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Hans Otto Frøland and Mats Ingulstad (eds.) Hans Otto Frøland and Mats Ingulstad (eds.) Ingulstad Mats and Frøland Otto Hans The rapid growth of the aluminium industry during the last hundred years reflects the status of aluminium as the quintessentially modern metal. Given its impact on every facet of modern life, its aptitude for aca- demic analysis is only rivaled by the versatility of the metal in industrial From Warfare to Welfare application. Business-Government Relations in the Aluminium Industry While during the 19th century aluminium was the source of luxury goods for the rich few, during the First World War it was subjected to strate- gic considerations by belligerent states. It had become a warfare metal. It remained a military-strategic metal well into the 1950s, before it regained a position as a metal for civilian consumption, this time for the masses. This book takes a historical approach, informed by an institutionalist per- spective, to elucidate the political economy of the aluminium industry in the twentieth century. It is structured as a series of analyses of the inter- actions between the state and the corporations in different countries. By Welfare to Warfare From looking at business-government relationships we can better grasp the linkages between the aluminium industry and the two key features of the history of the twentieth century: The rise of the industrial warfare state and its subsequent replacement by the welfare state. The ROSTRA series takes its name from the Forum Romanum rostrum ROSTRA is published by Akademika Publishing in co-operation with the Department of History and Classical Studies, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU). All ROSTRA publications are peer reviewed. www.akademikaforlag.no Trondheim Studies in History From Warfare to Welfare Business-Government Relations in the Aluminium Industry Trondheim Studies in History Series editor: Professor Per Hernæs Executive editorial committee: Professor Tore T. Petersen, NTNU Professor Ola S. Stugu, NTNU Professor Steinar Supphellen, NTNU Contact address: Professor Per Hernæs Department of History and Classical Studies NTNU NO–7491 Trondheim Norway e-mail: [email protected] Hans Otto Frøland and Mats Ingulstad (eds.) From Warfare to Welfare Business-Government Relations in the Aluminium Industry © Akademika Publishing, Trondheim 2012 ISBN 978-82-321-0049-1 This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission. Layout: Type-It AS Cover Layout: Mari Røstvold, Akademika Publishing Paper: Munken Lynx 90 g Printed and binded by: AIT Oslo AS Photo cover: Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17F bomber (better known as the “Flying Fortress”) at the Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California. Photographer Alfred T. Palmer, U.S. Office of War Information. In Library of Congress. We only use environmentally certified printing houses. Akademika Publishing NO–7005 Trondheim, Norway Tel.: + 47 73 59 32 10 Email: [email protected] www.akademikaforlag.no Publishing Editor: [email protected] Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... 7 List of Figures and Tables ........................................................................... 9 Note on the authors...................................................................................... 11 Abbreviations................................................................................................ 13 ‘An Age of Aluminium’: The Political Economy of the Aluminium Industry in the Twentieth Century ........................................................... 15 Hans Otto Frøland and Mats Ingulstad “We want aluminium, not excuses!”: Antitrust and Business-Government Partnership in the American Aluminium Industry, 1917–1957...................................................................................... 33 Mats Ingulstad Trade and Politics: the Western Aluminium Industry and the Soviet Union in the Interwar Period...................................................................... 69 Espen Storli International Cartels and National Affairs: Autarky, Alternative Technologies and the Creation of an Italian Strategic Aluminium Industry during the Interwar Period......................................................... 101 Marco Bertilorenzi A Marriage of Convenience? The British Government and the Aluminium Industry in the Twentieth Century........................................ 127 Andrew Perchard Be careful what you wish for: Comparative Advantage and the Wilson Smelters Project, 1967–1982........................................................................ 