Techint
Encyclopedia
Techint is a conglomerate
multinational company founded in Milan
in September 1945 by Italian
industrialist Agostino Rocca
and headquartered in Milan (Italy) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). Techint comprises more than 100 companies operating worldwide in the following areas of business: Engineering & Construction, Steel, Oil & Gas, Industrial Plants, Healthcare. Techint, with its subsidiaries, is the largest steel making company in Latin America
, (fifth in the Americas). Techint is the world's largest manufacturer of seamless steel tubes, mainly used in the oil
industry
.
Techint is not limited only to production of steel. They also provide many services for other companies, for example, Telecom Argentina
used Techint's services during the '90s when upgrading Argentina's phone systems. Techint installed thousand of underground cables for Telecom Argentina
(mostly in Buenos Aires
).
, an executive at Ansaldo
, Dalmine and Siac (steel and iron industries), and prominent member of the IRI
broke with dictator Benito Mussolini
after his declaration of the Italian Social Republic
over Northern Italy, in 1943, and emigrated to Argentina after World War II
. Techint was founded in Milan in 1945, but developed its main activity also in Buenos Aires in 1946, and its original company name, Compagnia Tecnica Internazionale (Italian
, Technical International Company), was changed shortly after to Techint, its abbreviated telex code.
Awarded a contract to build a 1,600 km (1,000 mi) gas pipeline from Comodoro Rivadavia
to Buenos Aires
in 1949 by President Juan Perón
, Techint became a leading government contractor during Perón's ambitious infrastructure program. Establishing subsidiaries in Brazil
(1947), Chile
(1951), and Mexico
(1954), the company opened its first seamless steel tube plant in Campana
, in 1954; in 1969, Techint's Ensenada
plant became the only Argentine manufacturer of cold rolled steel.
A staple of large engineering projects all over South America, Techint participated in the privatization drive of the early 1990s, purchasing a stake in Argentina's then-leading steel manufacturer, the state-owned SOMISA. A significant part of Techint's core manufacturing strength has since been concentrated in the San Nicolás
-Villa Constitución
oil-and-steel corridor, where the company is a regional leader in the production of cold rolled steel.
On August 23, 2005, the Techint group bought 99.3% of Mexican Hylsamex for US $
2.2 billion. In press release, Techint informed that the Mexican steel manufacturer, and its previous steel manufacturers Siderar (Argentina
) and Sidor
(Venezuela
) would be under a new subsidiary called Ternium
, headquartered in Luxembourg
.
On April 30, 2007, Ternium
, a division of Techint, announced that it had entered into an agreement in which it expects to gain control of Grupo IMSA, a major player in the Mexican steel industry.
The decision of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
to nationalize Sidor came on the heels of a series of industrial disputes over the previous year. Compensation of around US$1.97 billion was agreed for the nationalisation of Ternium's 60% stake in Sidor, with the former keeping a 10% stake in the company, but frictions emerged with the Kirchner administration
in Argentina over their reported refusal to raise objections to the nationalization with President Chávez.
The Techint Group invested US$2.3 billion in its Argentine operations from 2003 to 2008, and its local Siderca unit's steel output rose from 2.5 million tons in 2003 to 4.5 million in 2008.
Techint remains an industry leader in Argentina, as well as a preferred destination for top engineering graduates. Its "young professionals" training program was considered Argentina's best.
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
multinational company founded in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
in September 1945 by Italian
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...
industrialist Agostino Rocca
Agostino Rocca
Agostino Rocca was an Italian Argentine businessman.-Life and times:Agostino Rocca was born in 1895 in Milan. His family relocated to Rome early in his childhood, and he completed secondary school studies at the Collegio Militare di Roma...
and headquartered in Milan (Italy) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). Techint comprises more than 100 companies operating worldwide in the following areas of business: Engineering & Construction, Steel, Oil & Gas, Industrial Plants, Healthcare. Techint, with its subsidiaries, is the largest steel making company in Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, (fifth in the Americas). Techint is the world's largest manufacturer of seamless steel tubes, mainly used in the oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
industry
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
.
