Alcoa shuts down smelting pot line

A piece of manufacturing history came to an end Monday morning, as Alcoa shut down its second aluminum smelting pot line at the South plant. The first line was shut down in January. It's the first complete shutdown since 1913. Other processes at the plant in support of the smelting lines have also shut down. About 450 Alcoa workers have lost their jobs as a result. The company is preparing the facility for a quick restart if business turns around. "The hope is that when the market turns around, again that would means metal prices would have to go up, inventories go down, and we secure a long term power contract, The hope is that we will be able to bring at least one if not both of the lines back up," said Christy Newman, with Alcoa public relations. Alcoa is still running its north plant rolling mill and recycling operations.