163 Niall G. MacKenzie Global Market and National Tasks: Norwegian State-Owned Aluminium Companies since 1946.............................................................. 199 Jan Thomas Kobberrød A Three-way Game: The Anglo-Norwegian Aluminium “Conflict” in the 1960s and the Role of Alcan.................................................................. 229 Hans Otto Frøland References ..................................................................................................... 261 Acknowledgements The editors wish to thank the Globalization Programme, the Faculty of Humanities and the Department of History and Classical Studies, all at the Norwegian Univer- sity of Science and Technology, Trondheim, for various forms of assistance. These include financial support for research as well as editorial work. The Comparative Aluminium Research Program (CARP) has provided an important arena for intel- lectually stimulating discussions about everything from the Hall-Herroult electro- lytic process to the larger political and economic processes that have shaped the aluminium industry, and we are indebted to all who have shared their wisdom and insights. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Institut pour l'Histoire de l'Aluminium (IHA) for providing grants and research assistance to several of the participants in this project. List of Figures and Tables Figure 1.1 The metal of warfare: the growth of the aluminium industry, 1914–1955, p.19. Table 1.2 Production of primary aluminium in thousand tons, 1940–1945, p. 24. Figure 1.3 The metal of welfare: the growth of the aluminium industry, 1950–1975, p. 28. Table 2.1 The DPC expansion program: alumina and aluminium plants, p. 56. Table 2.2 Certificates for expansion offered during the three expansion rounds, p. 66. Table 4.1 Aluminium production, consumption, imports and exports in Italy and production by company, 1926–1936, metric tons, p. 111. Table 4.2 Production capacity in 1937 and projections of the Autarkic Plan (1938–1942), in metric tons, p. 121. Table 4.3 Production, national demand and projected production capacity of the ‘Piano’, 1938–1943, metric tons. Table 4.4 Price of aluminium on the Italian market, in Lira per kg, 1936–1941, p. 124. Table 6.1 Price agreement for electricity supply to Invergordon smelter, p. 176. Figure 6.2 Annual average aluminium price, 1959–1998 (1998 prices), p. 182. Table 6.3 Projected UK import savings from new aluminium smelters, p. 189. Table 6.4 Smelter figures: closure costs, p. 191. Table 6.5 Smelter figures: continuation cost, p. 192. Table 6.6 Final cost of closure of the Invergordon aluminium smelter, p. 195. Table 7.1 Norwegian production and exports of aluminium semi-fabricated products in 1000 tons, p. 218. Table 7.2 Tariff schedule for semi-fabricated aluminium, 1973 trade agreement between Norway and EC. Ad valorem, p. 219. Table 7.3 EC import ceilings for semi-fabricated aluminium, tons, 1973 trade agreement between Norway and EC, p. 219. Table 8.1 New smelters under Norway’s expansion programme, p. 231. Table 8.2 Smelter capacity of Det Norske Nitridaktieselskab (DNN), p. 235. Table 8.3 Smelter capacity of Årdal og Sunndal Verk (ÅSV), p. 235. Table 8.4 The Alcan group of companies in Britain in 1967, p. 238. Table 8.5 British import of primary aluminium 1958–1968. Thousand tons, p. 239. Table 8.6 Tenders for the Wilson government’s expansion project, p. 244. Note on the authors Marco Bertilorenzi received his PhD (cotutelle de these) in History in 2010 from Università degli Studi di Firenze and from Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris-IV). He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at Centre Roland Mousnier, Univer- sité Paris-Sorbonne (Paris-IV), and he is involved in the French research project “CREALU”, ANR-10-CREA-11-03. He wrote his contribution while working as a PhD student and as a postdoctoral researcher. Hans Otto Frøland received his Doctor Philosophiae in History in 1993 from the University of Trondheim. He is currently Professor of European contemporary history at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (NTNU). He wrote his contribution while directing the Comparative Aluminium Research Program (CARP) at NTNU. Mats Ingulstad received his PhD in History in 2011 from the European University Institute (EUI), Florence. In 2011 he was engaged as researcher at the CARP to write his contribution and serve as one of the editors of this volume. He is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim (NTNU). Jan Thomas Kobberrød received his Doctor Artium in History in 2004 from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim