Pechiney
 |
|
| Industry | Aluminium |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by Alcan in 2003 |
| Founded | 1855 |
| Founder | Henri Merle |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
Pechiney SA was a major aluminium conglomerate based in France. The company was acquired in 2003 by the Alcan Corporation, headquartered in Canada. In 2007, Alcan itself was taken over by mining giant Rio Tinto Alcan.
Prior to its acquisition, Pechiney grew to be the world's 4th largest producer and developer of aluminium products, employing 34,000 people and operating 320 manufacturing and sales facilities in 50 countries at the time it was purchased by Alcan. The group operated in all facets of the aluminium industry from bauxite mining to the development of sophisticated applications of metal products in addition to international commodities trading and brokerage of the metal on the London Metal Exchange (LME).
Pechiney gained worldwide recognition for its use of electrolysis technology, and was a leader in specialty packaging and aerospace applications.
The company was founded in 1855 by Henri Merle as a producer of caustic soda at a manufacturing facility in Salindres. Founded as Compagnie des Produits Chimiques Henri Merle the company was renamed in 1897 the Société des Produits Chimiques d'Alais et de la Camargue.
The company first began producing aluminium metal in 1860 using a chemically-based process developed by Henri Sainte-Claire Deville in 1854 and was granted a 30-year monopoly by the French government.
Pechiney had developed a significant presence in Europe in the 1930s and first prospected the American market in 1911 before acquiring a strong foothold there in the 1960s. In the 1954, Pechiney expanded into Africa and subsequently it developed a presence in Australia, Latin America, Greece and Asia.
The corporate name was changed to Pechiney in 1948, after a former influential managing director referred to by the same name, A. R. Pechiney.
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