sentences:  In 1230 Althofen received market rights as an important trading venue, mainly for iron (Noric steel) from the nearby mines of Hüttenberg.In 1897 the local ironworks were purchased by Baron Carl Auer von Welsbach (1858–1929), the inventor of ferrocerium ("Auermetall").He developed the iron mill to a chemical plant, the later "Treibacher Industrie AG", the main employer in Althofen up to today.