ABINGDON, Va. – The three men who will lead the new Alpha Natural Resources spoke enthusiastically about the merger approved Friday with Foundation Coal Holdings, during a company picnic Monday.
“We undoubtedly will be the best coal company in the United States,” said Kurt Kost, former Foundation president and CEO, who is now president of what he called “the new Alpha.”
Kevin Crutchfield, who now serves as CEO of Alpha Natural Resources, said more growth is in the company’s future.
“The first order of business is getting the two companies integrated,” he said. “From there, we can evaluate the landscape for what our growth platform will look like.”
He said plans are to keep Alpha’s headquarters in the area, although it’s not known whether that will mean a new building or an addition to the existing one in Abingdon.
The $2 billion all-stock merger transaction, approved by stockholders Friday, makes Alpha the nation’s third largest coal company – and is the latest in nearly a dozen acquisitions that have fueled Alpha’s incredible growth since its founding in 2002.
“It’s been a heck of a ride,” said Michael Quillen, executive chairman of the combined company, who reminded employees of Alpha’s humble beginnings seven years ago, when chairs were brought from home and a bed sheet served as a projector screen in hopes of getting a business loan to start the company.
In an industry already prone to boom-and-bust cycles, the company has ridden a roller-coaster of sorts in recent months, not only with changing energy prices but with another merger that failed before shareholders approved the deal with Foundation.
Quillen, though always one to credit luck and good timing with much of his success, said the company’s growth and success can be attributed to one thing: good people.
He says he’s hopeful a bigger company will be better able to weather the storm of recession and coming government regulations that will impact the coal industry – and mean more stability for Alpha’s employees.
“It’s an exciting time, but it’s also a humbling time,” said Crutchfield. “There’s a lot of uncertainty.”
While Crutchfield says he hasn’t tabulated the number of likely job losses from proposed federal regulation of carbon dioxide emissions, he said, “Clearly, I think the legislation as currently written is probably not a good thing for coal.”
Quillen said if emissions reductions take effect too quickly, before carbon capture and storage technology is fully developed, it would have a “devastating impact on the coal industry.”
If mountaintop removal mining is prohibited by future regulation, Crutchfield said, “It would certainly take away jobs for hardworking folks across the Appalachian region.”
But even in a changing environment, Kost said Alpha will continue to focus on three areas: taking care of its employees, its customers and its communities.
“If we do those three things, the financial rewards, the ability to be a viable business in the future, those things will be there,” he said. “Those things will fall in place.”The new Alpha employs 6,500 workers, operates more than 60 mines and 14 preparation plants and controls more than 2.3 billion tons of coal reserves.
dmccown@bristolnews.com | (276) 791-0701
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