Techint is not limited only to production of steel. They also provide many services for other companies, for example, Telecom Argentina
Telecom Argentina
Telecom Argentina is the major local telephone company for the northern part of Argentina, including the whole of the city of Buenos Aires...
used Techint's services during the '90s when upgrading Argentina's phone systems. Techint installed thousand of underground cables for Telecom Argentina
Telecom Argentina
Telecom Argentina is the major local telephone company for the northern part of Argentina, including the whole of the city of Buenos Aires...
(mostly in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
).
History
Agostino RoccaAgostino Rocca
Agostino Rocca was an Italian Argentine businessman.-Life and times:Agostino Rocca was born in 1895 in Milan. His family relocated to Rome early in his childhood, and he completed secondary school studies at the Collegio Militare di Roma...
, an executive at Ansaldo
Gio. Ansaldo & C.
Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993.-From foundation to World War I:...
, Dalmine and Siac (steel and iron industries), and prominent member of the IRI
Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale
The Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale was an Italian public company set up by the fascist government in 1933 to combat the effects of the global depression on the Italian economy...
broke with dictator Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
after his declaration of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
over Northern Italy, in 1943, and emigrated to Argentina after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Techint was founded in Milan in 1945, but developed its main activity also in Buenos Aires in 1946, and its original company name, Compagnia Tecnica Internazionale (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Technical International Company), was changed shortly after to Techint, its abbreviated telex code.
Awarded a contract to build a 1,600 km (1,000 mi) gas pipeline from Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia
Comodoro Rivadavia is a city in the Patagonian province of Chubut in southern Argentina, located on the San Jorge Gulf, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Chenque Hill. Comodoro Rivadavia is the most important city of the San Jorge Basin....
to Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
in 1949 by President Juan Perón
Juan Perón
Juan Domingo Perón was an Argentine military officer, and politician. Perón was three times elected as President of Argentina though he only managed to serve one full term, after serving in several government positions, including the Secretary of Labor and the Vice Presidency...
, Techint became a leading government contractor during Perón's ambitious infrastructure program. Establishing subsidiaries in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
(1947), Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
(1951), and 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...
(1954), the company opened its first seamless steel tube plant in Campana
Campana, Buenos Aires
Campana is a city in the Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, in the Campana Partido. It is located about from Buenos Aires City, on the right-hand margin of the Paraná River, Its population is 84,000 inhabitants as per the ....
, in 1954; in 1969, Techint's Ensenada
Ensenada, Buenos Aires
Ensenada is a city and port in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, located around the Ensenada de Barragán. It has 31,031 inhabitants as per the...
plant became the only Argentine manufacturer of cold rolled steel.
A staple of large engineering projects all over South America, Techint participated in the privatization drive of the early 1990s, purchasing a stake in Argentina's then-leading steel manufacturer, the state-owned SOMISA. A significant part of Techint's core manufacturing strength has since been concentrated in the San Nicolás
San Nicolás, Buenos Aires
San Nicolás is one of the neighbourhoods of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, sharing most of the city and national government structure with neighboring Montserrat and home to much of Buenos Aires' financial sector...
-Villa Constitución
Villa Constitución
Villa Constitución is a city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, and the head town of the Constitución Department. It is located on the south-western banks of the Paraná River between the courses of the Arroyo Pavón and the Arroyo del Medio, about 214 km south from the provincial capital,...
oil-and-steel corridor, where the company is a regional leader in the production of cold rolled steel.
On August 23, 2005, the Techint group bought 99.3% of Mexican Hylsamex for US $
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.2 billion. In press release, Techint informed that the Mexican steel manufacturer, and its previous steel manufacturers Siderar (Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
) and Sidor
Sidor
Siderúrgica de Orinoco C.A. "Alfredo Maneiro" is the biggest Venezuelan steel corporation. The company is situated in an industrial zone in Ciudad Guayana, Bolívar State, near the Orinoco River. Major iron deposits were found in the area in 1926 and 1947...
(Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
) would be under a new subsidiary called Ternium
Ternium
Ternium is a manufacturer of flat and long steel products with production centers in Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the United States...
, headquartered in Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
.
On April 30, 2007, Ternium
Ternium
Ternium is a manufacturer of flat and long steel products with production centers in Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the United States...
, a division of Techint, announced that it had entered into an agreement in which it expects to gain control of Grupo IMSA, a major player in the Mexican steel industry.
The decision of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez
Hugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
to nationalize Sidor came on the heels of a series of industrial disputes over the previous year. Compensation of around US$1.97 billion was agreed for the nationalisation of Ternium's 60% stake in Sidor, with the former keeping a 10% stake in the company, but frictions emerged with the Kirchner administration
Kirchnerism
Kirchnerism is a term used to refer to the political philosophy and supporters of Néstor Kirchner, president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, and of his wife Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President from 2007...
in Argentina over their reported refusal to raise objections to the nationalization with President Chávez.
The Techint Group invested US$2.3 billion in its Argentine operations from 2003 to 2008, and its local Siderca unit's steel output rose from 2.5 million tons in 2003 to 4.5 million in 2008.
Divisions
- TenarisTenarisTenaris is a global manufacturer and supplier of seamless and welded steel pipe products and provider of pipe handling, stocking and distribution services to the oil and gas, energy and mechanical industries...
: A global supplier of tubular products and services used in drilling, completion and production of oil and gas, in process and power plants, and in specialized industrial and automotive applications. Companies owned by the Techint group through Tenaris include: Siderca and Siat (ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
), Confab (BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
), TamsaTamsaTamsa is a town and commune in M'Sila Province, Algeria. According to the 1998 census it has a population of 6284....
(MexicoMexicoThe 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...
), Algoma (CanadaCanadaCanada 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...
), DalmineDalmineDalmine is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 40 km northeast of Milan and about 8 km southwest of Bergamo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 22,326 and an area of 11.6 km².The municipality of Dalmine contains the...
(ItalyItalyItaly , 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...
), Silcotub (RomaniaRomaniaRomania 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...
) and has production facilities in the US and a joint venture with NKKJFE Groupis a corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It was formed in 2002 by the merger of and . Both companies were major military vessel manufacturers during World War II....
(JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
), holding 51% of NKK shares since 1999, making it the first Japanese steel company in foreign majority ownership. Its total steel tube shipments exceeded 4.5 million tons in 2008.
- TerniumTerniumTernium is a manufacturer of flat and long steel products with production centers in Argentina, Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and the United States...
: A Latin American supplier of flat and long steel products, produced in three integrated steel mills located in Argentina, Mexico, USA and Guatemala with an overall capacity of nearly 9 million tons per year.
- Techint Engineering & Construction: A group of companies rooted in Italy, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and other Latin American countries, as well as the Middle East, Asia and Africa, specialized in the design and construction of pipelines, oil and gas facilities, petrochemical plants, power plants and transmission lines, mining and metal complexes, and other infrastructure and civil projects.
- Tenova: with subsidiaries operating in five continents that supply - with innovative technologies - direct reductionDirect reduced ironDirect-reduced iron , also called sponge iron, is produced from direct reduction of iron ore by a reducing gas produced from natural gas or coal. The reducing gas is a mixture majority of hydrogen and carbon monoxide which acts as reducing agent...
plants, submerged arc furnaces, cold rolling mills, strip processing lines, roll grinders, automated roll shops, mining and bulk material handling systems and plants for glass and rock wool.
- Tecpetrol: Active in oil and gas exploration and production in several Latin American countries and recently in United States.
- Humanitas: Holds a number of research-committed health care institutions of high complexity in Italy, managed through a patient oriented approach relying on a generalized application of state-of-the-art integrated information technology systems.
Techint remains an industry leader in Argentina, as well as a preferred destination for top engineering graduates. Its "young professionals" training program was considered Argentina's best.