History

Hydro's aluminum activites in North America were established on January 1, 2002, but the operations that made up the new group have deeper histories.

The North Liberty plant began operating an extrusion press in 1953 as part of Wells Aluminum Corporation. Monett/ Cassville, Belton, Kalamazoo, and Moultrie came on line in the sixties. Sidney was added in 1985. In 2000, Wells was purchased by Hydro Aluminum Extrusion, a part of the Norsk Hydro Light Metals unit.

Hydro Aluminum ppened a Metal Products trading office in Louisville, Kentucky in 1988 and established product sales in 1994. Henderson was added in 2000 and Commerce came online at the end of 2002.

On January 1, 2002, Hydro Aluminum Wells and Hydro Aluminium Metal Products merged to form Hydro Aluminum North America. This merger was part of the global restructuring of the Hydro Light Metals unit to form Hydro Aluminum.

Meanwhile, VAW was building a separate presence in North America, acquiring the Ellenville plant in 1965 and adding St. Augustine in 1978. Phoenix was acquired in 1989 and Fayetteville and Guaymas were added in the nineties. In March 2002, VAW-USA was acquired by Hydro Aluminum North America.

Today our extrusion plants, casthouses and contract manufacturing centers form an integrated network covering a territory from New York to Mexico.