At the first stages, PETRA was operating under the name of Petra Steel Company that was established in 1955, with a location in Down Town Amman and operating on a small scale. Within ten years PETRA became a major leading company in the fields of forged iron, steel doors, steel windows, balustrades, sheet metal work, as well as decorative and artistic work. At that time, the company employed 20 people including the management.

Petra became renowned for it's elegance in work, attention to detail and customer requirement as well as accuracy in time delivery. The first major expansion took place in 1970 when an aluminium window and door fabrication line was introduced. This step was welcomed with high demand and increasing success, thus, in 1971 the name of the company was altered to Petra Aluminium Company.

The company did not only maintain it's excellent reputation in the market, but also further enforced it and became a leading industrial enterprise in Jordan. The lines of operation were broadened to include shop front cabinets, steel and aluminium partitions, shower curtains, roller shutters, curtain walls, fire resistant doors, over-head garage doors, insulated main entrance doors, skylights and fittings fabrication.

In 1971, Shegem & Co. was established enabling the company to vertically expand it's activities into trading of aluminium window and door profiles and accessories. Additionally, a subsidiary was formed in 1994 producing insulated glass, Ittihad Insulating Glass Co., further complementing Petra’s line of activity in the construction industry. Recently, in 2002 Al-Mashrabia Precise Cutting Company was born, as a result of purchasing a water jet cutting machine so as to provide this unique service to the Jordanian market.

Through out this period, the scope of expansion and improvement taking place internally included possession of new premises, acquiring the ISO 9001 Quality System certificate and launching strategic planning programs. These days Petra Aluminium Company employs around 250 people and extends over 6000m2.

On the international level, Petra has expanded its activities into Africa where a Sudanese branch of the company commenced production in 2001. Sudanese Jordanian Aluminium Company - Petra represents a partnership with a local Sudanese and a Jordanian party. It has made its success evident as it is dominating the aluminium industry in the areas of big major projects as well as private housing.