Our History

The roots of ALFA can be traced back to the end of the 19th century, when the first industries were established in Monterrey, Mexico.

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1974

A group of businessmen led by Roberto Garza Sada founded ALFA, to manage their interests in various businesses. At that time, the company comprised three subsidiaries: Hojalata y Lámina (steel), Empaques de Cartón Titán (cardboard) and Draco (mining).

1975

Since 80% of its revenues came from the steel business, ALFA undertakes a growth and diversification program. ALFA acquires Polioles (polystyrene, urethanes and glycols) and Nylon de México (nylon).

1977

ALFA´s businesses are grouped under three divisions: Steel, Paper and Packaging and Industries. Fibras Químicas (polyester fibers, currently Akra Polyester) is incorporated. Casolar (tourism) and Megatek (capital goods) are founded.

1978

Petrocel (DMT) and La Florida (galvanized steel) are incorporated to ALFA, as well as Philco, Admiral and Magnavox (electronics appliances). The ALFA Planetarium is inaugurated. ALFA shares begin to quote on the Mexican Stock Exchange.

1979

Nemak (aluminum auto parts) initiates operations in partnership with Ford and Teksid. The diversification program continues. ALFA invests in agricultural machinery, motorcycles, forging and foundry, household appliances and special steel businesses.

1980

ALFA acquires Brener, the origin of Sigma Alimentos. Thanks to its fast growth, in only six years ALFA becomes one of the most important companies in Mexico.

1981

The Mexican economy begins to suffer from a severe financial crisis, affecting ALFA's results. To face this situation, the company cancels projects, cuts costs, consolidates operations, and begins a process of restructuring debt and divesting.

1982-1983

The measures undertaken by ALFA begin to yield results. However, the continued peso devaluation complicates the economic environment in Mexico.

1984 - 1986

ALFA's financial results show a noticeable improvement, but the drop in oil prices and higher interest rates hurt the Mexican economy.

1987

ALFA completes the restructuring of its debt. In addition, efforts to reduce expenses and increase productivity, as well as the resurgence of the Mexican economy help ALFA to improve its results.

1988

ALFA resumes growth. It acquires Tereftalatos Mexicanos (PTA) and installs a steel painting line in Galvak. Furthermore, it restructures its businesses into four groups: Steel, Petrochemicals, Food and Diversified Companies.

1990

Openness to foreign trade and a growing Mexican economy allow ALFA to continue improving its performance and expanding its operations. The company begins the construction of Indelpro’s (polypropylene) plant in Tamaulipas.

1991

ALFA increases investments to expand the production capacity of non-flat steel, galvanized steel sheet, nylon and Lycra®.

1993

Despite the fact that the economy begins to show signs of weakness, ALFA starts up major projects such as a steel panel line in Galvak. In addition, Sigma enters into the dairy market launching the Chalet ® and La Villita® cheese brands.

1994

ALFA lays the foundation for a new era of growth. It starts up the construction of a minimill line in Hylsamex, Sigma builds a processed meats plant in Hidalgo and a yogurt facility in Jalisco. In addition, ALFA inaugurates the first Total Home (construction and decoration) store in a JV with Payless Cashways, from the US

1995

ALFA partners up with AT&T and Bancomer to found Alestra (telecommunications).It also acquires Univex (caprolactam) and Luxor (carpets) and expands petrochemicals and synthetic fibers capacity. Sigma´s plant in Monterrey receives the USDA certification.

1996

A strong demand for its products boosts ALFA's results. The company establishes new records in revenues and EBITDA. It also approves investments of US $2 billion for the 1996-2000 period.

1997

Nemak starts up its Plant III and begins the production of engine blocks. Sigma launches a prepared meals plant in Nuevo León. In addition, Alpek starts up a new PTA plant in Tamaulipas.

1998

ALFA concretes its first investment out of Mexico by participating in the Consorcio Siderurgia Amazonia in Venezuela. Furthermore, it starts up a polyester fiber plant in Nuevo León and begins operations at Enertek (electricity and steam cogeneration) in Tamaulipas, in JV with CSWI from the US Hylsamex inaugurates the second minimill line, a sponge iron plant, a pickling line, a cold coiling line and a galvanizing line.

1999

With the start up of Nemak´s Plant IV, ALFA completes its expansion and modernization program, and initiates a consolidation period. The crises in Asia, Russia and Brazil cause the collapse of oil prices, which impacts ALFA´s results.

2000

After a strong recovery during the first half of the year, the drop in petrochemical and steel prices, and the increase in energy costs affects the results of ALFA in the second half. The company reconfigures its portfolio by focusing on the businesses with the greatest prospects for growth and profitability: PTA, steel, auto parts and food. Nemak start operations at its Plant V and incorporates two aluminum auto parts plants in Canada acquired from Ford.

