Arconic
{{short description|American industrial company}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Arconic Corporation
| logo = Arconic logo (horizontal).svg
| logo_size =
| native_name =
| owner = Apollo Global Management (2023–present)
| native_name_lang. =
| former_name =
| type = Private
| ISIN =
| industry = Manufacturing
| founded = {{Start date and age|2020|04|01}} in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| hq_location_city = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/4281/000114420419027099/tv521955_8k.htm |title=Arconic Inc. Current Report, Form 8-K, Filing Date May 17, 2019 |publisher=SEC.gov |access-date =June 24, 2019}}
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| key_people = Chris Ayers (CEO)
| revenue = {{nowrap|{{increase}} {{US$|8.96 billion|link=yes}}{{cite web |title=2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1790982/000179098223000006/arnc-20221231.htm |publisher=SEC |date=21 February 2023}}}}
| revenue_year = 2022
| operating_income = {{increase}} US$−47 million
| income_year = 2022
| net_income = {{increase}} US$−182 million
| net_income_year = 2022
| assets = {{decrease}} US$6.02 billion
| assets_year = 2022
| equity = {{decrease}} US$1.36 billion
| equity_year = 2022
| num_employees = 11,550 (2022)
| website = {{URL|arconic.com}}
}}
Arconic Corporation is an American industrial company specializing in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing. Its products are used worldwide in aerospace, automotive, packaging, oil and gas, building and construction,{{Cite web | last=Kirkpatrick | first=David D. | date=June 19, 2017 | title=U.K. Officials Said Material on Tower Was Banned. It Wasn't. - The New York Times | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/19/world/europe/uk-grenfell-tower-london-fire.html | website=The New York Times | access-date=June 22, 2017 | quote=The material in the exterior cladding consisted of insulation sandwiched between two sheets of aluminum. The type used at Grenfell Tower is made under the Reynobond name by Arconic, a company spun off from the aluminum giant Alcoa last year.}} defense, commercial transportation, consumer electronics, and industrial applications.
The business today known as Arconic was originally part of Alcoa Inc. The name Arconic was first used in 2016 when Alcoa Inc. was separated into two companies, Alcoa Corporation and Arconic Inc. Arconic Inc. was further separated in 2020 into Howmet Aerospace Inc., focused on engineered products, and Arconic Corporation, focused on rolled aluminium products. On August 18, 2023, private equity firm Apollo Global Management completed the acquisition of Arconic.{{Cite web|url=https://www.arconic.com/-/arconic-completes-transaction-with-apollo-funds|title=Arconic Completes Transaction with Apollo Funds|work=Arconic|access-date=2023-08-26|language=en-US}}
In 2024, the official inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London, which killed 72 people, identified Arconic cladding as "by far the largest contributor" to the disaster. The company was found to have deliberately concealed the known fire risks, with the company's president, Claude Schmidt, admitting that Arconic obtained safety certification for the cladding in the UK through a "misleading half-truth."{{Cite news |last=Butler |first=James |date=2022-10-20 |title=‘This much evidence, still no charges’ |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v46/n19/james-butler/this-much-evidence-still-no-charges |access-date=2024-10-01 |work=London Review of Books |language=en |volume=46 |issue=19 |issn=0260-9592}}
History
=Corporate development=
On November 1, 2016, Alcoa Inc. spun off its bauxite, alumina, and aluminium operations to a new company called Alcoa Corp.{{cite web|last1=DIETZ|first1=MARGREET|title=While you were sleeping: UPDATED Oil report lifts US stocks|url=http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/while-you-were-sleeping-oil-report-lifts-mood-b-187463|website=NBR|publisher=NBR|access-date=18 April 2016|archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423102048/http://www.nbr.co.nz/article/while-you-were-sleeping-oil-report-lifts-mood-b-187463|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|last1=Stevenson|first1=Abigail|title=Cramer Remix: A surprising outlook for earnings|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/11/cramer-remix-a-surprising-outlook-for-earnings.html|website=CNBC|publisher=CNBC|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Deaux|first1=Joe|title=One Down, Two to Go for Alcoa as S&P Signals No Junk for Arconic|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-20/one-down-two-to-go-for-alcoa-as-s-p-signals-no-junk-for-arconic|website=Bloomberg|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=25 September 2016}}{{cite web|title=Alcoa Inc. Board of Directors Approves Separation of Company
