Sapa Group
Encyclopedia
Sapa AB is a Swedish
manufacturer of extruded aluminium
profiles. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Orkla Group
, and based in Stockholm
. It was founded in 1963 by Nils Bouveng and Lars Bergenhem as Skandinaviska Aluminiumprofiler AB.
in 1963. In 1967 they could show proof of their first sales of aluminum profiles. 1970-71 saw the birth of Sapa Spont which meant a move into producing their first building system and opening their first plant outside of Sweden, placed in the Netherlands. In 1974 Sapa Front building systems was introduced leading to the acquisition of Sapa by the Swedish aluminum manufacturer Gränges Aluminium in 1976.
In 1980, Electrolux
acquires Gränges. This was followed by a series of acquisitions and investments leading up to the introduction of Gränges AB to the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1997. In 2005, Sapa was acquired by the Norwegian corporation Orkla ASA and delisted from the Stockholm Stock Exchange
.
In 2007, Sapa and Alcoa
engage in a joint venture to become the worlds’ largest aluminium profile company.
In 2008, in a swap deal between Alcoa
and Orkla, Orkla become the sole owner of Sapa.
In 2009, Sapa acquired the 10 North American extrusion plants of Indalex. Indalex was under bankruptcy protection at the time of the purchase. The deal included 6 plants in the United States and 4 in Canada...
profiles
. Sapa Profiles also performs such operations as cutting, bending, CNC processing, hydroforming
, fusion welding
, friction stir welding
, electromagnetic pulse forming
, electromagnetic pulse welding
anodizing and painting. Production is focused in 15 European countries whilst the vast majority of the future investment is introduced in China.
As a result of the joint venture with Alcoa
, Sapa Profiles has been divided into five different business areas; North America, North Europe, Central Europe, South Europe and Asia.
(FSW) to enable a process of solid-state joining as a production method. The method drastically advanced the production capacity at Sapa.
Half of today's research and development budget at Sapa is directed towards finding new ways for heat transfer to occur.
Belgium
Canada
China
Denmark
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy
Lithuania
Mexico
The Netherlands Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
manufacturer of extruded aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
profiles. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Orkla Group
Orkla Group
Orkla Group is a Norwegian industrial conglomerate operating in the Nordic region, Eastern Europe, Asia and the US. The company's main divisions are branded consumer goods, aluminium solutions, materials, associates and financial investments.-Operations:...
, and based in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. It was founded in 1963 by Nils Bouveng and Lars Bergenhem as Skandinaviska Aluminiumprofiler AB.
History
Skandinaviska Aluminiumprofiler AB (Scandinavian Aluminum Profiles) set up their first extrusion plant in VetlandaVetlanda
Vetlanda is a locality and the seat of Vetlanda Municipality, Jönköping County, Sweden with 12,691 inhabitants in 2005.-History:Vetlanda was still nothing more than a village for several centuries. With the 1840s population boom in Småland, and the industrial revolution winning grounds in Sweden,...
in 1963. In 1967 they could show proof of their first sales of aluminum profiles. 1970-71 saw the birth of Sapa Spont which meant a move into producing their first building system and opening their first plant outside of Sweden, placed in the Netherlands. In 1974 Sapa Front building systems was introduced leading to the acquisition of Sapa by the Swedish aluminum manufacturer Gränges Aluminium in 1976.
In 1980, Electrolux
Electrolux
The Electrolux Group is a Swedish appliance maker.As of 2010 the 2nd largest home appliance manufacturer in the world after Whirlpool, its products sell under a variety of brand names including its own and are primarily major appliances and vacuum cleaners...
acquires Gränges. This was followed by a series of acquisitions and investments leading up to the introduction of Gränges AB to the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1997. In 2005, Sapa was acquired by the Norwegian corporation Orkla ASA and delisted from the Stockholm Stock Exchange
Stockholm Stock Exchange
The Stockholm Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 1863 it is the primary securities exchange of the Nordic Countries....
.
In 2007, Sapa and Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
engage in a joint venture to become the worlds’ largest aluminium profile company.
In 2008, in a swap deal between Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
and Orkla, Orkla become the sole owner of Sapa.