2001

A difficult year for ALFA. The demand and prices for steel and petrochemical products continue to fall, affecting the Company's results. Despite this, Sigma records its best year ever. In addition, in line with the reconfiguration of its portfolio, ALFA sells its 50% stake in Enertek and 100% of Total Home. On the other hand, it acquires two PTA plants and one PET plant in the US and becomes the second largest producer of PTA in North America.

2002

A better economic environment and a greater capacity to capitalize on market opportunities, allow ALFA to improve results, increasing revenues, net income, and EBITDA. In addition, Hylsamex refinances its debt. ALFA adds PET as a key business in its portfolio.

2003

ALFA decides to divest Hylsamex. Meanwhile, Nemak enters Europe starting up a plant in the Czech Republic, and Sigma, through acquisitions, enters Central America and the Caribbean. ALFA also expands its PET production capacities in the US, as well as the EPS and processed meats capacity in Mexico.

2004

The increase in sales volumes and better prices, plus savings in costs and expenses, allow ALFA to post an excellent year, including a record EBITDA. The company achieves a solid financial condition and its businesses strengthened their strategic position. Sigma continues to grow, incorporating Grupo Chen to achieve leadership in the Mexican cheese market, and extends its presence in the Caribbean through an acquisition in the Dominican Republic.

2005

ALFA completes the Hylsamex divestiture. Nemak acquires Rautenbach, a German aluminum auto parts company. Alpek starts up a new EPS line in Tamaulipas becoming the largest site of its kind in North America, and sells the nylon and Lycra® businesses, while Sigma acquires New Zealand Mexico and strengthens its position in the Mexican cheese market.

2006

ALFA acquires the 49% equity stake BBVA Bancomer had in Onexa (Alestra) and initiates a JV with Pioneer Natural Resources to explore for natural gas in Texas.

2007

ALFA continues improving its businesses competitiveness. Through investments of US $2,000 million, it increases its average production capacity by 50% and its revenues by 40%. Highlights include Nemak’s acquisition of 18 aluminum auto parts plants in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Alpek inaugurates a new PTA plant in Tamaulipas and a PET one in the US In addition, it acquires one PET plant in Mexico and another in Argentina. Sigma buys a cheese producing company in the US and two processed meat plants in Mexico. Alestra continues to expand its value added telecom services.

2008

ALFA focuses on consolidating and integrating the plants acquired in previous years. Also, it starts up the operation of a polypropylene plant in Tamaulipas, and a processed meat plant in the US Sigma enters South America acquiring a processed meat production company in Peru, while Alestra continues to expand its value-added services. The geographical diversification was key for ALFA to face the financial crisis that worsened in the second half of 2008, causing a recession in some markets. In spite of this, the company managed to increase its revenues and to maintain its EBITDA level.

2009

ALFA successfully faces the worst global economic crisis in 80 years. The solid positioning of its businesses and the measures carried out to address new market conditions, allow the company to report its best year ever, ending 2009 with a leaner cost structure and a stronger financial condition. All companies enjoyed an excellent performance, considering the circumstances in which they operated. Alpek and Sigma post record EBITDA figures. In addition, Nemak restructures its operations and strengthens its market leadership.

2010

ALFA continued leveraging on the strengths of their business to report favorable operating and financial results, including record revenue and EBITDA figures. Also made two important acquisitions which, were the culmination of several years of efforts and laid the foundations for ALFA's profitable growth in the future, as Bar-S, a leading company in the production of processed meats in the US as well as three PTA and PET plants in this country.

2011

ALFA reported another year of positive results. An outstanding event was the incorporation to Alpek of one PTA plant and two PET plants in the US, which were purchased from Eastman Chemicals and Wellman. Also, the integration of Bar-S, a company acquired in 2010, was completed. Nemak built a plant in India. Finally, ALFA purchased a 49% stake in Alestra, formerly held by AT&T, giving it full ownership of this subsidiary.

2012

ALFA reported a year of positive results, benefitted from favorable trends in the automotive and consumer markets in the U.S. and Mexico. Alpek became a public company. Nemak acquired J.L. French to diversify its product portfolio. Sigma improved efficiency and captured synergies from Bar-S. Alestra extended its network and services coverage. Newpek advanced in developing new wells. ALFA won a public bid to provide services to Pemex in two mature oil fields in Veracruz, Mexico.

2013

ALFA invested U.S. 1.4 billion in CAPEX and acquisitions to enter new geographies, expand production capacity and add value to its products. Highlights: the startup of a power cogeneration plant in Veracruz, Mexico; the upgrade of the caprolactam plant; the acquisition of CablemaPET, an Argentinian company that produces recycled PET resins; and the signing of an agreement with BASF to acquire its expandable polystyrene business in the Americas.

2014

ALFA Invested US $1.4 billion in CAPEX and acquisition to enter new geographies, expand production capacity and add value to its products. Highlights include: the start-up of the cogeneration plant in Veracruz, Mexico; the modernization of the caprolactam plant; the purchase of CabelmaPET in Argentina, a company that produces recycled PET resins; and the signing of an agreement with BASF to acquire from it its expandable polystyrene business in the Americas.

