Vale Inco Changes Its Name to Vale

SUDBURY, Jun. 2 -- It has been said that timing is everything, but there is no significance to the timing of a name change for Sudbury's largest employer announced Thursdsay, says a company spokesman.

The renaming of Vale Inco to Vale has been planned since 2006, when Brazil-owned Companhia Vale do Rio Doce purchased the former Inco Ltd., said Vale's Steve Ball.

Company officials had intended to announce the name change at least a couple of times in the last year, but finally did so in a news release issued Thursday, saying the chance is a "milestone that aligns it more fully with other Vale operations worldwide and reflects it position as part of the world's second largest mining company."

Inco was acquired by the former CVRD in late 2006. It has operated around the world as Vale Inco since 2007 when CVRD rebranded itself Vale.

"Our global nickel business will continue to be headquartered in Toronto, Canada," said Tito Martins, president and chief executive officer of Vale's nickel operations, in the news release.

"We have a very strong team in place and are building a long-term future for our operations around the world in Canada, Indonesia, New Caledonia, the United Kingdom, China, Japan and Brazil," said Martins. "Our nickel business today is larger than it was in 2006, when we first invested in Inco and we are building on that investment every day.

"We are positioning our company to meet the challenges of an increasingly competitive global marketplace," he said. "Our objective is to ensure a sustainable, successful future for the business and the people and communities who rely on it."

Vale's nickel business has more than 11,000 employees worldwide and net sales in 2009 of US$3.26 billion, accounting for 13.6% of Vale's overall global revenue. The management team in Toronto oversees a global business committed to significant production upgrades, capital investments and new projects that hold forth the potential for further growth in Canada and internationally.