|url=http://news.alcoa.com/press-release/alcoa-inc-board-directors-approves-separation-company|website=Alcoa|publisher=Alcoa Inc.|access-date=28 May 2018}}{{cite news|title=Arconic sells 60 percent stake in Alcoa for $890 million
|newspaper=Reuters |date=15 February 2017 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alcoa-corp-equity-arconic/arconic-sells-60-percent-stake-in-alcoa-for-890-million-idUSKBN15U1OY|access-date=28 May 2018}}{{cite news|title=Dubious Corporate Practices Get a Rubber Stamp From Big Investors
| work=The New York Times | date=19 May 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/business/gretchen-morgenson-arconic-activist-investors.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FAlcoa&action=click&contentCollection=business®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection|access-date=28 May 2018| last1=Morgenson | first1=Gretchen }} After that, Alcoa Inc. was renamed Arconic Inc., keeping operations in aluminium rolling (excluding the Warrick operations), aluminium plate, precision castings, and aerospace and industrial fasteners.{{cite web|last1=MILLER|first1=JOHN W.|title=Alcoa Spinoff Arconic to Focus on Aerospace, Auto|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/alcoa-spinoff-arconic-to-focus-on-aerospace-auto-1458051297|website=Wall Street Journal|publisher=Wall Street Journal|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Hall|first1=Jason|title=Alcoa Inc Takes Steps Forward in Plans to Split|url=http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/09/16/alcoa-inc-takes-steps-forward-in-plans-to-split.aspx|website=The Motley Fool|date=16 September 2016 |publisher=The Motley Fool|access-date=25 September 2016}}
Klaus Kleinfeld, Arconic's CEO at the time of the Alcoa split, stepped down in April 2017. Arconic's board said he had displayed poor judgment in unauthorised interactions with activist shareholder Elliott Management{{cite news |last1=de la Merced |first1=Michael |title=Arconic C.E.O. Ousted After Sending Unauthorized Letter to Hedge Fund |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/17/business/dealbook/alcoa-arconic-klaus-kleinfeld-elliott-management.html |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=New York Times |date=17 April 2017}}{{cite news |title=Arconic Replaces CEO Again, Extending Tumult Since Split From Alcoa |url=https://www.industryweek.com/leadership/article/22027107/arconic-replaces-ceo-again-extending-tumult-since-split-from-alcoa |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Industry Week |agency=Bloomberg |date=6 February 2019}} (he sent a letter to Elliott founder Paul Singer making threatening insinuations about an incident involving "a Native American feather headdress and a rendition of 'Singin’ in the Rain' performed in a fountain" during a trip to the 2006 World Cup).{{cite news |last1=de la Merced |first1=Michael |title=Before Ouster, Arconic C.E.O. Accused Hedge Fund Founder of Wild Antics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/business/dealbook/before-ouster-arconic-ceo-accused-hedge-fund-billionaire-of-wild-antics.html |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=New York Times |date=20 April 2017}}{{cite news |last1=Purtill |first1=Corinne |title=The letter that got Klaus Kleinfeld fired as CEO of Arconic |url=https://qz.com/965548/the-full-text-of-arconic-ceo-klaus-kleinfelds-letter-to-elliott-managements-paul-singer |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Quartz |date=21 April 2017}} After what the New York Times called a "Bruising and Public Dispute", Elliott was subsequently given three seats on Arconic's main board.{{cite news |last1=de la Merced |first1=Michael |title=Arconic Settles With Elliott After Bruising and Public Dispute |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/22/business/dealbook/arconic-elliott-settlement.html |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=New York Times |date=22 May 2017}}
The company focuses on turning aluminium and other lightweight metals into engineered products such as turbine blades for sectors including aerospace and automotive.{{cite web|last1=Kinahan|first1=JJ|title=Alcoa Results Forecast to Drop Ahead of Company Split|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/jjkinahan/2016/04/11/alcoa-results-forecast-to-drop-ahead-of-company-split/#5c1ffd021f40|work=Forbes|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Denning|first1=Liam|title=Alcoa's Long Division Problem|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/gadfly/articles/2016-04-12/alcoa-earnings-murky-math-gives-it-a-long-division-problem|website=Bloomberg|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Deaux|first1=Joe|title=Alcoa Processing Unit to Be Named 'Arconic' After Split|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-15/alcoa-engineered-products-unit-to-be-named-arconic-after-split|website=Bloomberg|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=18 April 2016}} It traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ARNC ticker.