At its founding, ARBED operated 21 blast furnaces, 3 electric furnaces, 2 steelmaking plants and several rolling mills.
ARBED, already a major regional steel producer, further developed its international reach by establishing with the Société Metallurgique des Terres Rouges company a joint sales company called COLUMETA in 1920, and a joint shipping company called TRANSAF[REF] in 1922.