Associated Press - September 4, 2009 8:54 AM ET

GRAMERCY, La. (AP) - At a time when aluminum producers are struggling with low prices and excess capacity, the new owners of the Gramercy Alumina plant in St. James Parish are ramping up production to gain market share, company officials said Thursday.

"By increasing our production, we're really trying to take advantage of well-positioned assets," said Kyle Lorentzen, chief operating officer of Noranda Aluminum, which acquired full ownership of the 50-year-old alumina plant in Gramercy this week and told some of its 470 employees "if we're not growing, we're dying.

Officials of the Franklin, Tenn., company handed out blue Noranda T-shirts to employees on Thursday, who seemed happy with the news that the company reached a deal to acquire the 50% of the company owned by Century Aluminum Ltd. of Monterey, Calif.

Information from: The Times-Picayune, http://www.nola.com

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