years.

History

*December 1985 - approval of project by the ČSSR's government in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

; *March 1986 - know - how contract signed with Hydro Aluminium and start of construction ; *1987 - carbon plant is finished *1989 - potroom is finished *1989 - last year of financing from state centralized sources *1992 - construction ceases (65% of project complete) *April 1993 - negotiation with

EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. As a multilateral developmental investment bank, the EBRD uses investment as a tool to build market economies. Initially foc ...

*7 June 1993 - Slovalco is founded *July 1994 - Slovalco signs a sovereign guaranteed loan agreement with

*October 1994 -

and Hydro Aluminium become shareholders *June–December 1995 - the first 172 cells put into operation *1996 - full operation of electrolysis - 112,000 tons produced *August 2003 - 54 additional reduction cells put into operation - 226 cells in operation *June 2004 - the millionth tonne of

produced

Ownership

Slovalco is owned 44.7% by a Slovak company called

Penta Investments Penta is a Central Europe investment group founded in 1994 in Slovakia by Czech Marek Dospiva and Slovaks Jaroslav Haščák, Juraj Herko, Martin Kúšik and Jozef Oravkin. Today, the group actively develops companies and projects, primarily ...

while the remaining 55.3% is owned by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

company Hydro Aluminium part of

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 a ...

based in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

Gallery

References

External links

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{{coord, 48, 33, 47, N, 18, 50, 51, E, type:landmark, display=title Aluminium companies of Slovakia Aluminium smelters Slovak brands