Teódulo Flores Calderon donated the land to AHMSA, later Harold Rudolph Pape found Altos Hornos de Mexico in 1942 in Monclova, Coahuila for its proximity to the border, with the mines of iron located in the same state and Chihuahua, as well as with coal, located in the carboniferous region of Coahuila. Between 1944 and 1948, the production increased from 40,000 to 100,000 tons of liquid steel per year. In 1960, the smelter increased its capacity to 2 million tons of liquid steel per year, with this being consolidated as the largest company industry in Latin America. Throughout the decade of the '70s and after several expansions, the company achieved production of 3.75 million tons per year. In the decade of the '80s, AHMSA is nationalized by the federal government and went through several crises. In 1991, AHMSA was privatized and acquired by GAN. In 2005, the company began an upturn in production. Alonso Ancira, the owner and president of Altos Hornos, was arrested by the Interpol in connection with the 2014 sale of a fertilizer plant to PEMEX, the Mexican-state oil company, on May 28, 2019. The bank accounts of Altos Hornos and Emilio Lozoya Austin, the former CEO of PEMEX, were frozen 24 hours earlier. According to bank records he is bankrupted and has billions in debt. Alonso Ancira and other family members have been charged for corruption, money laundering, fraud and other crimes. It is believed that Lozoya will soon be arrested.
Activity
Ahmsa’s main steelmaking facilities and corporate offices are located in Monclova, Coahuila, close to transportation lines, raw materials supplies, principal points of export, and the company’s major domestic markets.
Primary resources
Two steel plants operate in an area of nearly 3,000 acres. AHMSA extracts coal and iron ore. The company has its own coal mines in Palau, located 70 miles from Monclova. Once extracted, the washed coal is shipped by railroad to AHMSA’s coke plants. The main source of iron ore is located in Hercules, Coahuila, a mine owned by AHMSA. From that point the iron ore is transported to AHMSA through a 180-mile pipe that crosses the Coahuila desert. The Company also has iron ore mines in some other Mexican states.
Products
AHMSA manufactures high value-added steel products. AHMSA is a national leader in the production and commercialization of flat steel products including hot rolled coil used for machinery parts, wide plate, cold rolled coil, tinplate and tin-free steel, railroad tanks and bridge constructions, structural shapes... It also produces non-flat steel products like heavy shapes. AHMSA operates at an annual production rate of 3.5 million metric tons of liquid steel, with a workforce of 22,250 people, including its subsidiary companies.
Voluntary adoption of best environmental practices developed at the international level by the industry and certified by the ISO14001 standard.
Integral rehabilitation of mined areas, with soil regeneration and repopulation of regional flora and fauna, as well as improvement of surroundings.
Integral support programs for communities where AHMSA companies operate in the Central, Carboniferous, Northern and Desert regions of the state of Coahuila, particularly through waste collection programs, operation of landfills, management and use of waste water, etc.
Creation of 5 management units for wild flora and fauna conservation, registered with permits as Animal Management Units.
These policies and activities have positioned AHMSA and its companies as benchmarks in the field of Mexican steelworks and mining, establishing it as an example of high social responsibility
