History
Today SQM is the worldwide leader in its three main business areas: Specialty Plant
Nutrition, Iodine and Lithium. The company has commercial offices in more than 20
countries, which enables SQM to offer its business formulae to customers in 110
countries throughout Europe, America, Asia and Oceania.
To reach that worldwide leadership, many important investments have been made. Not
just to increase the production capacity, but also to train the personnel, to fund
R&D, to improve technology and to finance all kinds of actions focused upon
acquiring a better understanding of the profound needs of the customers.
Thus, today SQM not just offers top quality products and services but pursues a
much more ambitious goal: the success of its customers throughout the world. On
top of being an excellent supplier, SQM has became a business ally in the search
of better solutions for its customers.
However, a process of almost four decades preceded the point where the company consolidated
its leadership and carried across its mission to its customers. During that time
SQM reinvented itself more than once in order to meet the high efficiency levels
imposed by the changing global markets, while at the same time meeting the demanding
response levels from their customers worldwide. But time did not pass in vain.
SQM a genuine success story
SQM was founded in 1968 to reorganize the Chilean nitrate industry. In the course
of the first phase the ownership was shared between the Chilean State and the Compañía
Nitratera Anglo Lautaro S.A. During the second phase the industry was nationalised
and was thus fully owned by the Chilean State. Finally in 1983 the process of privatisation
started and was successfully completed in 1988. Today SQM invests in its customers:
in understanding their most profound needs and offering them the best business formulae
to guarantee their growth.