Reynolds Aluminum Plant

The Reynolds Metals Company facility in Troutdale, Oregon, was a primary aluminum reduction plant. The plant covered 80 acres, surrounded by 700 acres which was also owned by the Reynolds Metals Company. The property is bordered by the Columbia River to the north, the Sandy River to the east, the Troutdale airport to the south, and Fairview Dairy Farms to the west. The plant was constructed in 1941 by the United States government, and was leased in 1946 and then purchased in 1949 by Reynolds.  The site was in the 100-year flood plain and surrounded by a flood control dike. 

The History of the Reynolds Aluminum Plant

In 1941, The Aluminum Company of America (= Alcoa) built and operated the Troutdale aluminum plant for United States Department of Defense as a primary aluminum reduction plant, where alumina from bauxite ore was converted to aluminum, to support wartime operations. Original cost of the plant was $130M. Aluminum was used primarily in manufacturing of aircraft, but was gaining popularity in shipbuilding and other military uses. After the war, Reynolds Metals Company began leasing the plant in June 1946, and purchased it in June 1949. At the time of purchase, the plant produced 11% of aluminum in the nation at 145,000,000 pounds/year. Reynolds used the plant to cast ingots from aluminum imported from another plant from 1992 to 2000. In 2000, the plant was temporarily shut down. Alcoa purchased Reynolds in 2000 and briefly reopened, then announced in February 2002, that the plant would permanently be closed, demolished and the property sold. Today, the property is an industrial park and home of a FedEx distribution center.

At its peak, Reynolds employed as many as 800 people and was one of the largest employers in the Portland area. Employment workforce fluctuated with the price of aluminum over the years. A state economic impact study stated that in 1998, Reynolds employed 520 people. However, an additional 680 jobs were also created in wholesale/retail trade, services and government jobs. When the plant closed in 2000, it affected 1200 jobs.

The uses of aluminum in WWII included ship infrastructure, aircraft, radar and millions of mess kits. When the plant closed in 2000, the price of aluminum had been slowly cooling for years, a victim of falling prices and the rise of plastic alternatives to the lightweight metal.

Reynolds Metals began as a supplier of foil for cigarette packaging. The company was founded in 1919 by R.S. Reynolds, a nephew of tobacco baron R.J. Reynolds. Over the decades, the company continued to grow and introduce new products, such as the aluminum beverage can. In 1970, the first all-aluminum engine block was introduced, and the pull-tab beverage can came along in 1975.
Although the Reynolds Aluminum plant in Troutdale is gone, the roots it planted in east county remain.