Wah Chang Corporation
| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1916 |
| Founder | K.C. Li |
| Headquarters | Albany, Linn County, Oregon |
|
Area served
|
Worldwide |
|
Key people
|
K.C. Li; Lynn D. Davis |
| Revenue |
 US$$265 million (FY 2005)
|
|
Number of employees
|
1,100 |
| Website | Official Website |
Wah Chang Corporation is an American manufacturing company based in Albany, Oregon in the United States. In 1916 (some sources say 1914), Chinese American mining engineer Kuo-Ching Li founded the company in New York state, under the name Wah Chang Trading Corporation.Wah Chang is Chinese for "fortunate enterprise" or "great development". This expanded as an international tungsten ore and concentrate trading company. Li remained with the company until his death in 1961, serving as president until 1960 and then board chairman.
In 1946, the company built a plant in Union City, New Jersey. In the 1950s, it was also operating tungsten mines in Calento, Nevada, and near Bishop, California. In early 1956, the Atomic Energy Commission contracted with Wah Chang to run the U.S. Bureau of Mines zirconium plant in Albany, Oregon, to develop high-purity zirconium for use in the United States Navy's nuclear program.
Wah Chang was privately owned by K. C. Li until 1967, when it was acquired by Teledyne, the main Albany plant (located in the then-unincorporated area known as Millersburg) becoming a subsidiary named Teledyne Wah Chang Albany, or TWCA. In 1966, Wah Chang had around 1,200 employees, in plants in Albany, Oregon; Glen Cove, New York; Huntsville, Alabama; and Texas City, Texas, and sales of $40.7 million. The Albany plant was by far the largest, and at the time of its sale to Teledyne, it accounted for around $20 million in annual revenue, with 860 employees at that location. The Alabama factory became a separate subsidiary named Teledyne Wah Chang Huntsville.
In 1975, TWCA had 1,400 employees, and had $100 million in annual sales.
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