Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It was rebranded once more in 2001, to Alcan Incorporated. During that time, it grew to become one of the world's largest aluminum manufacturers.
Alcan was purchased by Australian-British multinational Rio Tinto for $38 billion in 2007, becoming Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. in 2008. It was headquartered in Montreal, in its Maison Alcan complex.[1]
History
The Northern Aluminum Company was founded in 1902 in Shawinigan, Quebec, as part of the Pittsburgh Reduction Company. In 1913, the company opened a kitchen utensil production plant and foundry in Toronto. It added a rolling mill in the plant a few years later.
During World War I (1914–18), aluminum production increased to 131,000 tonnes from 69,000.[2]