Kaiser Aluminum

Kaiser Aluminum Corporation is an American aluminum producer. It is a spinoff from Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation, which came to be when common stock was offered in Permanente Metals Corporation and Permanente Metals Corporation's name was changed to Kaiser Aluminum and Chemicals Corporation.

Founded in 1946, Henry J. Kaiser's corporation entered the aluminum business by leasing, then purchasing three government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. These were the primary reduction plants at Mead and Tacoma, the rolling mill at Trentwood and also an alumina refinery at Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Kaiser benefited at that early juncture from some preferential treatment, the government found it more important to establish a third competitor in the aluminum industry besides Alcoa and Reynolds than to accept the highest bid (by Reynolds). Both Reynolds and Kaiser were also helped by the fact that the government had just gained royalty-free patent rights from Alcoa for an alumina production process in January 1946 (presumably as a result of United States v. Alcoa) and that leasees of government plants were allowed to benefit from the arrangement.

In the early 1950s, Kaiser Aluminum grew to be a vertically integrated aluminum producer (minus their own steamship company) with own mines on Jamaica, a refinery at Baton Rouge and smelters and finishing plants in various regional markets, drawing from more war surplus plants (at Newark, Ohio and Halethorpe, Maryland) as well as starting entirely new and fairly large plants (at Chalmette, Louisiana and at Ravenswood, West Virginia). This growth was also stimulated by significant demand created by the military, both for new production, but also for the establishment of the strategic stockpile following the exhaustion caused by the recent war and the next one in Korea.

Kaiser Aluminum previously owned a subsidiary that developed real estate, including in Rancho California, California; Oregon, Washington, and Arizona. In 1986, Kaiser Aluminum sold the bulk of the $450 million real estate holdings to an investor group led by Peter B. Bedford.

In 1988, Charles Hurwitz and his company Maxxam, Inc. purchased KaiserTech Ltd, the Oakland-based parent of Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Company. Kaiser Aluminum filed for bankruptcy in 2002, due to labor disputes, the West Coast energy crisis, and asbestos liabilities. The steel workers union was suspicious of Hurwitz on the collapse of the Kaiser Aluminum Corporation and closely watched his 1995 FDIC lawsuit because Hurwitz has a history of loss-plagued businesses.

The company emerged from bankruptcy four years later. In March 2006, Kaiser Aluminum determined to restate its financial statements for the quarters ended March 31, 2005; June 30, 2005; and September 30, 2005, to adjust its VEBA-related payments and derivative financial instrument transactions.

The company previously owned a stake in Anglesey Aluminium, a joint venture with Rio Tinto Group. The smelter at this facility was closed in 2009, and the entire facility was fully closed in 2013.

In April 2021, Kaiser Aluminum completed acquisition of Alcoa Warrick, LLC, renaming it Kaiser Warrick, LLC. Kaiser entered into a long term ground lease with Alcoa; Alcoa retains its on site four unit coal fired generating station, smelting assets, and land assets with the remainder of the facility to be operated by Kaiser. Presently, Kaiser Aluminum Warrick operates a cast house, hot mill, cold mills, finishing mills/coating lines, and slitter lines, producing flat rolled aluminum sheet for the food and beverage container market. In July 2021, Kaiser Aluminum announced plans to construct an additional roll coating line at Kaiser Aluminum Warrick, at a cost of approximately $150 Million dollars. Construction of this line is expected to begin by the first half of 2022, and achieve initial operational capability by 2024.