CFAC Company Info Page

Welcome To
Columbia Falls
Aluminum Company
Primary Reduction Facility

Welcome to Columbia Falls Aluminum Company. We are located in the Rocky Mountains of Northwestern Montana near Glacier National Park and Flathead Lake. The company is a producer of primary Aluminum metal. We are privately owned and operated. If you are interested in a short bit of history about our plant please click your mouse button HERE. If you would like to know some interesting statistics about our facility please click your mouse button HERE.

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History:

Hungry Horse Dam, the first major federal dam built after World War II, was completed in 1953. The project employed many ex-servicemen with young families and, an industry was needed to retain the work force in the Flathead economy. The Harvey Machine Company first acquired options for an Aluminum Plant in the Flathead in 1950, and shortly after purchased 1000 acres six miles north of Kalispell at Rose Crossing. Although Harvey was unable to obtain financing to build the plant, on November 6, 1951, Anaconda Copper Mining Company acquired 95 percent of Harvey's interests. On August 30, 1952, C.F. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, Anaconda Copper Mining Company, announced that Anaconda would build its $45,000,000.00 (actually became $65,000,000.00) aluminum reduction facility two miles northeast of Columbia Falls near Teakettle Mountain.

Two years and eleven months later the first aluminum was produced on August 12, 1955. Initial construction consisted of two potlines with an annual capacity of 67,500 tons. Ten years later in 1965, the third potline was added increasing production to 100,000 tons per year. With the addition of the fourth potline on August 3, 1968, and fifth line in October of 1968, capacity was increased to 180,000 tons per year.

In 1976, Anaconda purchased Sumitomo process technology to improve plant safety, industrial hygiene, production efficiency, and energy conservation, while reducing carbon/chemical consumption and plant emissions. This technology would boost production to 185,000 tons per year at a cost of $42,000,000.00.

The Anaconda Company was purchased by Atlantic Richfield Company(ARCO) on January 12, 1977. ARCO continued to implement and complete the Sumitomo technology improvement. In December of 1983, ARCO announced intentions to divest its Metals Division (brass and aluminum operations) including the Columbia Falls plant, and in September of 1985, announced the plant had been sold to the Montana Aluminum Investors Corporation headed by Brack Duker and operated by the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company.

In May of 1999, Glencore, AG, a privately owned, Swiss-based commodity trading company, acquired Columbia Falls Aluminum Company (CFAC).

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STATISTICS:

At full capacity with five potlines and 120 pots per line (600 total), 185,000 tons of Aluminum ingot are produced each year.
Employment at full capacity is approximately 550 people.
The Potline buildings reportedly form the largest single building in Montana, covering about 1,750,000 square feet or 40 acres.
Approximately 185,000 tons of aluminum are exported, with 479,000 tons of raw materials imported via the Burlington/Santa Fe Railroad annually.
If all the aluminum produced at CFAC was used to produce beverage cans, enough metal for about 29,000,000 cans per day would be produced. If placed end to end, each year the line of cans would circle the earth 30 times or three stacks would extend to the Moon.

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