In 2009, Sapa acquired the 10 North American extrusion plants of Indalex. Indalex was under bankruptcy protection at the time of the purchase. The deal included 6 plants in the United States and 4 in Canada...
Organization
Sapa Holding AB includes seven business areas, and is owned to 100% by Orkla ASA. Sapa is divided into Sapa Profiles, Sapa Heat Transfer and a Building System business. The European market share of Sapa is 19%, in North America they possess a market share of 21%. Sapa Profiles today has 97 presses (1,040–7,300 tonnes) in 15 countries and more than 13,000 employees world wide.Financial performance
| Year | Net Sales (MSEK) | Operating profit (MSEK) | Operating margin (%) | Delivered volume (tonnes) | Average number of employees (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 29,380 | 1,394 | 4.7 | 740,381 | 11,550 |
| 2006 | 18,738 | 981 | 5.2 | 439,785 | 8,233 |
| 2005 | 14,542 | 591 | 4.1 | 383,815 | 7,925 |
| 2004 | 13,990 | 682 | 4.9 | 389,167 | 7,904 |
| 2003 | 11,803 | 704 | 6.0 | 326,457 | 7,229 |
| 2002 | 11,090 | 547 | 4.9 | 285,021 | 6,526 |
Sapa Profiles
Sapa Profiles is the world’s leading producer of extruded aluminiumAluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
profiles
Profile (engineering)
In standardization, a profile consists of an agreed-upon subset and interpretation of a specification. Many complex technical specifications have many optional features, such that two conforming implementations may not inter-operate due to choosing different sets of optional features to support...
. Sapa Profiles also performs such operations as cutting, bending, CNC processing, hydroforming
Hydroforming
Hydroforming is a cost-effective way of shaping malleable metals such as aluminum or brass into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong pieces. One of the largest applications of hydroforming is the automotive industry, which makes use of the complex shapes possible by hydroforming to produce...
, fusion welding
Fusion welding
Fusion welding is a generic term for welding processes that rely upon melting to join materials of similar compositions and melting points. Due to the high-temperature phase transitions inherent to these processes, a heat-affected zone is created in the material Fusion welding is a generic term for...
, friction stir welding
Friction stir welding
Friction-stir welding is a solid-state joining process and is used for applications where the original metal characteristics must remain unchanged as far as possible...
, electromagnetic pulse forming
Electromagnetic forming
Electromagnetic forming is a type of high velocity, cold forming process for electrically conductive metals, most commonly copper and aluminium. The workpiece is reshaped by high intensity pulsed magnetic fields that induce a current in the workpiece and a corresponding repulsive magnetic field,...
, electromagnetic pulse welding
Magnetic pulse welding
Magnetic pulse welding is a welding process that uses magnetic forces to drive two workpieces together and weld them together. The welding mechanism is most similar to that in explosion welding.-Process:...
anodizing and painting. Production is focused in 15 European countries whilst the vast majority of the future investment is introduced in China.
As a result of the joint venture with Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
, Sapa Profiles has been divided into five different business areas; North America, North Europe, Central Europe, South Europe and Asia.
Sapa Building System
Sapa Building System is one of the four largest suppliers of building systems based on aluminium profiles in Europe. Sapa focuses on solutions for homes, offices and industrial buildings with products meant for windows, doors, façades and glass roofs.Sapa Heat Transfer
Sapa Heat Transfer is the leading supplier of aluminium strip to the automotive heat-exchanger industry in the world. Customer-specific solutions delivered in the form of strip or plate for radiators, oil coolers, charge air coolers, air-conditioning equipment and heaters.Innovation
In 1996 Sapa introduced Friction Stir WeldingFriction stir welding
Friction-stir welding is a solid-state joining process and is used for applications where the original metal characteristics must remain unchanged as far as possible...
(FSW) to enable a process of solid-state joining as a production method. The method drastically advanced the production capacity at Sapa.
Half of today's research and development budget at Sapa is directed towards finding new ways for heat transfer to occur.
Factories
Sapa Group has factories in the following countriesBelgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
The Netherlands Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...