{{cite web|last1=Mekeel|first1=Tim|title=Alcoa spinoff to be named Arconic, to include Manheim Pike plant|url=http://lancasteronline.com/business/local_business/alcoa-spinoff-to-be-named-arconic-to-include-manheim-pike/article_74a2393c-f032-11e5-bb7f-fb8ef064b469.html|website=LancasterOnline|publisher=LancasterOnline|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Boselovic|first1=Len|title=New Alcoa company christened Arconic|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2016/03/16/New-Alcoa-company-christened-Arconic/stories/201603160036|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|publisher=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|access-date=18 April 2016}}{{cite web|last1=Hackett|first1=Robert|title=Meet Arconic: Alcoa's Spinoff Aerospace and Auto Firm|url=http://fortune.com/2016/03/16/meet-arconic-alcoas-spinoff-aerospace-and-auto-firm/|website=Fortune|publisher=Fortune|access-date=18 April 2016}}
In July 2018, Arconic announced a two-year joint development agreement with aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin, focused on technologies like metal 3D printing to produce new lightweight structures and systems,{{cite news |last1=Davies |first1=Sam |title=Arconic and Lockheed Martin extend partnership to focus on customised material and manufacturing processes |url=https://www.tctmagazine.com/additive-manufacturing-3d-printing-news/arconic-lockheed-martin-extend-partnership/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=TCT Mag |date=16 July 2018}} and a new long-term contract to supply aluminium products to Boeing.{{cite news |last1=Toto |first1=Deanne |title=Arconic expands contract with Boeing |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/arconic-expands-boeing-contract/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Recycling Today |date=16 July 2018}}
On February 6, 2019, Arconic replaced CEO Chip Blankenship. His departure came two weeks after Arconic announced it was backed out of a sale to Apollo Global Management, a decision that sent Arconic shares tumbling,{{cite news |last1=Garber |first1=Jonathan |title=Arconic crashes 25% after its board says it's no longer considering a sale |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/arconic-stock-crashes-after-board-says-no-longer-considering-sale-2019-1 |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Business Insider |date=22 January 2019}} and put pressure on Arconic to make internal improvements. Two days later, on February 8, 2019, Arconic Inc. announced that it would split into two separate businesses.{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joecornell/2019/02/14/arconic-to-split-into-two-separate-companies/|title=Arconic To Split Into Two Separate Companies |last=Cornell |first=Joe |website=Forbes |language=en |access-date=2020-03-03}} Arconic Inc. would be renamed Howmet Aerospace Inc. and a new company, Arconic Corporation, would be set up and spun out tax free from Arconic Inc.{{Cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/arconic-considers-job-cuts-due-to-max-production-halt-11580152719 |title=Arconic Consider Job Cuts Due to Boeing 737 MAX Production Halt |date=Jan 27, 2020 |website=WSJ |access-date=April 10, 2020 }} The new Arconic Corporation would be focused on rolled aluminium products and Howmet Aerospace on engineered products.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2019/08/02/arconic-is-splitting-into-two-heres-what-the-new.html|title=Arconic is splitting into two: Here's what the new companies will be named|last=Mericle|first=Julia|date=August 2, 2019|website=Pittsburgh Business Times|access-date=October 17, 2020}} The separation was completed effective April 1, 2020.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/PR-CO-20200206-908304|title=Arconic Inc. Board of Directors Approves Separation of Company|website=WSJ|language=en|access-date=2020-03-31|archive-date=2020-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410171613/https://www.wsj.com/articles/PR-CO-20200206-908304|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2020/03/31/arconic-completes-split-into-two-companies.html|title=Arconic completes split into two companies|website=www.bizjournals.com|access-date=2020-04-07}}
In April 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, Arconic announced actions to mitigate the impacts of the disease, including director, senior manager and salaried employee pay cuts, restructuring of the salaried workforce, temporary closure of facilities in Tennessee and New York and decreased production at other US facilities, and similar measures at rolling mill facilities in Europe, China and Russia.{{cite news |last1=Bloxsome |first1=Nadine |title=Arconic announces $200 Million of actions to mitigate COVID-19 impact |url=https://aluminiumtoday.com/news/arconic-announces-200-million-of-actions-to-mitigate-covid-19-impact |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Aluminium International Today |date=8 April 2020}}
