La Farga Lacambra is the first Catalan industrial company to be operating for two centuries

La Farga Lacambra is the first Catalan industrial company to be operating for two centuries

This year La Farga Lacambra, a company belonging to the Farga Group holding, celebrates its 200th anniversary since its foundation, which makes it the first Catalan industrial company to be operating for two centuries. The roots of the company are located in the port district of La Barceloneta, where Francesc Lacambra Pont set up a small family-run foundry to produce copper objects for the Catalan sailing fleet. Since then, La Farga Lacambra has been evolving and adapting to modern times and has now become the leading producer of semi-finished copper goods in Spain and one of the main companies world-wide. La Farga Lacambra, involved in manufacturing and marketing semi-finished copper goods from recycled materials, is one of the three companies in La Farga Group. The others are La Farga Tub, which manufactures and markets copper pipes and La Farga Rod, a company founded in 2008, manufacturing electrolytic copper rods with a capacity of 180,000 tons a year. It is precisely the founding of the new company that is the basis for the forecast growth of the company holding at the end of the current financial year. La Farga Group ended 2007 with a turnover of 507 million Euros, and achieved profits of nearly 9 million Euros, a figure that is expected to increase by over 40%, to a turnover of 915 million Euros, thanks to the first year of operations of La Farga Rod. The forecast for the new company for this year is estimated at 355 million Euros, below the figure for La Farga Lacambra, which is expected to reach 443 million Euros, and above the third company of the Group, La Farga Tub, at 117 million Euros. The company holding will invest 7 million Euros in the Group’s companies this year, aimed at improving work processes, creating new products and setting up a new smoke treatment plant. This amount is in addition to the 22 million Euro investment last year, mainly aimed at implementing the new company. The Copper Museum: the crowning glory of the bicentenary To commemorate this anniversary, the company has scheduled a series of events, among which are the publishing of a book, which summarises the company’s development and the history of copper, and the opening ceremony of the first copper museum in April, a project jointly developed with the University of Vic. The Copper Museum will be located in an old tower from the beginning of the 20th century beside the industrial facilities of the company La Farga Lacambra. The building has been refurbished and architecturally redesigned to adapt it to the needs of the Museum. The Museum in the tower, taking up two floors of 180 m² each, is equipped with a walkway from where there is a view of the whole floor. Furthermore, the Museum is divided into three sections: industry, history and learning. The Museum has been designed with the aim of making it a place for participation, going further than a mere display case for exhibiting objects, where visitors can actually touch and handle the various materials. The exhibition will be divided into five themed areas, each one dominated by a particular piece, attracting visitors and providing a structure for the other objects placed in the area.

Energya Metals

To meet the growing copper requirements in Energya Industries and the region, Energya Metals, a company of Energya Metals division, was incorporated in 2007. The 130,000 metric tones per year copper rods production facility is located in 10 th of Ramadan industrial zone over an area of 15,000 square meters. In technical collaboration with Mls continues properzi. Superior quality continuous cast copper rods will be manufactured for in house consumption and exported to various quality conscious cable manufacturing company in Europe, Africa & Asia .  

Energya Steel Solutions

Energya Steel Fabrication, a company of Energya Steel Solutions division, was founded in Egypt and soon operating in KSA, to meet the increasing global demand for steel products, especially those of heavy industrial projects. Our products ranges from transmission towers, telecommunication towers, fabrication of structural steel, fabrication of plate works, machining works, lighting poles, galvanization, spare parts for industrial projects, and engineering and design.  

