Alcoa 1998 Annual Report Download - page 22

20
New Capping
Machine
Alcoa Packaging
Machinery (APM)
locations in Randolph,
New York and
Viernheim, Germany
teamed up to develop
the Series 7000 capping
machine – a high-
performance machine
designed to meet the
needs of large-scale
bottling operations.
The design is based on
principles of the Alcoa
Production System
(APS) along with input
from customer focus
groups worldwide.
Modular subassemblies
are designed and
engineered to be manu-
factured in an APS-style
“pull” system – low or
no waste, low inventory,
and manufactured to
demand. Major benefits
to bottlers are signifi-
cantly reduced mainte-
nance and downtime
plus flexibility of pack-
age and process. Test
locations at major bever-
age filling customers
have led to a number of
orders for 1999 delivery.
Growth Markets
for Closures
Alcoa CSI has reached
new supply agreements
with major juice and
sports drink companies
to provide wide-diame-
ter closures. This volume
supports CSI’s expansion
plans for wide-diameter
capacity in North
America. Several new
packages with Alcoa’s
V38mm closure were
introduced on a regional
basis last fall, and plans
call for national deploy-
ment during 1999. Juice
is a target growth mar-
ket for CSI in 1999-2000,
including expansion into
the promising single-
serve juice segment.
In another fast growing
market segment – sports
closures for the water
industry – CSI’s new
Sports-Lok®closure
enjoys strong demand
from leading bottlers.
Sports-Lok closures
help customers to
achieve manufacturing
efficiencies, and they’re
popular with consumers.
To Build a
Better Truck
In Mexico, Alcoa
Extruded Construction
Products (AECP) has
developed a better
way to serve customers
who build truck bodies
for beverage companies.
Starting from the
specific needs identified
with the customer, AECP
develops an aluminum
truck body system,
typically of extrusions,
castings, and sheet. Then
the elements for each
truck body are delivered
in the form of a kit, com-
plete with instructions
and ready to assemble.
Leading manufacturers
Suma and Reco in
Mexico City have found
that this system elimi-
nates cutting operations
and material waste, and
it allows quicker deliv-
ery to their customers.
Aluminum is gaining
ground in Mexico’s
transportation market
because of its combina-
tion of strength with
light weight and the
resulting energy savings
and emissions reduction.
Eco-Friendly
Lubricants
Alcoa Forged Products’
(AFP) new facility in
Cleveland has success-
fully implemented
an environment-friendly
lubrication system
for the wheel forging
process, including
the blocking/finishing/
flaring operation. It’s
a technological achieve-
ment prompted by two
concerns: environmental
issues related to volatile
organic compounds
(VOCs) – a precursor to
ozone and smog – and
the surface quality of
the forging. VOCs were
reduced by 85%, and
surface quality improved
due to a reduction in
lubricant buildup on
the forging. AFP is plan-
ning to transfer the
technology to other por-
tions of its business.
Packaging in
Argentina
Alcoa Aluminio’s packag-
ing segment acquired
the rights to produce
PET preforms for bever-
age containers in
Ushuaia, Argentina, the
capital of Tierra del
Fuego. Installation of
PET injection-molding
machinery is expected
to occur early in 1999.
The Argentine beverage
industry has grown dra-
matically in the 1990s,
attracting new bottlers,
and PET bottles have
captured much of the
market share formerly
held by glass containers.
Alcoa has been the
largest PET bottle
producer in Argentina
since 1997.