In November 2022, to comply with sanctions on Moscow over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Arconic sold its operations in Russia to the owner of state-backed metals company VSMPO-AVISMA for $230 million.{{cite news |title=Arconic Corp sells its Russian operations for $230 million |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/arconic-corp-sells-its-russian-operations-230-million-2022-11-15/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Reuters |date=15 November 2022}}{{cite news |title=Aluminium products maker Arconic offloads Russian operations for $230m |url=https://www.mining-technology.com/news/aluminium-arconic-russian/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Mining Technology |date=16 November 2024}}
In May 2023, Apollo Global Management agreed to acquire Arconic in an all-cash deal worth $5.2 billion, including debt.{{cite news |url=https://www.post-gazette.com/business/pittsburgh-company-news/2023/05/04/arconic-alcoa-apollo-acquisition-howmet/stories/202305040098 |title=Pittsburgh-based Arconic agrees to be acquired by private equity firm |date=4 May 2023 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette}} The purchase was completed in August 2023, when Chris Ayers was named as the new CEO of Arconic from September 11, 2023.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Brian |date=29 August 2023 |title=Arconic completes Apollo transition, names new CEO |url=https://www.recyclingtoday.com/news/arconic-apollo-final-acquisition-ayers-ceo-aluminum/ |access-date=2024-09-12 |website=www.recyclingtoday.com}}
In January 2024, Arconic announced it was selling its China-based manufacturing operations in Qinhuangdao and Kunshan, employing about 860 people, in a deal worth up to $300 million. The China business was said to be subscale in comparison to other parts of Arconic, and had no sensitive intellectual property.{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Kane |last2=Liu |first2=Roxanne |last3=Roumeliotis |first3=Greg |title=Apollo-backed aerospace supplier Arconic to sell China business in $300 mln deal- sources |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/apollo-backed-aerospace-supplier-arconic-sell-china-business-300-mln-deal-2024-01-24/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Reuters |date=24 January 2024}}
=Grenfell Tower fire=
Experts at the official inquiry into the 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London identified Arconic's Reynobond PE rainscreen cladding as "by far the largest contributor" to the disaster, which had resulted in 72 deaths. The cladding had been installed on the residential tower block as part of a refurbishment in 2016. In November 2020, four France-based Arconic employees refused to give evidence to the inquiry, saying they might breach a 1968 French law preventing evidence being given to proceedings abroad.{{cite news |last1=Symonds |first1=Tom |title=Grenfell Tower inquiry: Cladding firm employees refuse to give evidence |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54792111 |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=BBC News |date=5 November 2022}} In January 2021, the building safety minister Lord Greenhalgh accused them of hiding behind the 1968 French blocking statute. The French embassy in London confirmed the statute did not apply to the Grenfell Inquiry,{{cite news |last1=Baker |first1=Nathaniel |title=Minister tells Arconic bosses to ‘step up’ and appear before Grenfell Inquiry |url=https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/minister-tells-arconic-bosses-to-step-up-and-appear-before-grenfell-inquiry-69075 |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=Inside Housing |date=5 January 2021}} and in February 2021 Arconic president Claude Schmidt finally agreed to testify.{{cite news |last1=Kirk |first1=Tristan |title=Grenfell inquiry: Cladding firm witnesses branded ‘unreasonable’ for refusal to give evidence |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/grenfell-inquiry-arconic-cladding-witnesses-unreasonable-refusal-evidence-b919111.html |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=Evening Standard |date=9 February 2021}} He told the inquiry it was not his "priority" to understand UK fire safety processes,{{cite news |last1=Symonds |first1=Tom |title=Grenfell: Arconic boss says fire safety tests were not his 'priority' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56089596 |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=BBC News |date=16 February 2021}} denied concealing failed fire safety tests of Arconic's aluminium composite material product,{{cite news |last1=Price |first1=David |title=Grenfell: Arconic boss denies concealing ‘disastrous’ test results |url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/health-and-safety/grenfell-arconic-boss-denies-concealing-disastrous-test-results-18-02-2021/ |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=Construction News |date=18 February 2021}} but agreed that Arconic's failure to notify the UK regulator, the British Board of Agrément, about the tests was a "misleading half truth".{{cite news |last1=Lowe |first1=Tom |title=Grenfell Inquiry: What we learnt from Arconic last week |url=https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/grenfell-inquiry-what-we-learnt-from-arconic-last-week/5110536.article |access-date=11 September 2024 |work=Housing Today |date=22 February 2021}}
