Alcoa

Type: Public
Founded: 1886 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Headquarters: Principal: New York, NY, Operational: Pittsburgh, PA
Key people: Alain Belda (CEO and Chairman)
Industry: Aluminum
Products: building products, fastenings, castings, aluminum foil, automobile parts, rolled aluminum, milled aluminum
Website: http://www.alcoa.com

General Information

Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is the world’s third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto and Rusal. Alcoa leads the world in alumina production and capacity. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa oversees operations in 44 countries. It is followed closely by a former subsidiary, Alcan, a Canadian-based company in Montreal, which was the third-leading producer behind Alcoa, but in terms of sales Alcan is ahead of Alcoa. Alcoa made a hostile $27 billion bid for Alcan on May 7th, 2007, aiming to reunite the two companies and form the largest aluminum producer in the world. The takeover bid was withdrawn after Alcan announced a friendly takeover by Rio Tinto on July 12, 2007. A bid for Alcoa by BHP Billiton or another mining company is looking increasingly likely as of the morning of July 13, 2007.

In addition to aluminum products, Alcoa also makes and markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap foil and plastic wrap, Baco household wraps, and Alcoa wheels. Among Alcoa’s other businesses are closures, fastening systems, Howmet Castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars. The packaging unit, including the Reynolds Metals subsidiary, is expected to be spun off to satisfy antitrust regulators, in response to the proposed Alcan takeover.

Environmental Record

According to the University of Massachusetts' Political Economy Research Institute, Alcoa is one of the top ten most toxic companies in the country, producing 9,884,267 pounds of toxic chemicals in 2002 alone. Since 1987, state and federal regulators have cited Alcoa for more than forty-seven pollution violations. In 2002, Alcoa paid half a million dollars in fines at its Indiana plant in order to settle lawsuits charging it evaded water pollution regulations. Under the controversial grandfather provisions of the Texas Clean Air Act, Alcoa has been exempt from installing up to date pollution control devices and submitting to health-impact studies.

On the other hand, In 2005, BusinessWeek magazine, in conjunction with the Climate Group, ranked Alcoa as No.5 of 'The Top Green Companies.' in cutting their carbon gas emissions.