Alcoa (NYSE: AA)

Alcoa (in Russian pronounced Alcoa) (NYSE: AA) – american metallurgical company, second in the world in aluminum smelting (after the Russian company Russian Aluminum following the results 2006 of the year).Headquarters – in Pittsburgh, state of Pennsylvania (USA).

History

Founded in 1886 year by Charles Martin Hall, which the, almost simultaneously with the Frenchman Paul Héroux, discovered a method for producing aluminum by electrolysis of alumina. IN 1907 year the company received the name Aluminum Company of America, in 1910 abbreviated to Alcoa.

In the mid-80s of the 19th century, aluminum was considered a semi-precious metal., more rare, than silver. So, in 1884 year in the USA was produced only 125 pounds of aluminum.

Frank Jewet, a professor at Oberlin College in Ohio, showed his chemistry students a piece of aluminum and said, that he, who will be able to discover an economical way of producing this metal, become rich.

One of those students, Charles Martin Hall, experimented with minerals since the age of 12, turning a small wooden shed behind the house into a makeshift laboratory.

After graduating, he continued his experiments in the barn. He learned how to extract aluminum oxide - alumina - and created his own coal crucible with a cryolite bath., which contained alumina, and passed an electric current through it.

The result is a solidified mass. He let her cool down, and then smashed it with a hammer. And found some small balls of pure aluminum.

It was a wonderful discovery. But to go further Hall needed money. He found his sponsors in nearby Pittsburgh. It was a group of six industrialists led by Alfred E.. Hunt.

These daring entrepreneurs form the Pittsburgh Iron and Steel Company (Pittsburgh Reduction Company) and built a small factory there, where is the Pittsburgh Strip now (Pittsburgh’s Strip District). Thanksgiving in 1888 Hall and his first salaried employee, Arthur Winning Davis, released the first batch of industrial aluminum using Hall technology.

The mountain of ingots grew, but there were still no buyers. Manufacturers were afraid to deal with unfamiliar metal. To show an example, Davis began to make some products, starting with an aluminum kettle.

Meanwhile, Hall continued to refine his technology and develop alloys. He managed to reduce the cost of aluminum in bars with 4,86 dollars per pound in 1888 year before 78 cents in 1893 year.

Production grew, and soon they were already making kitchen utensils from aluminum, foil, electrical wires and cables, car bodies and engine parts, used in the first plane of the Wright brothers, tested at Cape Kitty Hawk.

TO 1907 G. the sprawling company already had bauxite mines in Arkansas, a refinery in Illinois and three smelters in New York and Canada. The owners changed the name of the company to a more appropriate one - "Aluminum Company of America" (Aluminum Company of America). Later, when the company began to open its branches in different countries of the world, this name became "Alcoa Inc."

In the late 1930s, a pound of aluminum cost 20 Cents, and more than 2 000 product names, then World War II broke out. Aluminum demand doubled, as well as the production of Alcoa. But most of the new capacity was funded by the federal government., and after the war these factories were sold to competing companies.

The industry has experienced explosive growth in recent decades. Alcoa has responded to increased competition by building up its technical base, improving technology, lower costs, expansion of the product range, markets and activities in different countries, as well as the development of an unparalleled natural resource base around the world.

In recent years, at the turn of the millennium, Alcoa has significantly increased its presence around the world through internal growth, international cooperation and major acquisitions in Europe and the USA.

Today aluminum is the preferred choice for convenient packaging, new generations of aircraft and cars and thousands of other modern products, which, thanks to this, have become stronger, safer, easier, their production is less energy intensive, and recycling is more efficient.

Everything has changed, except one: from the very beginning to this day, Alcoa Corporation remains the world leader among aluminum producers.

Owners and management

Market capitalization of the company by 12 February 2007 was $28,2 billion. Early February 2007 there was information about, that British-Australian mining company BHP Billiton and Australia's Rio Tinto are considering buying Alcoa. The transaction amount can be up to $40 billion.

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of the company - Alain Belda (Alain Belda).

Activity

Alcoa operates in 43 countries. In addition to primary aluminum and rolled products, the company produces aluminum structures, siding, cast aluminum products, including rims for cars, as well as high-purity aluminum and silicon for microelectronics. One of the largest aluminum companies in the world, Canadian Alcan, is a subsidiary of Alcoa.

The number of company personnel - 129 thousand. human (2006). The company's revenue in 2006 amounted to $30,38 billion, net profit — $2,25 billion.

Alcoa in Russia

In Russia, the company owns the Samara Metallurgical Plant and the plant in Belaya Kalitva (Rostov region).

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