Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation

Baton Rouge, LA

Jobsite

The Kaiser Aluminum Chemical plant was constructed in 1939 by the US government in order to provide aluminum for the anticipated need of aircraft for the WWII effort.  The plant was built by the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) and was later sold to Kaiser Aluminum in the 1950s.  Kaiser ceased operations at the plant in the early 1980s but the facilities have been operated by additional companies since then, including CEMUS, LLC, and the Formosa Plastics Corporation.    

Address or general location

1201 Airline Hwy

Baton Rouge LA 70805

Detail

The US government contracted with various industries to support the war effort.  The Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) was one such company hired to construct and operate the aluminum plant in order to supply the much-needed aluminum used for the construction of aircraft used in WWII.  Later in the 1950s, the plant was sold to Kaiser Aluminum.  

Aluminum was produced through the Bayer process which involved extracting aluminum from bauxite ore.  Originally, the bauxite processed at the facility came from Arkansas but the facility later converted and expanded its operation in order to use a higher quality bauxite from Jamaica.  The Kaiser plant was closed in the early 1980s affecting around 700 workers.  The facility has since been owned by Formosa Plastics USA and operated by CEMUS, LLC.