Intalco adding 60 jobs, restarting idled smelting capacity

Jan. 07--Alcoa Intalco Works will be adding 60 jobs as it ramps up production capacity at its aluminum smelter west of Ferndale, the company announced Friday, Jan. 7.

In a press release, plant manager Barry Hullett said Intalco would be increasing production by about 40,000 metric tons per year. That is about 80 percent of capacity. Intalco has been operating at about two-thirds capacity recently.

The restart is expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2011.

"We are delighted to add 60 family wage jobs for the benefit of our long term viability and the positive economic impact on our local communities," Hullett said in the release. "We are also appreciative of the support from key elected officials who have aided the plant to restart idled capacity. Governor Christine Gregoire, senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, Rep. Rick Larsen and numerous state, county and local officials have been very supportive in ensuring that Intalco remains an economic force in the region."

Intalco now employs about 500 people.

Hullett said the 60 direct jobs also would generate another 174 jobs from the indirect economic impact, according to some estimates.

Intalco is operating under a short-term contract with the Bonneville Power Administration that provides 320 megawatts of relatively low-cost power now through May 26, 2012, while negotiations on a long-term contract with BPA continue.

U.S. Rep. Larsen, D-Everett, said Friday's announcement helps BPA make the case for a longer-term power arrangement to keep Intalco operating.

"This is a great message to the other （power） users in the region that BPA is making a wise decision," Larsen said.

Some of BPA's other power customers, such as publicly owned utility districts, have opposed BPA's sale of power to Alcoa, arguing that the region's limited supply of cheap hydropower should be reserved for them. As they see it, Intalco's power appetite forces BPA to buy additional power from more costly sources, and that means higher electric bills for other power users in the Northwest.

But BPA Administrator Steve Wright has argued that the direct and indirect economic impact of Intalco is important enough to justify the company's share of hydropower from the federally owned dams on the Columbia River.

Aluminum smelters require enormous quantities of power. Intalco's current 320-megawatt share of BPA power is equivalent to about 25 percent of the power demand for the city of Seattle.