ALUNNA THROUGH THE AGES

The birth of our aluminum plant. On March 31, 1914, ten entrepreneurs from Unna joined forces and founded the Messingwerk Aktiengesellschaft. This marks the beginning of a company tradition that goes back more than 100 years.

In 1915, one year after the company’s foundation, the construction of our factory halls began. Production started on October 1, 1915.

In 1935, our customized semi-finished aluminum products were launched. Since then, we have enjoyed a close cooperation with all our customers.

During the Second World War, Unna was hit by a severe bomb attack. Production at the Unna Aluminiumwerk came to a halt.

May 1945 marked the end of the war. In the same month, production at our Unna aluminum plant resumed under American occupation.

At the Annual General Meeting of January 24, 1969, the plant was renamed. Messingwerk became Messing und Leichtmetallwerk (brass and light metal plant). This reflects the increasing importance of the light metal division of the company.

1976 saw the end of heavy metal production after more than 60 years: The production of copper and brass semi-finished products was discontinued. From here on, our focus was the production of semi-finished aluminum products.

Majority shareholding by the AluTeam group: On February 27, 1979, the company was renamed Aluminiumwerk Unna AG. This has remained our company name for over 40 years.

1985 saw the expansion of Aluminiumwerk Unna AG through the purchase of a plant in West Berlin.

In 1989, Aluminium Unna AG expanded further by purchasing the company Wexal International Ltd. in Ireland.

In 1990, the AluTeam Group was taken over by Austria Metall AG (AMAG).

At the beginning of the 1990s, a sales company was founded in Casselberry, Florida (USA), known today as ALUnna Tubes USA, Inc., with headquarters in Denver.

At the end of the 1990s, the Austrian AMAG Group sold its majority shareholding in Aluminiumwerk Unna AG. On January 1, 2000, these shares were transferred to the then Works Council Chairman Thomas Wiese (72.7%) and the remainder of the workforce (25.1%).

In 2007, our aluminum plant delivered an outstanding performance. We celebrated this record year with sales of 90 million EUR.

We used the occasion of our 95th anniversary to make an important announcement: Over the following five years, the aluminum plant would invest 50 million EUR in the Unna site. Two new extrusion presses would be purchased and around 150 new employees in production would be hired.

In 2011 we launched a number of projects to reduce energy consumption at our aluminum plant, for example through the “cut-to-size” manufacturing of roofs. Heat treatment and quality testing also contribute to an improved energy balance. In addition, a central compressed air station was put into operation.

We want to make a difference. That is why protecting the climate is close to our heart. The certifying body TÜV Nord audited our plant in all areas in an assessment in 2013. The outcome: We were presented with our first certificate for environmental and energy management.

In 2014, our commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions was rewarded: The district of Unna awarded us their climate protection flag. We are delighted about this recognition. For the sake of the environment, we will continue to work on this in the future. As a sign of this commitment, the flag now flies over our aluminum plant.

In March 2014, Aluminiumwerk Unna AG celebrated their 100-year anniversary. And that was certainly a reason to celebrate! On September 12, we thanked our suppliers, customers and other stakeholders. And, of course, there was also a celebration for our employees and their families and friends. Watch our employee film from our 100th anniversary here.

The Chinese group Zhongwang acquired the German Aluminiumwerk Unna AG in 2017. Zhongwang is one of the world’s leading developers and manufacturers of aluminum products. The acquisition represents a milestone in the expansion of our international strategy. Together we are united by one goal: Creating growth through innovation and a relentless commitment to excellent solutions for our customers. The focus of our actions: Environmental protection and sustainable corporate development.

After months of construction work, the commissioning of the newly built tower furnace began, and at the end of March, the first heat treatment batch was quenched. This step was necessary to further advance the qualification process for proceeding with our automotive project. With its high temperature accuracy, the new tower furnace particularly impressed our heat treatment specialists.