2015

The company continued to invest to make its businesses stronger. Sigma gained full ownership of Campofrio. Alpek incorporated the EPS business acquired from BASF and approved the construction of an energy cogeneration plant. Nemak started up a new production facility in Russia and began building another in Mexico. It also launched an initial public offering. Finally Alestra announced its merger with Axtel.

2016

Sigma started up a plant in Spain, replacing the one destroyed by fire in 2014. Alpek acquired a PET plant in Canada, an expandable polystyrene plant in Chile and started the construction of an energy cogeneration plant in Mexico. Nemak started operations of two plants in Mexico, incorporated a company in Turkey and advanced in the construction of a plant in Slovakia. Finally, ALFA completed the merger between Alestra and Axtel, creating a stronger company in the IT and communication business.

2017

ALFA continued investing in expanding its operations, improving efficiencies and adding value to its products. This through the purchase of two cold meats companies, in Peru and Romania; raising the capacity in EPS, starting two auto parts plants, Mexico and Slovakia, as well as a second Data Center in Querétaro.

2018

ALFA continues to execute its strategic investment program. Alpek completes the incorporation of PetroquimicaSuape and Citepe in Brazil, as well as the participation in the company created to acquire the integrated PTA-PET plant under construction, in Corpus Christi, Texas. Axtel sells part of its mass segment fiber business, as well as the last batch of its telecommunications towers. Newpek completes the sale of two territorial assets located in Texas, USA, United States.

2019

Alpek acquires a PET recycling plant from Perpetual Recycling Solutions, LLC (Perpetual) located in Richmond, Indiana, USA, with the capacity to produce approximately 45,000 tons per year of high-quality recycled PET flakes, increasing by 60% its recycling capacity for this material. In addition, it completes the sale of its two cogeneration plants. Axtel signs a definitive agreement for the sale of its fiber optic business in the Mass Market, located in the cities of León, Puebla, Toluca, Guadalajara and Querétaro. It subsequently announced the signing of a strategic agreement with Equinix, Inc., a global infrastructure and data center company, to strengthen its offering of information technology (IT) and cloud solutions.

2020

ALFA shows a favorable performance in its businesses worldwide, although it was exposed to the uncertainty generated by COVID-19. Initiates the strategy to unlock the fundamental value potential of ALFA and its subsidiaries, with the approval of the spin-off of Nemak, that concluded on December 14, 2020, considering this as the first transformation step towards completely independent subsidiaries. Newpek concludes the sale of all its assets in Texas, USA. Alpek completes the acquisition of Lotte Chemical UK Limited strengthening its position in the polyester segment and also concludes the acquisition of BVPV Styrenics LLC contributing to its long-term development plan. ALFA focuses its social investment in education through ALFA Foundation and closes ALFA Planetarium’s facilities.

2021

ALFA achieved excellent results, setting Revenue and EBITDA records at Alpek and Sigma. Alpek invested US $96 million in the acquisition of CarbonLITE in the USA, for the production of recycled PET (rPET). With the Evergreen project, it set targets for 2025, 2030 and 2050 in its twelve material ESG topics.Sigma launched Better Balance®, a global plant protein brand in Europe, the USA and Mexico. It also promoted new business models such as Grill House® and CONVY®, both with e-commerce platforms. Additionally, it sold two plants in Europe to continue its plan to improve EBITDA margins. Axtel launched its new mobile telephone service “Alestra Móvil”, the first enterprise mobile virtual operator (MVNO) in Mexico, to manage processes and fixed capacities from mobile devices. And Axtel Networks presented the "Data Center Connect" solution, which allows connecting data centers and cloud infrastructure around the world.

2022

ALFA made progress in its gradual and orderly transformation, promoting the independence of the subsidiaries, and reinforcing the Company's financial position. The most important advance was the beginning of the process to spin off its participation in Axtel. Sigma globally launched Better Balance®, the brand plant-based protein products, with more than 1,300 points of sale in Spain, Mexico and the United States. Alpek acquired OCTAL, a PET sheet production company in the Middle East. Also announced the succession of José Jesús Valdez in the General Direction and appointed Jorge Young who has a 32-year career in Alpek.

2023

The succession plans for the Chairman of the Board were announced, after a 45-year career, Armando Garza Sada retires from ALFA and remains as a member of the Board; Álvaro Fernández Garza was appointed Chairman while retaining his role as CEO. The spin-off process of ALFA's stake in Axtel was completed. Sigma expanded in the U.S. by acquiring Los Altos Foods and a processing plant in Iowa; additionally, it divested its operations in Italy, focusing on key markets to improve profitability in Europe. Alpek focused on enhancing its competitiveness, streamlining operations by closing two plants in Monterrey and Cooper River, and paused the construction of the plant in Corpus Christi, Texas; also, it secured its first Sustainability-Linked Loan for US $200 million. ALFA Fundación celebrated its 10th year of operations.