La Farga Group sets up a new company to produce Electrolytic Copper Rods

La Farga Rod, which will start business next year, is expected to have a turnover of €350 million in its first financial year. La Farga Group is a family-owned holding company that will celebrate its 200th anniversary next year. This coming January it will start producing electrolytic copper rods with an installed capacity of 180,000 tonnes per year, through the new company La Farga Rod. This will join the other group companies: La Farga Lacambra, which manufactures and markets semi-finished copper products from recycled materials, and La Farga Tub, which produces and markets copper piping. In the words of the group’s CEO, Oriol Guixà “This heavy industrial investment by our group consolidates the company’s position through diversification and adds new value to the copper sector”   The holding company has invested €12 million to get the new company up and running. This money has been invested in a new 21,462 m² plant (2,564 m² gross floor area) built alongside the group’s other plants in Les Masíes de Voltregà (Barcelona) and in machinery supplied by the Italian company Continuus Properzi using the latest technology. It will have the capacity to produce 25 tonnes of copper rods per hour. The new company will sell its products in the Spanish market, the south of Europe and North Africa, will create 25 new jobs and is expected to end its first financial year with turnover of €350 million, rising to €500 million in 2009.   La Farga Rod has been set up in response to the opportunity to take advantage of the synergies with other group companies and target new market segments by producing electrolytic copper rods. The company will use copper cathode from mines such as Chuquicamata in Chile, Las Cruces in Spain and Grasberg in Indonesia, and a foundry in Huelva, among others. This type of copper rod has different features to the secondary copper produced by recycling, which allows the company to serve markets such as enamelled wire, thin wire and extra-thin wire, which require a more purified kind of copper.   In addition to the capital invested in the new company, in 2007, La Farga Group invested a further €10 million in the companies it controls. It invested €7 million in La Farga Tub for new machinery that makes it more competitive, improves quality and diversifies the type of products made, plus a new plant with greatly improved material delivery, packaging and dispatch. The remaining €3 million was invested in the environment and to expand production capacity and innovation in the development of new materials used in the high-speed railway industry by La Farga Lacambra. “Our group, which is now 200 years old, is consolidating its leading position in the sector of semi-finished copper goods, in continuous rod casting, and in drawing and cord at European level,” said Oriol Guixà.   The group’s facilities will cover a surface area of 124,000 m², with 275 direct employees. It is expected to end this financial year with overall turnover of €500 million, €400 million from La Farga Lacambra and €100 million from La Farga Tub. The company forecasts a rise in its turnover in 2008 to €850 million, once the third company in the group has completed its first year of operation.   For further information contact:   Carme Sàez   www.lfg.es

Oman firms plan aluminium cable plant

Oman Cables Industry and Takamul Investment Co, linked to state-run Oman Oil Co, will set up a joint venture plant to produce aluminium rods and electrical conductors. Oman’s bourse earlier cancelled trades in shares of Oman Cables after the stock surged almost 10 percent for a second trading day. A broker said there was talk on the market about Oman Cables opening an aluminium plant with another company.

“The project will be owned 51 percent by OCI and 49 percent by Takamul,” Hussain Salam al-Lawati, managing director of Oman Cables, told reporters after signing the agreement to set up the plant in Sohar. He did not say how much would be invested.

The plant, which is expected to go on stream by the first quarter of 2009, will use liquid metal from Sohar Aluminium smelter as its main feedstock. It will supply its products to regional power utilities and international markets

Sky Holding Pte Ltd - To be the leading Steel Supplier in South East Asia

Company Information 

The humble beginning of our business started four years ago, when we were just supplying standard galvanised steel wires to the local cottage and fencing industries. The business has since grown into the establishment of Sky Holding.

In 2003, Sky Holding restructured its organisation after gradually acquiring technologies from Japan and Europe to enhance our quality and productivity. We have jointly develop high quality products with our several specialised plants in China for many of our multi-national customers. From just local dealings, we now distribute our products to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, Europe, Middle East, and Australia.

Mission Statement

To be the leading steel supplier in the region. 

To constantly provide top quality, high customer service and fast response in our service and products so as to achieve our mission.

Kobe Steel to build plant with Steel Dynamics

Japan’s Kobe Steel Ltd said on Wednesday Steel Dynamics Inc would build a commercial-scale reduced iron plant in the United States, using its technology for producing steel from low-priced iron ore and coal in small mills. It will be the first such plant built using Kobe’s ITmk3 technology.   Kobe, Japan’s fourth-biggest steel maker, said the project with Steel Dynamics would cost 26 billion yen in total, and the plant in Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota, will start operations in mid-2009 with an annual output of 500,000 tonnes. A joint venture, Mesabi Nugget Delaware, LLC, will construct and operate the first ITmk3 commercial plant and will produce and sell the iron nuggets, Kobe Steel said in a statement.   Steel Dynamics will invest $85 million in the venture, holding an 81 percent equity share, while Kobe Steel will invest $20 million for a 19 percent share, it said. Steel Dynamics will manage the construction of the facility and operate it. Kobe in June licensed this technology to Cleveland-Cliffs Inc of the United States. In May, it said it was in talks with India’s Chowgule Group on licensing the technology. Shares of Kobe Steel fell 4.6 percent to 332 yen, underperforming a 2.5 percent fall in the overall market.

