STANDARD of excellence
By producing a wide product range and selling to over 91 countries around the world, Alibérico has been able to maintain its stability and growing capability despite the pandemic.
Alibérico, the first Spanish private group and the first European family group manufacturer of semi-transformed aluminum products, has 35 companies and 17 factories. What has been the evolution of Alibérico been like?
Alibérico is an industrial and technological group founded 25 years ago. We started from scratch in 1996, and, since then, with hard work and a strong culture based on excellence and innovation, we have developed unique in-house manufacturing technology that has positioned our well-known brands and products at the top quality level worldwide. I personally have 50 years of experience in the aluminum sector. With a reinvestment policy, our growth is based on the acquisition of new companies with a clear objective of improving their performance and outcomes, investing in technology and innovation. We have also worked on greenfield projects, such as Alucoil, which is currently one of the top three architectural materials manufacturers worldwide. This has led us to cover a wide range of market segments, always based on top-quality aluminum solutions, such as food packaging, pharmaceuticals, architectural façades, elevators, air conditioning, and mass transport, especially high-speed trains and ferries. Moreover, our sales cover 91 countries across all the continents. Our in-house technology and market segment variety have allowed us to maintain stability and growing capability.
Over 50% of the Alibérico’s profits come from exports. Which are your main markets?
We have always had a strong international and export focus. Our main marketplaces are Europe and Oceania, followed by America, Africa, and Asia. In terms of sectors, construction comes first, followed by packaging and mass transport. We make high-technology materials and have few competitors at the global level. Most of our factories do not have competition in Spain given that the technology we use was invented and designed in-house. Furthermore, we have very multidisciplinary employees, coming from many different countries, cultures, and, most important of all, aligned in terms of goals and values.
During the first months of the pandemic, Alibérico saw its production destined for the pharmacy and F&B sectors intensify. How has the pandemic affected your company?
Though 2020 was an important and difficult year, we had better business results than in 2019. Most of our factories increased their activities significantly. We found also new opportunities and developed innovative aluminum products such as COVID-free high-precision cleaning and disinfection booths. We intensified our manufacturing activity always taking into account first the safety and security of all our employees, coordinating and implementing strict working measures that have been a total success, without any internal contagion.
What are the main goals of Alibérico for 2022?
We are passionate about aluminum. We believe in aluminum as the material of the future, thanks to its properties and most of all for its infinite recyclability. We may make some big investments in liquid aluminum sector, for example in smelting works. After our experience in our Vision 5 plan, when started growing across the world, having five factories on five continents in five years, we have now changed our strategy. We have decided to centralize and boost what we have. Instead of manufacturing everywhere, we want to sell to the world, but keeping as much of the manufacturing as possible within in Spain. This is because Spain is such a great country, and Spaniards are wonderful people. The best directors and workers in the world are Spaniards. We are now building a third factory in Miranda del Ebro, a second one in Alicante, and also the biggest investment to date in Spain. We want to keep growing internationally but manufacturing as much as we can in Spain.