Aluar is the only

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 ...

smelter in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and one of the largest in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

History

Established in 1970 as a partnership between synthetic rubber maker FATE, businessman José Ber Gelbard, and other private investors, Aluar obtained an exclusive licence to produce aluminum from the military regime of General

Alejandro Lanusse Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander ( Czech, Polish), Alexandre (French), Alexandros ( Greek), Alsander ( Irish), Alessandro ( Italian), Aleksand ...

, who sought to make Argentina self-sufficient in the critical industrial staple. Following state-financed works on a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

Trevelin Trevelin (; cy, Trefelin) is a town in the western part of the Patagonian Argentine province of Chubut. The town lies on the eastern banks of the ( es, Río Percey). It is located in the department of Futaleufú, south of Esquel, and had 6,3 ...

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes rang ...

, Aluar opened its first smelter in

Puerto Madryn Puerto Madryn (; cy, Porth Madryn), also known as ''Madryn'', is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010. Puer ...

, in 1974.Halasz, Robert. ''International Directory of Company Histories'': Aluar Aluminio Argentino S.A.I.C.
/ref> The 47th largest enterprise in Argentina in 1979, and with an output of 140,000 metric tons, Aluar/FATE was listed on the

Buenos Aires Stock Exchange The Buenos Aires Stock Exchange (BCBA; es, Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos Aires) is the organization responsible for the operation of Argentina's primary stock exchange located at Buenos Aires CBD. Founded in 1854, it is the successor to the ''Banco ...

that year. It expanded into the aluminium products industry with the purchase of Kicsa (a former subsidiary of

Kaiser Motors Kaiser Motors (formerly Kaiser-Frazer) Corporation made automobiles at Willow Run, Michigan, United States, from 1945 to 1953. In 1953, Kaiser merged with Willys-Overland to form Willys Motors Incorporated, moving its production operation ...

), in 1983. Retaining a majority stake in the company as the principal in FATE, Manuel Madanes died in 1988, and following a probate dispute within the family, Dolores Quintanilla de Madanes, an in-law, acquired control of the group. Aluar acquired aluminum products maker Camea, a local subsidiary of

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

firm

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During t ...

, in 1993, and Alcan's remaining local concern, C&K Aluminio, in 1996. The

privatization Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...

s drive advanced by President Carlos Menem led to the 1995 sale of the Futaleufú Dam, whose installed capacity of 472 MW nearly doubled that of its Trevelín facility, and it expanded further into the

intermediate product Intermediate goods, producer goods or semi-finished products are goods, such as partly finished goods, used as inputs in the production of other goods including final goods. A firm may make and then use intermediate goods, or make and then sell, o ...

s sector with the 1998 purchase of Uboldi & Compañía. Unlike most Argentine companies during the 1998-2002 Argentine great depression, Aluar did well and expanded. Due to the devaluation of the

Peso The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...

, goods produced by Aluar became cheaper to foreign buyers and most of their production was sold abroad. The company produced 275,000 tonnes of aluminium in 2006, as it embarked on a series of expansion projects which increased production to 410,000 tons in 2008. IFC Aluar: Environmental & Social Review
/ref>

Technology

The Puerto Madryn smelter has four reduction lines: *Lines 1 and 2 each have 200 Montecatini P-155 reduction cells *Line 3 has 144

Pechiney Pechiney SA was a major aluminium conglomerate based in France. The company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada. In 2007, Alcan itself was taken over by mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan. Prior to its acquisition, ...

AP18 reduction cells. Stage 1 of Line 4 was commissioned in 2007 and comprises 168

AP18 reduction cells operating at a current of 220 kA. This will increase the smelter capacity by 105 thousand tonnes. Aluar intend to extend Line 4 to 336 cells in a future expansion.

References

External links

* {{MERVAL companies Aluminium smelters Manufacturing companies based in Buenos Aires Manufacturing companies established in 1970 1970 establishments in Argentina Argentine brands Aluminium companies of Argentina Companies listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange