Documentation: NTUA, Mining Technology and Environmental Mining Lab, Scientific coordinator K. Panagopoulos, July 2002)

 

The industrial complex for the production of the nitrogenous fertilizer of Ptolemaida was built with Greek State funds, by the construction Joint Venture UHDE/CASALE.

The respective contract was signed on 30/1/1959 and accredited by the Law No 3946/1959.

The complex construction was completed in November 1963 and its testing phase lasted until 30/4/1965. The Greek State officially received the factory complex in April 1965.

On 31/12/1964, the ownership of the complete factory and all its infrastructure was transferred to the Greek Bank of Industrial Development, with a common Decision of the Ministers of Coordination and Industry (ETVA).

On 15/9/1965, AEVAL was founded by the ETVA, with a share capital of 1,4 billion Greek Drachmas (GRD). AEVAL was based in Ptolemaida and was fully responsible for the factory operation.

AEVAL’s scope was the exploitation of the locally produced lignite. The gasification of this lignite produced nitrogen, which is the main intermediate raw material of the Fertilizing Industry, due to its high content in Nitrogen (more than 82%)

From 1964 till mid-1995, AEVAL’s products were nitrogenous fertilizers, which were completely produced by ammonia (ΝΗ3). For this specific reason, ammonia was characterized as a strategic importance product. After mid-1995 and until the unit’s complete shut-down (July 1997), the company produced also composite fertilizers, but in small quantities.

The nitrogenous fertilizers, produced by the company were the following ones:

Ammonium Nitrate (34,5% Nitrogen)
Calciferous Ammonium Nitrate (26% Nitrogen)
Ammonium Sulfate (21% Nitrogen)
Ammonium Nitro-Sulfate (26% Nitrogen)

In order for the company to increase its capacity, due to high demand in the ‘60s and ‘70s, proceeded with two sequential settlement expansions. The target was the improvement of the production process and the compression of the production cost.

The first expansion took place in 1969-1970 and targeted to the narrowings removal at the initial installations. This attempt resulted in the significant improvement of the production. This investment summed up to 314 million GRD.

The second expansion took place in the period of 1971-1974 and its target was the production capacity improvement of up to 50%. The total investment had a cost of around 900 million GRD.

Until 1985, the whole AEVAL products were purchased by the Greek Agricultural Bank

From 1985 up to May 1st 1992 (the exact date of the fertilizers’ market liberalization), AEVAL’s final products were mandatory absorbed by SYNEL SA, a cooperative company between the Greek Agricultural Bank and other Agricultural Associations and Cooperatives. The final prices of the fertilizers, for the Greek companies (EX FACTORY), were defined by the State, through the SYNEL SA, and was conducted according to the Law 760/48 and based on reporting costing.

After the fertilizers’ market liberalization, on May 1st 1992 and the abolishment of the Law 760/48, AEVAL disposed its production to the internal (National) Market on its own, until Sept 30th 1993. From October 1st 1993 and until June 1997, the total amount of production was disposed through SYNEL SA.

As years went by, the company was constantly facing bigger and bigger difficulties to compete not only the internal (i.e. national) fertilizing companies but also the respective ones from abroad. That was mainly because of the significantly more expensive product compared to the competitors’ one.

 

The main reason was the higher production cost, the aged ammonia production department and the big number of employees.
Other reasons that have been underlined were the State’s Protectionism and the development of a negatively-minded public-servant culture. Finally, the two modernization projects were not aligned at all to the company’s targets.
 

Therefore, after 1985, a consolidation program was applied. At a first stage, this program required the shutting down of the uneconomical and unsustainable units of the sulfuric acid and ammonium sulfate production.

Later on, at the beginning of ‘90s, the target of gradual shutting down of the whole ammonia complex operation was chosen. This target would be accompanied by the respective personnel shrinkage.
Unfortunately, this effort had no positive results. In June 1991, the Public Power Company (DEI) discontinued to provide electricity to the complex, due to the inability of AEVAL to settle up its debts to the PPC.

This situation was a consequence of the inability of the SYNEL SA to settle up its debts to the AEVAL.
As a result, the complex seized its operation for about 7 months, causing a devastating damage of more than 1,5 billion GRD.

AEVAL was forced to pay to the PPC the amount of 220 million GRD in order to be able to return to operation.

Despite all these efforts, the industrial complex shut down in 1997 and almost all employees were fired.
ETVA, in order to limit the damage and settle its debts up (mainly to PPC), initiated an attempt of selling AEVAL through bidding process, either as a whole industrial complex or in parts.

AEVAL’s shut-down resulted in a disorder of the economic balance and the development of the area, since the factory was financing more than a thousand families by the time it stopped its operation.
 

This is why from the very first moment after the complex’ closure, the Municipality of Ptolemaida (now Eordea) expressed its interest, about acquiring and exploiting it.

The Municipality of Eordea (ex Ptolemaida) considers the AEVAL industrial complex as an integral part of the City and this is the main reason that the Municipality has set numerous proposals about the exploitation of the establishments.

Through this exploitation there is the hope that the huge unemployment problem will be tackled and the area’s sustainable development could be a plausible scenario even after “lignite-exploitation” era is over.

 

 

Finally, the Municipality of Eordea managed to acquire the AEVAL Complex with funds originated by the Lignite Fee (a fee given by the PPC to the local communities as a compensation for the exploitation of the underground lignite), whereas PPC was forced to fall back with its requirements from the AEVAL Company and to finally wrote its debts off.

             http://www.industrialheritage.gr/en/aeval

 

photo: Pierclaudio Duranti  2014