Alusuisse

Alusuisse was a swiss industrial group founded as Aluminium Industrie Aktien in 1898 in Zurich, Swizterland. The organisation was named Schweizerische Aluminium AG from 1963, Alusuisse-Lonza Holding AG from 1990, and Algroup from 1998.

From the 1900s became a significant employer in the Valais canton through its aluminum production activities; a byproduct of the aluminium production process: fluorine became the subject of a pollution scandal ( guerre du fluor) after its public reporting in the 1970s. In the late 1960s the company also became involved in another contentious public issue through its joint venture Nabalco which was developing a bauxite deposit in northern Australia on land claimed by the indigenous people of that area; leading to the Gove land rights case.

By the end of the twentieth century the company had become an international firm with interests in aluminium production, packaging, and chemicals (through the firm Lonza acquired 1974, divested 1999), and employed over 30,000 worldwide (1997).

The group was acquired by Alcan on 18 October 2000.