History
The Reynolds Metals Company was founded in 1919 as the U.S. Foil Company in Louisville, Kentucky by Richard S. Reynolds, Sr., a nephew of tobacco king R. J. Reynolds. Initially, the new company supplied lead and tin foil wrappers to cigarette and candy companies. In 1924, the U.S. Foil purchased the manufacturer of Eskimo Pies, which were wrapped in foil. In 1928, Reynolds purchased Robertshaw Thermostat, Fulton Sylphon, and part of Beechnut Foil, adding them to U.S. Foil to create Reynolds Metals. In 1931 the company headquarters was moved to New York City and in 1938 the headquarters was moved again to Richmond, Virginia.
The company began producing aluminum foil for packaging in 1926. Reynolds Metals created the first high-speed, gravure-printed foil, aluminum bottle labels, heat-sealed foil bags for foods and foil-laminated building insulation paper. In 1940 Reynolds Metals began mining bauxite (aluminum ore) in Arkansas and opened its first aluminum plant near Sheffield, Alabama, the following year. In 1947, the company came up with its most famous creation, Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil. Meanwhile, Reynolds Metals pioneered the development of aluminum siding in 1945, and Richard S. Reynolds began predicting a growing demand for additional aluminum during peacetime. He knew it would not be long before new aluminum-producing facilities would need to be built to meet demand. Reynolds Metals Company leased, and later bought, six government defense plants that were up for disposal. Reynolds later expanded into non aluminum products such as plastics and precious metals, introducing Reynolds Plastic Wrap in 1982.
Four sons of founder Richard S. Reynolds, William Gray Reynolds, Richard S. Reynolds, Jr., David P. Reynolds, and J. Sargeant Reynolds, were all part of the running of the business. Richard S. Reynolds, Jr. succeeded his father as president in 1948 and under his leadership, the company underwent a major expansion with operations extended to countries around the world such as Venezuela and the Philippines. In 1976 David P. Reynolds, also known for his involvement in Thoroughbred horse racing, took over as president. He was the last member of his family to head the company and would retire as its Chairman.
Reynolds Metals was a pioneer in research and development of other products less well known to the public. Not all became commercially viable for the company, such as an aluminum bus developed with ROHR Industries, and other aluminum motor vehicles, where weight advantages were literally and cost-wise surpassed by steel, plastics and fiberglass. However, when it developed the world's first aluminum submarine, dubbed Aluminaut, the result was both an experimental product and one which participated in important work. In 1969, Aluminaut rescued Alvin (DSV-2), a smaller submersible of a newer design which continues its work 35 years later.
By 1991, Reynolds Metals employed 30,800 workers at more than 100 operations in 20 countries, including 64 plants in the United States, and had a total production capacity of more than 1 million tons of aluminum and aluminum products. The company merged with Alcoa on May 3, 2000 to become the largest aluminum company in the United States.
Read more about this topic: Reynolds Group Holdings
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