Coal company looks to future after merger
WAYNESBURG – Officials representing Alpha Natural Resources Inc. discussed the company’s future Tuesday following its merger with Foundation Coal Holdings Inc., the owner of Greene County’s Emerald and Cumberland mines. The merger was finalized Friday, and Foundation Coal became part of Alpha. The merger created the nation’s third largest coal-producing company in the United States. Following the merger, the two companies combined have more than $1 billion in liquidity.
Officials said local employees should expect “business as usual.” There are no plans to make any changes in the local workforce.
“This is a great opportunity for the local workforce,” said Phil Cavatoni, Alpha’s new executive vice president and chief strategy officer. “The old Foundation and old Alpha paralleled in safety compliance, communication and outreach.”
The officials added that the mines had the same philosophy and believed that employees are the company’s most valuable asset.
The company will continue with its plans to build two new mines, one in Holbrook and one in Jefferson.
Following the merger, local employees received a folder containing a letter from both the president and chief executive officer of Alpha. The company’s slogan is now, “The Energy of Two, the Power of One.” The letter emphasizes “business as usual” and encourages employees to contact a supervisor or the human resources department with any questions.
On a corporate level, there has been a blending of the two corporate offices, but some Foundation employees were offered severance packages with as much as one year’s salary. Foundation’s headquarters, which until Friday was in Linthicum Heights, Md., will be moved to Abingdon, Va.
Cavatoni and Vaughn Groves, Alpha’s new executive vice president and general counsel, spent the weekend visiting every company location and informing employees of any impending changes. So far, they believe the changes have been well received.
Foundation Coal currently owns and operates mines and coal preparation plants in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Foundation Coal’s mines and preparation plants joined with Alpha Natural Resources’ 50 mines and 10 coal preparation plants, which are operated in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
In total, the new company will run 59 coal mines and 14 coal preparation plants. Together, the company will have reserves in four major coal basins and will be running mines in three of those basins.
According to a press release distributed by Alpha Natural Resources, prior to the merger the company was a leading supplier of high-quality Appalachian coal to the steel industry, electric utilities and other industries. About 88 percent of the company’s reserve base is high Btu coal and 83 percent is low sulfur, qualities that are valued by electric utilities that use steam coal. Alpha was also the nation’s largest supplier and exporter of metallurgical coal, a key ingredient in steel manufacturing.
Alpha and its subsidiaries employ more than 3,600 people.
Prior to the merger, Foundation Coal employed about 3,000 people and produced an estimated 70 million tons of coal annually, largely for utilities generating electricity.
For more information about the merger, visit online at www.alphanr.com
. From left, Jeff Kukura, Alpha Natural Resources Inc.?s president of Pennsylvania Services, and Phil Cavatoni, Alpha?s new executive vice president and chief strategy officer, meet with local media Tuesday to discuss the merger of Foundation Coal into Alpha Natural Resources Inc. Holly K. Hildreth