Permanente Metals

Permanente Metals Corporation was a United States wartime industrial company associated with industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. It is best known for managing the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California, where four of the seven Kaiser Shipyards on the West Coast built large numbers of merchant vessels for the American war effort. The Richmond facilities produced Liberty ships and, later, Victory ships, helping demonstrate the speed and scale of mass ship construction during the Second World War. The company originated as the Todd California Shipbuilding Corporation, which was formed on December 9, 1940. Its name changed to Permanente Metals Corporation on November 8, 1941. The company’s corporate position shifted again in February 1942, when the Todd Corporation acquired Kaiser interests in the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation while Kaiser acquired Todd’s interests in Permanente Metals. Although the company became closely identified with Kaiser’s industrial operations, it was one element of a broader and changing network of Kaiser-controlled or Kaiser-associated companies rather than simply a standalone shipyard brand. Permanente Metals’ Richmond operations were developed to fulfill a contract for 30 Ocean-class ships. The large, multi-yard Richmond complex was completed by August 1941, and Permanente Metals completed the ship contract. The facilities subsequently became central to the Kaiser Shipyards system. Their work contributed to the production of standardized cargo ships and later Victory ships, vessels intended to support Allied logistics and postwar commercial transport. Shipbuilding was only part of the company’s wartime industrial role. Permanente Metals had originally been a major producer of magnesium, with the company’s name derived from Permanente Creek in Santa Clara County, California, where mining operations had begun in the early 1930s. During the war, the company also developed and supplied an incendiary bomb mixture made from magnesium powder, asphalt, gasoline, and other ingredients. The mixture was informally known as “goop” because of its incendiary characteristics. Approximately 17,000 short tons of goop-filled bombs were used during the Second World War, representing roughly eight percent of the total tonnage of incendiaries dropped during the conflict. The scale of its military work placed Permanente Metals among the major American wartime contractors. It ranked 42nd among United States corporations by the value of military production contracts during the Second World War. After the war, Kaiser’s industrial interests moved into aluminum, initially using surplus wartime plants in Washington State and Louisiana. In 1949, the company’s name was changed, marking the end of Permanente Metals as the continuing corporate identity. Its legacy is therefore tied to wartime production, the Richmond Shipyards, magnesium and incendiary materials, and the transition of Kaiser’s industrial empire from wartime manufacturing toward postwar aluminum production.

Permanente Metals emerged from the industrial expansion surrounding California’s wartime shipbuilding and metals industries. The company was established on December 9, 1940, under the name Todd California Shipbuilding Corporation. Its initial corporate identity reflected the involvement of the Todd organization, which had interests in shipbuilding and related industrial enterprises. The company’s name changed to Permanente Metals Corporation on November 8, 1941. The company became closely connected to Henry J. Kaiser’s industrial network during a series of ownership and interest transfers. In February 1942, Todd acquired Kaiser’s interests in the Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding Corporation, while Kaiser acquired Todd’s interests in Permanente Metals. This arrangement placed Permanente Metals within the group of companies used to organize Kaiser’s rapidly expanding wartime production activities. The company was not limited to one physical yard or one product category; it participated in the wider industrial system that supported ship construction, metals processing, and military supply. Permanente Metals was particularly associated with the Richmond Shipyards in Richmond, California. The Richmond complex was created as part of a seven-yard West Coast shipbuilding program and was built to fulfill a contract for 30 Ocean-class ships. The facility was complete by August 1941, and Permanente Metals completed the contract. Four of the seven West Coast Kaiser Shipyards were located in Richmond. During the Second World War, these yards became known for building Liberty ships and later Victory ships, standardized merchant vessels that transported troops, equipment, fuel, and other supplies. The company’s industrial activities also reached into metals and military materials. It was a major wartime producer of magnesium. The Permanente name came from Permanente Creek in Santa Clara County, California, where mining operations had started in the early 1930s. Magnesium powder was used in the production of an incendiary mixture containing magnesium, asphalt, gasoline, and other materials. This substance, informally called “goop,” was used to fill incendiary bombs. About 17,000 short tons of such bombs were used during the war, accounting for approximately eight percent of the total tonnage of incendiaries dropped during the conflict. Permanente Metals ranked 42nd among United States corporations in the value of military production contracts during the Second World War. This ranking indicates the company’s substantial role in federal wartime procurement, even though public memory has generally focused more on the Richmond Shipyards and the broader Kaiser Shipyards organization than on the corporate entity itself. After the war, Kaiser’s businesses shifted toward postwar industrial markets, especially aluminum. Kaiser began this expansion by acquiring and using surplus wartime plants in Washington State and Louisiana. In 1949, the company changed its name, ending the Permanente Metals corporate identity. Its historical importance rests on the way it connected raw-material production, military manufacturing, and large-scale shipbuilding during the United States’ wartime mobilization. The Richmond Shipyards later became an important historical site associated with wartime industry and the workforce that supported it.

1. 1949Company name changed

   The company’s name was changed in 1949 as Kaiser’s postwar industrial operations moved toward aluminum.

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2. 1942Corporate interests transferred between Todd and Kaiser

   In February 1942, Todd acquired Kaiser interests in Seattle-Tacoma Shipbuilding while Kaiser acquired Todd interests in Permanente Metals.

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3. 1941Renamed Permanente Metals Corporation

   On November 8, 1941, the company adopted the Permanente Metals Corporation name.

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4. 1941Richmond shipbuilding complex completed

   The Richmond facility, developed to fulfill a contract for 30 Ocean-class ships, was completed by August 1941.

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5. 1940Company formed as Todd California Shipbuilding Corporation

   The company was established on December 9, 1940, under the name Todd California Shipbuilding Corporation.

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A wartime industrial contractor combining metals production, military materials, and high-volume merchant shipbuilding within the Kaiser industrial network.

• MagnesiumMetals

  Permanente Metals was a major wartime magnesium producer. The company’s name was connected to Permanente Creek in Santa Clara County, California, where mining operations had begun in the early 1930s. Magnesium powder also supplied the company’s military-materials activities.

• Liberty shipsMerchant ships

  The Richmond Shipyards managed by Permanente Metals built Liberty ships as part of the United States wartime standardized-shipbuilding program. These cargo vessels supported Allied logistics by transporting supplies, equipment, fuel, and personnel.

• Victory shipsMerchant ships

  After Liberty-ship production, the Richmond facilities were also associated with Victory ships, a later class of merchant vessels designed for wartime and postwar transport requirements.

• Incendiary bomb mixtureMilitary materials

  Permanente Metals developed and supplied a magnesium-powder incendiary mixture containing asphalt, gasoline, and other ingredients. Informally called “goop,” the mixture was used to fill incendiary bombs during the Second World War.

1. Permanente Metals