MASSENA – Alcoa, a global business that employs approximately 600 people at its Massena plant, says splitting the company into two independent, publicly-traded companies will allow both entities to flourish.

The company will be divided into “The Upstream Company” and the “Value Added Company.”

The Upstream Company will comprise five strong business units that today make up Global Primary Products - Bauxite, Alumina, Aluminum, Casting and Energy. This will include the operations in Massena.

The Value-Add Company will include Global Rolled Products, Engineered Products and Solutions, and Transportation and Construction Solutions. The Value-Add Company will be named prior to closing.

“Inventing and reinventing has defined our Company throughout its 126-year history. With the unanimous support of Alcoa’s Board we now take the next step; launching two leading-edge companies, each with distinct and compelling opportunities, and each ready to seize the future,” chairman and CEO Klaus Kleinfeld said.

A release from the company says global aluminum demand is expected to grow 6.5 percent in 2015 and double between 2010 and 2020; so far this decade, global demand growth is tracking ahead of this projection.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.

“In the last few years, we have successfully transformed Alcoa to create two strong value engines that are now ready to pursue their own distinctive strategic directions,” said Kleinfeld. “After steering the Company through the deep downturn of 2008, we immediately went to work reshaping the portfolio. We have repositioned the upstream business; we have an enviable bauxite position and are unrivalled in Alumina, we have optimized Aluminum, flexed our energy assets, and turned our casthouses into a commercial success story. The upstream business is now built to win throughout the cycle. Our multi-material value-add business is a leader in attractive growth markets. We have intensified innovation, made successful acquisitions, shed businesses without product differentiation, invested in smart organic growth, expanded our multi-materials profile and brought key technologies to market; all while significantly increasing profitability.”

After the separation, the Upstream Company will be a cost-competitive industry leader in bauxite mining, alumina refining and aluminum production, positioned for success throughout the market cycle. The company’s footprint will include 64 facilities worldwide, and approximately 17,000 employees. Revenues for the 12 months through June 30, 2015 totaled $13.2 billion, with $2.8 billion in EBITDA.