Aluminum foil magnate David Reynolds dies at 96

Published 5:00 am Thursday, September 1, 2011

David Reynolds, a metals manufacturing executive who helped bring aluminum foil and aluminum beverage cans into the American kitchen, died on Monday in Richmond, Va. He was 96.

His death was confirmed by his daughter Margaret Mackell.

Reynolds was the last member of his family to lead Reynolds Metals, which was founded in 1919 by his father, Richard S. Reynolds Sr., and grew to become the nation’s second-largest aluminum manufacturer behind Alcoa. Reynolds was sold to Alcoa in 2000, five years after Reynolds stepped down from its board.

Reynolds joined the family business as a salesman out of college in 1937 and began trying to persuade the major St. Louis breweries to affix aluminum labels to their beer bottles. Almost 50 years later, at 71, he retired as Reynolds’ chairman and chief executive, positions he held for a decade.

Reynolds oversaw the development of aluminum products for the aerospace, automotive and construction industries. But he was best known for bringing the metal to a mass consumer audience.

As aluminum sales slowed after World War II, Reynolds and his brothers hoped to avoid a glut by aggressively promoting aluminum’s use in consumer goods and packaging.

Reynolds Wrap

Aluminum foil had been sold since the 1920s, largely as an industrial product, but Reynolds saw an opportunity for Reynolds Wrap to become a household staple.

He developed television commercials to show how aluminum foil could be used in cooking. He arranged demonstrations to educate consumers on how to wrap leftovers.

“David was really the big pusher of Reynolds Wrap,” said Randolph Reynolds, a nephew, who worked at Reynolds Metals for 32 years.

Aluminum beer cans made their debut in the late 1950s, and the Reynolds company was quick to take notice.

It began manufacturing 12-ounce aluminum cans for the Theodore Hamm Brewing Co. of Minnesota in 1963, and four years later it introduced the first aluminum cans for Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.

Today, more than half of all beverages sold in American supermarkets come in aluminum packaging.