Manufacturing 2019 Manufacturing Week Bus Tour | Página 23

Alcoa Intalco Works
Ferndale
Alcoa invented the aluminum process in 1888. The Alcoa Intalco Works
was founded in 1966, and employs more than 700 people. A maker of
primary aluminum, it processes alumina (shipped in by boat from Australia
directly to the facility’s deepwater port) into aluminum. Alcoa Intalco
Works is the only operating aluminum smelter on the West Coast.
Dave Umbaugh began at Alcoa Intalco Works in 1980
as a general helper. Now a 39-year employee of the
aluminum smelter, he is leading technical training and
development at the plant. In describing their work
processing raw Australian alumina, a form of aluminum
ore powder that looks like white sand, Umbaugh said, “It
never ceases to amaze me that we take this dirt and turn
it into really pretty silver aluminum.”
A worker looks on
from a safe distance
as molten aluminum
is poured at 950
degrees Celsius.