Some major companies
While there are hundreds of large aluminium production and conversion companies worldwide, only a handful have played a major role in the industry’s development.

A concise chronology is given for four such companies, all pioneers in the sector.

- Alcan, created from Alcoa’s Canadian bases, one of the sector’s biggest players.

- Alcoa, founded with the support of Charles-Martin Hall, a major company in the world of aluminium.

- Alusuisse, historical Swiss player (1888), merged with Alcan in 2000.

- Pechiney, the world’s oldest aluminium producer (1860), taken over by Alcan in 2003.

Other aluminium companies will be gradually added to the chronology database.

Most companies in the sector publish their history on their website (see To find out more about corporate history).