Alcoa 1997 Annual Report Download - page 21

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19
The Educational
Edge
To enhance employees’
job competence, Alcoa’s
Lebanon (Pa.) Works is
partnering with the
Harrisburg Area
Community College to
offer off-the-job training
courses in computer soft-
ware, conflict resolution
in the workplace, and
effective leadership
styles. The program has
drawn an enthusiastic
response, with 100% of
available classes filled in
the first week. The initia-
tive continues into 1998.
A New Product
Launch
The first wheels from
Alcoa’s joint venture with
Superior Industries
International have been
shipped to customers for
test and evaluation. In
1996, Alcoa and Superior
formed a company to
develop a new line of cast
aluminum wheels for
commercial trucks and
buses. The wheels are
produced at Superior’s
Van Nuys, Calif. facility
and marketed through
Alcoa’s existing wheel
sales organization.
Superior is a leading
international manufac-
turer of cast aluminum
wheels and automotive
accessories.
Progress in
Fiber Optics
Growing at 25% a year
over the past five years,
the Telecommunications
Division of Alcoa Fujikura
Ltd. (AFL) is quietly
building up a significant
business in fiber-optic
cables and components
and is now the world’s
largest supplier of fiber-
optic aerial cable systems.
Latest developments:
■ A contract in China to
supply over 300 kilome-
ters of fiber-optic cable
between Harbin and
Modanjiang — China’s
largest fiber-optic aerial
cable project to date.
■ A five-year agreement
with Rostelecom, the
Russian long-distance
company, to supply
optical ground wire and
other components.
■Exclusive supplier sta-
tus for a cable network
in Anaheim, Calif., one of
the first cities to take
fiber optics to the home.
■ Fiber-optic components
and assemblies for the
new Alcoa Corporate
Center in Pittsburgh.
Environment
Protecting Wildlife
Alcoa and The Nature Conservancy are
partnering in a forest conservation effort on
21,000 acres of land adjacent to the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. The
property contains four hydroelectric dams
that supply power to Alcoa’s plant near
Knoxville, Tenn.
Nature Conservancy botanists and biolo-
gists will study and record aquatic, plant
and animal life in the area, especially rare
or endangered species, migrating songbirds,
and naturally occurring wetlands. Their
findings will assist Alcoa in preparing a
land management plan. Alcoa previously
collaborated with the Conservancy in
Virginia and Arkansas.
“Alcoa’s commitment to the environ-
ment is as broad as it is deep,” said John
Sawhill, president and CEO of the Nature
Conservancy. “By setting the model for
other major forest landholders, Alcoa is
leading by example.”