The Renco Group, Inc. is an American

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

-based

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

controlled by

Ira Rennert Ira Leon Rennert (born May 31, 1934) is an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Renco Group. As of November 2024, ''Forbes'' estimated his net worth at US$3.8 billion. Early life Rennert's parents were immigrants from ...

that invests in other companies across a range of industries.

History

In August 2004, it was announced that

Ronald Perelman Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman, investor, and philanthropist. MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, ca ...

MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated is an American diversified holding company wholly owned by billionaire investor Ronald Perelman. Current investments include leading participants across a wide range of industries, from cosmetics and entertainme ...

company would form a joint venture with AM General's current owner, Renco Group, to give Perelman 70% ownership of AM General. The deal reportedly cost close to US$1 billion. In 2007, Renco Group lost ownership of its bankrupt subsidiary WCI Steel to its lenders. Through subsidiary Inteva Products, LLC, Renco Group purchased Delphi's Global Interiors and Closures businesses in March 2008. In June 2021, Renco Group purchased Renfro Brands, Renfro Brands is a designer, manufacturer, and marketer of socks and legwear products. In November 2024, the group acquired

Coach USA Coach USA, LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service across the ...

, which had gone in bankruptcy proceedings.

Pollution

The Renco Group also owns various mills and mines in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, and pollution problems at some of the company's properties have sparked public outcries, environmental lawsuits, and hundreds of millions of dollars in environmental penalties and fines. One Renco subsidiary,

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

producer US Magnesium (USM), is accused of polluting the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron-making, iron, copper extraction, copper ...

operations by another Renco subsidiary,

Doe Run Company The Doe Run Resources Corporation, known by the trade name The Doe Run Company, is a privately held natural resources company and global producer of lead, copper, and zinc concentrates. It owns four mills, six mines and a lead battery recycling p ...

, are responsible for elevated levels of

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

, and

cadmium Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...

Herculaneum, Missouri Herculaneum is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, and is a suburb of St. Louis. The population was 4,273 at the 2020 United States census. The City of Herculaneum was the first county seat of Jefferson County from January 1, 1819, to 1839. ...

, and elevated levels of lead,

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

, and

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...

in La Oroya, Peru. In 2007, La Oroya was listed by

Blacksmith Institute Pure Earth (originally Blacksmith Institute) is a New York City–based international nonprofit founded in 1999 that works to identify and address pollution-related issues in low- and middle-income countries. Pure Earth's work focuses on two key p ...

as one of the "World's Worst Polluted Places".

References

External links

* {{Authority control Financial services companies established in 1975 Investment companies of the United States Companies based in New York City Holding companies based in New York City