Rio Tinto secures Alcan takeover

Rio Tinto secures Alcan takeover

Anglo-Australian mining group Rio Tinto has said its $38.1bn (£19bn) bid to buy Canada’s Alcan has been successful - securing almost 80% of Alcan’s shares. It has also been guaranteed a further 6% holding in the Canadian aluminium firm and has extended the deadline to other shareholders.   Rio Tinto, which is listed on both the London and Australian stock exchanges, is paying $101 for each Alcan share.   The takeover had already been approved by US antitrust authorities.   “We have been working towards our offer becoming unconditional and have now passed the final milestone,” said Rio Tinto chairman Paul Skinner.   The deal will make Rio Tinto the world’s largest producer of aluminium and bauxite.   Record metal prices have led to number of takeovers in the global mining industry.   “The outlook for aluminium remains strong and the prospects for Rio Tinto Alcan are excellent,” said Rio Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese.   In May this year Alcan rejected a $27bn hostile takeover bid from US miner Alcoa on the grounds that it undervalued the firm.

ABB wins orders worth $127 million in India

Zurich, Switzerland, Oct. 18, 2007 - ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has won orders worth a total of $127 million for projects to help the Indian industrial group, JSW, increase capacity at its steel mills.ABB will supply turnkey power and automation solutions for two power plants that will generate electricity needed by the mills and sell any surplus to utilities. The installations are expected to be operational by 2009, and will help JSW increase its annual steelmaking capacity from 3.8 million to 10 million tonnes by 2010.

“ABB’s leading power and automation technologies, domain competence and experience will help ensure a reliable supply of power for JSW to improve the efficiency and productivity of its steelmaking facilities,” said Peter Leupp, head of ABB’s Power Systems division.

The scope of the orders includes the electrical equipment required for the safe and coordinated operation of a 1,080-megawatt (MW) power generating plant in the northern state of Rajasthan, and for a 300-MW power plant being built in Bellary, in the southern state of Karnataka. ABB will also supply transformers, substations, electronic drives and a range of medium- and low-voltage switchgear for the plants.

JSW is one of India’s leading metal producers and is part of the O.P. Jindal group of companies, which has interests in mining, carbon steel, power and oxygen.

ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 111,000 people.

Posco to build US$4.5 billion steel plant in southern Vietnam

Today in our metals news we feature a story from Veitnam and the plans of South Korea’s Posco Group who are plannin gto build a steel plant worth US$4.5 billion.  For full press details please read on: Posco to build US$4.5 billion steel plant in southern Vietnam

South Korea’s Posco Group, the world’s third-largest steel manufacturer, will build a hot-rolled steel plant at a cost of $4.5 billion in central Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa province. The factory, to come up in Dam Mon peninsula, will have an initial annual capacity of 4 million tons which will later be doubled.   Posco has tied up with local shipbuilding giant Vinashin to develop the project.   Vinashin, known formally as the Vietnam Shipbuilding Corporation, will contribute 30 percent of the capital required for the project.   In a statement May the South Korean steel maker said it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Vinashin for a feasibility study to be completed by year-end ahead of construction next year.   The plant will be ready after 2010.   Posco began work earlier this month on a $1.13 billion cold-rolled and hot-rolled steel complex in the southern Ba Ria – Vung Tau province.   It will produce 700,000 tons of cold-rolled products annually from 2009 while the hot-rolled steel facility will see construction kick off only in 2010. The facility will have an annual capacity of 3 million tons.   Posco is also working on a $13.8 million, 100,000-ton plant in the southern Dong Nai province which will go stream in June 2008. Its feedstock will come partly from the Posco’s Ba Ria-Vung Tau province-based steel complex.   The Korean group hopes to develop Vietnam as a gateway to the Southeast Asian market.   Posco expects to secure a frontline production base in the region by pursuing its plan to link its Vietnamese operation to ones in China and India, enabling it to obtain greater global competitiveness in the production and supply of steel-based products.