| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Steel, Constructions, Engineering, Healthcare |
| Founded | 1945 |
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Key people | Gianfelice Rocca - Techint, Tenova, Humanitas Chairman Paolo Rocca - Tenaris, Ternium Chairman |
| Products | Flat-rolled steel Tubular steel Industrial machinery Public infrastructure Oil & gas Mining Energy Health services |
| Revenue | US$ 18 billion (2009)[1] |
| Employees | 49,000 (2009)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | Tenaris Ternium Techint E&C Tenova Tecpetrol Humanitas |
| Website | Techint |
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.[1]
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).[2]
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Agostino Rocca, 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.[1][3]
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.[1]
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.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6]
The decision of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to nationalize Sidor came on the heels of a series of industrial disputes over the previous year.[7][8] 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,[9] but frictions emerged with the Kirchner administration in Argentina over their reported refusal to raise objections to the nationalization with President Chávez.[10]
The Techint Group invested US$2.3 billion in its Argentine operations from 2003 to 2008,[10] and its local Siderca unit's steel output rose from 2.5 million tons in 2003[11] to 4.5 million in 2008.[1]
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.