ALCAN (AL) TO CLOSE WEST GERMAN SMELTER

  (Alcan Aluminium Ltd) is closing its
  aluminum smelter in Ludwigshafen, West Germany this June due to
  high operating costs, an Alcan spokesman said.
      The smelter, near Frankfurt, had annual capacity of about
  44,000 metric tons but was operating at about half that in
  January, spokesman Fernand Leclerc said.
      Leclerc said Alcan decided it would cost too much to
  modernize the plant.
      He said there is a possibility the company will sell the
  smelter, which currently employs 320 people, before its
  scheduled closing.             
  

