Alcoa

Alcoa is an icon of American industry founded by Charles Martin Hall, whose discovery of the aluminum smelting process would change everything from how we prepare and store our food to the equipment we use in battle. Founded in 1888, it was Alcoa’s long tradition of research and development that helped change aluminum from a rare metal to an everyday material.
 
Alcoa was The Winthrop’s Group first major client. Ironic that as the company anticipated its centennial in 1988, they would engage a brand new consulting firm to make its 100th birthday more than just a public relations opportunity. Focused on the evolution of Alcoa’s corporate strategy, the Alcoa project broke new ground in corporate history and helped establish Winthrop’s reputation.
 
George David Smith, a founding director of Winthrop, started with a study of Alcoa’s corporate culture. He and archivist Edie Hedlin examined company records with a focus on strategy, management personnel, union labor, and technology. George then spent two months traveling the country, talking to people at all levels of the company. The resulting 60-page study was widely disseminated throughout the company.
 
Having whet Alcoa’s appetite for historical perspective, Winthrop went on to produce two books for the company. George’s From Monopoly to Competition: The Transformation of Alcoa, 1888-1986 (Cambridge University Press, 1988) was a multi-faceted history of the company that not only received rave reviews in the business press, but also had a profound impact on how business history is written.
 
Winthrop’s understanding of Alcoa deepened through a second book focused on the company’s history in research and development: R&D for Industry: A Century of Technical Innovation at Alcoa, written by Winthrop’s Margaret Graham and Bettye Pruitt and published by Cambridge University Press in 1990.
 
Of course the books were a means, not an end. Throughout a relationship that extended nearly 10 years, Winthrop historians often found themselves called on by Alcoa executives to offer their insights into current organizational and strategic challenges.