As the global leaders in specialty alumina, Almatis’ business is in providing products with formidable strength. This tough, resistant powder is used in a plethora of products that touch our daily lives – from heat-proofing vital industries such as steel production, to strengthening glass and even giving jewelry its flawless shine.
But not only is CEO Anil Sönmez providing resilience and longevity to his customers, his long-term vision for Almatis is laser-focused on ensuring the company’s growth remains unbreakable.
“Almatis has a great legacy within this industry, with more than a hundred years of alumina expertise and a reputation for being a highly reliable producer,” Sönmez tells The CEO Magazine. “Everything started with Almatis. At the end of the day, all our competitors, all other businesses are spinoffs from Almatis.”
Yet despite this, the company has had mixed fortunes in the past few years – to say the least. At one stage, its very existence was precarious.
“Going back 20 years, the company was spun off in 2004 and was then in the hands of private equity for quite some years. The company actually filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010.”
On his entry into the company in 2022, Sönmez faced the responsibility of turning around its fortunes.
“When I came in, I found a company which was not actually financially stable and not performing at a level which it should be,” he remembers.
“In the last four-and-a-half years, we’ve changed from A to Z, everything in the company. First of all, we have top-notch financial and operational performance. It’s a completely different environment, completely new culture. The corporate identity changed and Almatis became a company which is admired. It’s a company that people want to work for.
“Our shareholder, OYAK, also played a critical role in our turnaround. They have always been committed to supporting Almatis and believed in its potential. They have provided stability to ensure Almatis is positioned to be successful. Through their strong support and commitment, as well as patience, we have been able to execute our strategy.”
International growth
Sönmez points to the company’s international reach as a key strength, from its headquarters in Rotterdam to production facilities in Germany, the United States, India, China and Japan.
“It’s the only truly international company within the specialty alumina industry. Nobody else is like us,” he adds. “In the next three-to-five years, we will build on this.”
Like countless other businesses, Almatis’ international growth ambitions have been hampered by the geopolitical shocks of the past half-decade, from a pandemic to war and global energy crises. But he remains resilient, determined not to let events undermine the company’s expansion.
“It’s a very dynamic world. This creates a lot of challenges, but it also creates opportunities,” Sönmez says. “We have to follow the direction the market is going in our main industries and look at the regions where we are underrepresented.
“If we look at, for example, the steel industry, one of our main industries – the European and Japanese steel industries have been shrinking in the last couple of years since the market has moved toward India.”
As well as being mindful of the rising geographical markets, Almatis is conscious that it is invested in the industries of tomorrow.
“We have a good base in the specialty calcined products that are going to future industries such as semiconductors and substrates,” Sönmez says.
Almatis has achieved this preparedness by expanding its manufacturing capability in China.
“We will double our capacity for specialty calcined applications for semiconductors for the high-end applications of the future in China,” he explains.
“The ability to invest does not come from strategic decisions alone, it also requires the commitment of OYAK. Throughout our entire investment expansion process, OYAK has always been extremely supportive. They have gained confidence in our ability to deliver consistent results and this is something that is critical for our future. We are lucky to have OYAK as our shareholder.”
Diversification
Although Almatis holds a leading position in the alumina sector, Sönmez is open to radically expand its product offering.
“We are looking for growth opportunities that are inorganic. You might imagine that when you’re a market leader, you can try to grow the market, but let’s face it’s a niche market,” he says.
“What we want to do is become more of an industrial minerals company to serve the markets we are in with a broader package. This could be anything from distribution models to trading models, mergers and acquisitions and greenfield investments.
“That’s our vision, to look for products that are complementary.”
Passionate employees
Sönmez stresses that fundamentally, Almatis is a company driven by its core values – with passion being primary.
“We had a chance to renew our corporate culture in the last four years, which came from our employees themselves,” he says. “We created the values for our company of passion, accountability, collegiality and global inclusivity.
“We try to embed these values in everything we do. And of course, our innovation process is fed by these values. We are a passionate company with passionate employees and this passion is what drives our innovation.”
It is this fire in the belly that Sönmez is banking on to take Almatis toward his vision of a diversified force, serving its customers with complete solutions.
“This passion also defines what we want to achieve in the future, which is to offer more than just alumina,” he says. “We want to be a company that is helping our partners with complete solutions.
“Our doors are open. We are happy to cooperate, and we are after partners that are fair and ready to share the challenges with us.”
