The History of Reynolds Wrap (Aluminum Foil)

Richard S. Reynolds started his business journey in 1919 with his company, the  U.S. Foil Co., which supplied tin-lead wrappers to cigarette and candy companies. In the 1920s, the price of aluminum dropped, and Reynolds switched from tin to the lighter-weight, non-corrosive metal. In 1926, Reynolds began using aluminum foil as a packaging material for the first time and his company, which he renamed to Reynolds Metals in the late 1920s, became quite successful. Anticipating America’s entry into World War II and a subsequent increased demand for aluminum, Reynolds began mining bauxite (aluminum ore) in Arkansas in 1940 and opened the company’s first aluminum plant near Sheffield, Alabama in 1941. In 1947, the company came up with its now-famous creation, Reynolds Wrap Aluminum Foil. The creation transformed cooking and food storage. Today, it remains a popular item and can be found on grocery store shelves all over the world.