Senate Resolution No. 2765

BY: Senator GRIFFO

COMMEMORATING the 120th Anniversary of Alcoa

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
pay tribute to those corporate enterprises throughout the State of New
York which have substantially contributed to the economic vitality of
their communities; and

WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to
commemorate the 120th Anniversary of Alcoa, to be celebrated on
Saturday, June 18, 2022; and

WHEREAS, 120 years ago, Alcoa broke ground on what is now the
world's oldest continuously operating smelter in Massena, New York;
since that historic first day, the smelter has stood as an integral part
of the dynamic Massena community and continues to provide jobs for more
than 550 people; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa, the company that created the modern aluminum
industry, was incorporated as The Pittsburgh Reduction Company on
October 1, 1888; and

WHEREAS, Since its founding day, Alcoa has grown from a spark of
innovation to become the world's largest aluminum producer which today
operates approximately 350 facilities in 34 countries around the world
with approximately 97,000 employees; and

WHEREAS, The process of creating aluminum metal from aluminum oxide
through electrolysis was discovered in parallel by two men: Alcoa
founder Charles Martin Hall of Oberlin, Ohio, and Paul L.T. Heroult of
France; and

WHEREAS, The patent for the process prevailed in the United States
and survived numerous challenges; although the Hall - Heroult process
has been refined many times, its basic principles are still used today
to produce nearly every ounce of aluminum smelted by aluminum producers
worldwide; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, this vital process cut the price of aluminum
dramatically and transformed it from a precious metal into a strategic
material whose properties of strength, lightness and durability would
open a world of new engineering possibilities; and

WHEREAS, Based on this discovery, a group of Pittsburgh
entrepreneurs including Hall, Captain Alfred Hunt, George H. Clapp, and
others gathered to incorporate the company; its original name, The
Pittsburgh Reduction Company, was changed to the Aluminum Company of
America in 1907, and then to Alcoa in 1999; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa's first employee, Arthur Vining Davis, worked with
Hall to start production in a small plant in Pittsburgh's Strip
District; the company's earliest products were aluminum pots and pans;
and


WHEREAS, Alcoa was the first aluminum company to harness sustainable
hydropower to drive the smelting process with a plant built in Niagara
Falls in 1893; hydropower helped Alcoa further drive down the price of
aluminum; and

WHEREAS, Today, hydropower is still a critical part of Alcoa's
strategy to maximize its sources of sustainable, clean energy; it powers
Alcoa smelters from Tennessee and Washington in the United States to
Brazil, Canada and Iceland using renewable hydropower; and

WHEREAS, The Wright Brothers' historic flight took off with an Alcoa
aluminum crankcase; its lightness helped tip the balance of power and
weight that changed the world of transportation forever; since that day,
Alcoa has played a key role in nearly every major innovation in
aerospace aluminum, including such milestones as one of the world's
first passenger planes, the Ford Trimotor; the first transatlantic
flight in 1927; the overwhelming rollout of American aircraft aluminum
capacity that helped turn the tide of World War Il; the world's first
passenger jet, Boeing's 707; and today's latest breakthrough, the Airbus
A380 superjumbo; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa aluminum was also first in space with Sputnik, the
Russian satellite that shocked the world in 1957 and began the space
race of the 50s and 60s, was built in a plant now owned and managed by
Alcoa; additionally, Alcoa alloys and propellants have helped make many
American space milestones possible, from the first manned flight and the
first moon landing to today's Space Shuttle and International Space
Station programs; and

WHEREAS, This extraordinary company was the first to formalize and
dedicate resources solely to the development of new aluminum technology
and applications with the founding of the Aluminum Research Laboratory
in New Kensington, Pennsylvania in 1930; and

WHEREAS, In New York, Alcoa aluminum helped build the Empire State
Building in 1931, the World Trade Center in 1973, and many other
architectural landmarks; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa teamed up with customer Pittsburgh Brewing to
introduce the first Easy-Open beer can in 1962, and pioneered the
technology for rapid production of aluminum cans in 1968; aluminum
quickly overtook steel as the preferred container; and

WHEREAS, Along with the aluminum can, Alcoa introduced America's
first consumer can recycling program, complete with recycling centers
and television marketing; today, aluminum's environmental and cost
advantages are moving to bottle-style beverage packaging as well; and

WHEREAS, Alcoa introduced the forged aluminum wheel in 1948, and
created an immediate market for the stronger, lighter, more aesthetic
wheel; the aluminum wheel is just one part of the history of aluminum
solutions for the automotive and transportation industry introduced by
Alcoa; and

WHEREAS, In 1994, Alcoa and Audi teamed up to introduce the A8, the
world's first passenger car to use an all-aluminum body and spaceframe
design to provide strength, performance, safety and comfort at a level

never before achieved; today, with fuel and emissions performance more
critical than ever, automakers are turning to Alcoa for innovative
solutions throughout the entire design and manufacturing process; and

WHEREAS, The success of Alcoa is in direct correlation to the
efforts of its hardworking and dedicated workforce and supportive
community, whose involvement is, and always has been, characterized by
an impressive commitment, an unbridled enthusiasm, and an uncompromising
standard of excellence in all endeavors on behalf of the organization
and those it serves; and

WHEREAS, It is with great pleasure that this Legislative Body
acknowledges Alcoa's contributions to the local and State economies, and
extends its highest commendation to this corporate enterprise, fully
confident that it will continue to enjoy the sparkling success it has
enjoyed thus far; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 120th Anniversary of Alcoa; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Klaus Kleinfeld, President and CEO, Alcoa.