History

Usine à Métaux Alfred Molinet

In 1961 "Affilips N.V." originated from the metallurgical family business "Usine à Métaux Alfred Molinet", a company that was established in Tienen in 1937.

The necessary funds were provided by Lips, a Dutch manufacturer of marine propellers. The new company was named "Société Belge d’Affinage Lips", or Affilips for short.

From producer of refined copper, bronze and brass, Affilips steadily developed into a specialist in non-ferrous master alloys.

In 1976 Affilips was taken over by "Roba Handelmaatschappij", a Dutch company trading in steel, metals and alloys. This marked the beginning of a period of phenomenal development, during which Affilips grew into one of Europe’s leading master alloy producers for the non-ferrous metals and special steel industries.

A milestone in our history was the merger in 1993 of Affilips and KBM Master Alloys, a Dutch company formerly known as Kawecki-Billiton Metaalindustrie with plants in Delfzijl and Oss. The latter has been a forerunner in the aluminium grain refiner business since 1962 and has performed pioneering work in this field of expertise. The merger resulted in a valuable mix of knowledge and experience.

On 1st January 1994 Affilips and KBM Master Alloys joined forces and formed a marketing company named KBM Affilips B.V. with headquarters in Oss, The Netherlands.

Affilips N.V. in Tienen (Belgium): offices
Affilips N.V. in Tienen (Belgium): warehouses
Roba Metals B.V. in IJsselstein (The Netherlands)	KBM Master Alloys B.V. in Delfzijl (The Netherlands)	KBM Affilips B.V. in Oss (The Netherlands)

Today, these companies and their sister company in the United Kingdom, Roba Metals Ltd., are wholly owned operating companies of ROBA Holding B.V.. Many years of specialization have allowed KBM Affilips to assume a leading position in the world market for an extensive range of non-ferrous master alloys.