Three from France are Pechiney (25, PY, www.pechiney.com), Alstom (23, ALS, www.alstom.com) and Groupe Danone (35, DA, www.danonegroup.com).

FORBES: Break Their Crystal Balls

Pechiney Capsules , based in Clichy, France, maker of the Stelvin-style screwcap, expects to boost its production fourfold by 2005.

FORBES: What Holds the Juice Can Be What Sells It

Competition concerns have already scuppered one big deal in the industry: the three-way aluminium merger proposed by Alcan, Pechiney and Algroup in 1999.

ECONOMIST: Mining

After rising to a senior position in the Ministry of Industry at an unusually early age, he was appointed the CEO of Pechiney at 40.

FORBES: Magazine Article

For Alcan to buy a European firm like Pechiney or Algroup makes perfect sense: either would make a good fit with its existing lines, and give it the global reach it now lacks.

ECONOMIST: Aluminium