Behind one Sainte-Claire Deville lies another…

Sotralu Group President Thierry Sainte-Claire Deville is a descendant of Henri Sainte-Claire Deville, the inventor of “modern” aluminium. In 1854, this illustrious ancestor was the first to produce aluminium on an industrial scale in a factory in the Javel district of Paris (his work financed by the Emperor Napoléon III).

The first ingots to be produced were used for the Exposition Universelle of 1855. Henri Sainte-Claire Deville took his inspiration for the production of aluminium from the experiments of Friedrich Wöhler, but had the idea of replacing potassium by sodium as his reducing agent. As a result, he succeeded in producing the first ever ingots of aluminium, marking the birth of the chemical production of aluminium. After presenting a paper to the Paris Académie des Sciences in 1859 he published a work on aluminium in which he predicted its possible future uses: “Aluminium is likely to become a common metal”.

Sotralu Group, the European expert in accessories and locks for aluminium doors and windows, is the confirmation of that early vision already “on the move”.

Photo editing HSCD/TSCD