Grenfell survivors visit cladding firm Arconic's Pittsburgh HQ

BBC News

13 hours ago

Two bereaved survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire have travelled from west London to the US headquarters of cladding manufacturer Arconic. Nick Burton and Marcio Gomes made the trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to mark the recent eighth anniversary of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of 72 people.The company was criticised by the Grenfell Tower public inquiry for its role in the refurbishment of the 23-storey tower block.A recent Netflix documentary also alleged a senior executive based in Pittsburgh was aware of the sale of its aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding for Grenfell Tower. Arconic has always denied wrongdoing and maintained its product was not unsafe. Others were to blame, it has claimed, for the incorrect installation and usage.
Pittsburgh, known as the Steel City of the USA, is the home of Arconic, a multibillion-dollar global manufacturing company.Its cladding Reynobond PE 500 was used on the outside of Grenfell Tower. It was made of ACM - sheets of thin metal with a flammable plastic core.
'Systematic dishonesty'
The fire at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington started in a kitchen on the fourth floor and in less than 20 minutes climbed 19 storeys to the top of the tower. The public inquiry found the cladding was the "primary cause" of the rapid spread of the fire and should not have been used on a building of that height.The inquiry concluded Arconic promoted and sold the product knowing it presented "a significant danger" and behaved with "systematic dishonesty".
Nick Burton was rescued from the 19th floor of Grenfell Tower with his wife of 30 years, Pily. Soon after she suffered a stroke and when she died became the 72nd victim of the fire.He says it was important for him to go to Arconic's Pittsburgh headquarters."For all these years they're going about their business making record profits," he says. "We wanted to give them a wake-up call and show them we are still here."Nick's friend and fellow survivor Marcio Gomes escaped from the 21st floor with his two young daughters and his then wife, who was heavily pregnant.She was carrying their baby son - who they'd called Logan. But while she was in a coma Logan was stillborn. He was the youngest victim of the fire. Marcio says it was "emotional" to be in the city of Arconic's HQ. "There was a lot of anger and rage but also power and strength."Nick and Marcio spoke to people on the streets of downtown Pittsburgh about their personal stories and how a local company was connected to Grenfell.Marcio says it was positive to meet locals who were "fantastic and really lovely" and that engaging with them was "amazing".They made the trip with friend and campaigner Moyra Samuels.
"The reception was really welcoming," Moyra says. "People wanted to listen. We didn't get any negative responses, so it was really hopeful." The group also met some firefighters from a local fire department. "They knew about Grenfell but they didn't know about the links to Arconic," Nick says.There are tougher fire safety restrictions regarding the use of ACM cladding on high-rise buildings in the US. "They had training about cladding fires but the fire chief told us Grenfell would probably not have happened in America," Marcio adds.
The group's visit was documented by Pittsburgh filmmaker Chris Ivey. He's been following the Grenfell justice campaign for many years and highlighting Arconic's connection locally. He says he wants to "educate people in Pittsburgh but also to do justice to the community in London that has been suffering for so long".Over the past few years, he's put on local exhibitions and documentary films about Grenfell, laid flowers outside Arconic's offices on the fire's anniversary and also driven video billboards by the homes of their executives."Arconic have kept Grenfell very quiet in Pittsburgh," Chris says. "Even when I try to talk to local politicians, they hear it but they don't respond."If it's not happening at home they disregard it and people say 'we didn't know about this'," Chris says. "Well, they didn't want you to know."
Arconic rejected this suggestion and told the BBC it had made several public statements about Grenfell, which were also made available to its local employees.On its website, the company has posted: "Arconic Architectural Products (AAP) is a leading manufacturer of composite material, pre-painted, light-to-heavy gauge aluminum and bonded sheets."With manufacturing facilities in Europe and North America, our products are produced with precision and contribute to distinctive building facades around the globe."The panels used on Grenfell Tower were manufactured by Arconic Architectural Products SAS at a factory in Merxheim, France.In another statement made in response to the public inquiry, Arconic said: "AAP sold sheets of aluminium composite material as specified in the design process. This product was safe to use as a building material, and legal to sell in the UK as well as the more than 30 other countries in which AAP customers purchased the product."We reject any claim that AAP sold an unsafe product. AAP did not conceal information from or mislead any certification body, customer, or the public."On the eighth anniversary of the fire, Arconic said it had "made financial contributions to settlements for those impacted, and we support all efforts to strengthen regulatory oversight in the construction industry".It added that it would "fully engage with ongoing legal processes".Arconic also said American senior executives were "not responsible for products, process, markets and certifications" in other countries. "As president of the Alcoa Building and Construction Systems, Diana Perreiah supported the management of AAP SAS in relation to financial matters and strategic oversight only. She was not responsible for the performance and day-to-day running of the business."
The group's visit ended with a video projection of flames at night against the outside of Arconic's office building."It looked so real," Nick says. "We never wanted to burn their building down. We need to make that clear. But to look at their building and see the flames projected, it was very emotional.""This isn't just about Grenfell," Marcio says. "This is about going forward. We need to be able to hold these companies to account.""Someone has to be prosecuted," Moyra adds. "That will bring us a sense of justice, healing and peace."The Metropolitan Police investigation into what happened at Grenfell Tower is still ongoing. They Met has said it expects it to conclude by the end of 2026.