The inquiry report, published in September 2024, found that the Arconic cladding in the form used at Grenfell Tower was "extremely dangerous". It noted that Arconic was aware of this, having commissioned fire tests on the product, but had since 2005 "deliberately concealed from the market the true extent of the danger".{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgedv58e7ygo|title=Grenfell's path to disaster: How chain of failures and 'systematic dishonesty' led to 72 deaths |last=Symonds|first=Tom |date= 4 September 2024|website=BBC News |accessdate=4 September 2024}} According to the inquiry report, the company aimed to exploit what it saw as regulatory weaknesses in countries such as the UK and it concluded that "Arconic ... promoted and sold a product knowing that it presented a significant danger to those who might use any buildings in which it was used."{{cite news |last= Booth|first= Robert|title=Who are the key players named in the Grenfell Tower report? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/sep/04/grenfell-tower-fire-report-public-inquiry-key-players-cladding |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 September 2024 |accessdate=4 September 2024}} In a statement, Arconic's French business Arconic Architectural Products rejected that it had "sold an unsafe product", concealed information or misled any certification body, customer, or the public.{{cite news |last1=Lowe |first1=Tom |title=Product manufacturers come out fighting after Grenfell Inquiry’s damning verdict |url=https://www.building.co.uk/news/product-manufacturers-come-out-fighting-after-grenfell-inquirys-damning-verdict/5131402.article |access-date=4 September 2024 |work=Building |date=4 September 2024}}
=Discrimination suit=
In May 2022, a former Arconic employee Daniel Snyder filed a federal lawsuit against the company alleging religious discrimination. Snyder lost his job at Arconic's Riverdale plant in June 2021 after publicly posting on the company's intranet an objection to the company using a rainbow to promote Gay Pride Month.{{cite news |last1=Kauffmann |first1=Clark |title=Iowan sues after being fired for calling gay pride 'an abomination to God' |url=https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2022/06/08/iowan-sues-after-being-fired-calling-gay-pride-an-abomination/7559315001/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Des Moines Register |date=8 June 2022}}{{cite news |title=Terminated employee files appeal in Arconic lawsuit |url=https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/terminated-employee-files-appeal-in-arconic-lawsuit/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Our Quad Cities News |date=22 November 2022}} Supported by the Thomas More Society,{{cite web |title=Snyder v. Arconic: Fired for Believing What the Bible Teaches (December 14, 2023) |url=https://www.thomasmoresociety.org/news/snyder-v-arconic-fired-for-believing-what-the-bible-teaches |website=Thomas More Society |access-date=12 September 2024}} the case was referred to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in April 2024.{{cite news |last1=Cook |first1=Linda |title=Arconic discrimination lawsuit continues in appeals court |url=https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/arconic-discrimination-lawsuit-continues-in-appeals-court/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Our Quad Cities News |date=8 April 2024}} In August 2024, Snyder's appeal was dismissed.{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=William |title=Fired for anti-gay online posting, Riverdale man loses religious discrimination lawsuit |url=https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2024/08/14/arconic-employee-fired-anti-lgbt-discrimination-suit-8th-circuit-hampton-rainbow/74797367007/ |access-date=12 September 2024 |work=Des Moines Register |date=14 August 2024}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.arconic.com}}
{{Finance links
| name = Arconic
| symbol = ARNC
| sec_cik = 0001790982
| yahoo = ARNC
| google = ARNC
}}
{{Pittsburgh Corporations}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Category:Companies based in Pittsburgh
Category:American companies established in 2020