Kaiser Aluminum facts for kids
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Formerly
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Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company |
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| Public | |
| Traded as | NASDAQ: KALU S&P 600 Component |
| Industry | Aluminum |
| Founded | 1946 in Washington state, U.S. |
| Headquarters | Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. |
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Key people
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Keith A. Harvey (president and CEO) |
| Products | Rolled aluminum, plate, sheet, can sheet, and extruded products. |
| Revenue |  US$1.173 billion (2020) |
| US$ 29 million (2020) |
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| Total assets | $1.865 billion (2020) |
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Number of employees
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3,700 (2021) |
| Subsidiaries | Anglesey Aluminium, Imperial Machine & Tool, Kaiser Warrick, LLC |
Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is an American company that makes many different products from aluminum. It was created from a larger company called Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation.
Contents
History of Kaiser Aluminum
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Kaiser Aluminum was started in 1946 by Henry J. Kaiser. The company began by renting and later buying three aluminum factories from the government in Washington state. These included plants in Mead, Tacoma, and Trentwood. They also got an aluminum refining plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The government wanted to help new companies like Kaiser Aluminum grow. This was to create more competition in the aluminum industry, alongside bigger companies like Alcoa and Reynolds.
In the early 1950s, Kaiser Aluminum grew a lot. It became a company that handled aluminum from start to finish. This meant they owned mines in Jamaica and refining plants like the one in Baton Rouge. They also had smelters (where aluminum is made from ore) and finishing plants in many places. This growth was helped by a big demand for aluminum from the military, especially during and after World War II and the Korean War.
Kaiser Aluminum used to own a company that developed land and built homes in places like California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. In 1986, Kaiser Aluminum sold most of these land holdings.
In 1988, a company called Maxxam, Inc. bought Kaiser Aluminum's parent company. Later, in 2002, Kaiser Aluminum had to file for bankruptcy. This happened because of disagreements with workers, problems with electricity supply in California, and issues related to past use of a material called asbestos.
The company was able to recover from bankruptcy four years later, in 2006.
Kaiser Aluminum also used to own a part of a company called Anglesey Aluminium in the UK. The main factory there closed in 2009, and the whole facility closed in 2013.
In April 2021, Kaiser Aluminum bought a company called Alcoa Warrick, LLC. They renamed it Kaiser Warrick, LLC. This plant makes flat aluminum sheets used for food and drink cans. Kaiser Aluminum plans to build another production line at this plant, which should start working by 2024.
About Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum's main office is in Franklin, Tennessee. In 2020, the company made about $1.173 billion in sales.
Kaiser Aluminum currently has 13 factories that can produce over 400 million pounds of aluminum every year. Their North American plants make about 500 million pounds per year of special aluminum products. These include sheets, plates, and parts made by shaping aluminum.
With the addition of the Kaiser Warrick plant, Kaiser Aluminum now has about 3,700 employees.
Where Kaiser Aluminum Works
Kaiser Aluminum has had many important facilities throughout its history. These plants help turn raw materials into finished aluminum products.
Early Plants
When Kaiser Aluminum started, they leased and bought several key facilities:
- The smelter at Mead (from 1946 to 2004) was a place where aluminum was made from ore.
- The rolling mill at Trentwood (from 1946 onwards) is where aluminum is flattened into sheets.
- The alumina refinery at Baton Rouge (from 1946 onwards) processes bauxite ore into alumina, which is then used to make aluminum.
- The smelter at Tacoma (from 1947 onwards) was another important plant for making aluminum.
Growth and Expansion
As Kaiser Aluminum grew, they added more facilities:
- A rod and wire mill at Newark (from 1948 onwards) was bought to make aluminum rods and wires. These wires could be very thin and were used for many things, including electrical cables.
- A large smelter at Chalmette (from 1951 onwards) was built to greatly increase aluminum production. This plant was very important for meeting the high demand for aluminum during the Korean War.
- An extrusion plant at Halethorpe (from 1951 onwards) was leased. This plant made aluminum parts by pushing hot aluminum through a shaped opening.
- Port Kaiser in Jamaica (from 1953 onwards) was built to ship bauxite ore from Kaiser's mines in Jamaica. This mine provided a large amount of bauxite for the company's operations.
- A forging plant at Erie (from 1954 onwards) was leased. Forging is a process where metal is shaped by hammering or pressing it.
- An integrated mill at Ravenswood (from 1955 onwards) was built. This large plant could handle many steps of aluminum production, from making sheets to foil. It was a big investment for Kaiser Aluminum in the eastern United States.
