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

aluminium Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

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 The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czech ...

's government in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

; *March 1986 - know - how contract signed with

Hydro Aluminium Hydro (from ) may refer to: Energy technologies * Water-derived power or energy: ** Hydropower, derived from water ** Hydroelectricity, in electrical form * "Hydro", AC mains electricity in parts of Canada * Micro hydro, a type of hydroelect ...

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, shortened to EBRD ( French: ''Banque européenne pour la reconstruction et le développement'' or ''BERD''), is an international financial institution founded in 1991 in Paris. As a multilat ...

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

*October 1994 -

and

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 i ...

while the remaining 55.3% is owned by Norwegian company

part of

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norway, 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 th ...

based in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

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