ALRO Accredited by Aerospace Industry

Romanian aluminum smelter ALRO - Slatina (BVB:ALR) has been accredited by the National Aerospace and Defence Contractor Accreditation Programme (NADCAP) for compliance with the requirements of the aerospace industry, according to a press release from the company. After samples of aluminum alloy produced by ALRO were tested for thermal, conductivity, strength, endurance and metallography, the Management Council of NADCAP awarded the performance certificate for one year as of September 2008, in line with the aerospace standard AS 70003. ALRO CEO Gheorghe Dramba said: "As soon as privatization was completed, ALRO started an ambitious investment program intended to turn the company into a manufacturer of high value-added services. Our strategy has been successfully applied and the NADCAP accreditation confirms that our development plan is headed in the right direction. As ALRO"s competence has been acknowledged by the aerospace industry, we expect further progress with our strategy to become a supplier of choice, capable of meeting the most exigent requirements." In the last few years, the company has invested over 270 million USD in technological and environmental projects and also expanded the product portfolio and quality. ALRO is controlled by Vimetco NV with 84.19% the share capital. Fondul Proprietatea holds 9.93%, while the remaining 5.88% is free float. The share capital of 356.88 million RON is divided into 713.77 million shares with a face value of 0.5 RON. Yesterday, ALRO shares dropped 14% to an average of 4.4 RON. ALRO is the largest aluminum producer in Central and Eastern Europe (Russia not included).