Alcoa 2010 Annual Report Download - page 6

• Our wheels business has been in the forefront of our expanded penetration into the trucking industry, including with fl eets like Covenant Transport, Inc.,
Builders Transportation Co., LLC and Swift Transportation Co., Inc. Alcoa’s LvL ONE® Wheels were recognized as a “Top 5 Product of 2010” from
Heavy Duty Aftermarket Journal – a reputable industry trade publication. The forged LvL ONE™ wheels can directly reduce operating expenses
through lower fuel costs and increased payload. They reduce individual truck weight up to 1,300 pounds compared to steel options. Alcoa’s
LvL ONE™ wheels bring tangible and immediate benefi ts to the customer – lighter weight, less fuel and lower maintenance costs, high strength and
the brightest fi nish. Alcoa wheels return 75% of their initial purchase price, even after 10 years of use.
• In the ground transportation market, we signed an exclusive supplier arrangement with CIMC, a leading specialty truck manufacturer in China,
to supply aluminum content for its next generation of tanker trailers. As part of the partnership, Alcoa is pairing its design, engineering and
manufacturing expertise with CIMC’s fabrication knowledge to produce a lightweight, environmentally friendly tanker-trailer. Through Alcoa’s design
expertise, we reduced the weight of the trailer by 1,000 kilograms. The vehicles hit the road with Alcoa metal in mid-2010.
• When China’s BYD Limited, the world’s largest battery manufacturer, decided to apply its technology to cars, they turned to Alcoa to train their
experts on the lightweighting and other benefi ts of aluminum, especially in electric cars.
• In the defense industry, Alcoa is combining more than a century of experience in aluminum design in the automotive
and aerospace industries with its light alloy expertise to deliver blast shields that meet AM General’s survivability
requirements, while reducing the weight of its HMMWVs.
• In the consumer electronics market, consumers want more than functionality in their smartphones, e-readers and
notebooks. They also look for higher recycled content in the electronics they buy – a combination of “cool” and
green – which only aluminum can deliver. From 2010 to 2013, we are projecting 30% growth of aluminum in laptops,
and an amazing 465% increase in aluminum use in the back panels of LCD televisions. In many consumer electronics
applications, we are successfully using Alcoa miniature wire insert fastening systems, which enable our customers
to deliver reliable, durable electronics to consumers.
• The world’s most effi cient package, the aluminum can, is more sustainable than ever. The can has reduced its carbon
footprint by 44% since 1993, its energy usage by 30%, and overall package weight by 15%. With the highest recycled
content of any beverage container at 68% and highest worldwide recycle rate at 69%, it is the ideal “green” package.
Alcoa is meeting growing demand for aluminum beverage packaging through increased capacity in its China and Russia
facilities. Beyond volume, we have identifi ed a solid opportunity to grow through innovation, especially in shaping and
bottle technology. These innovations brought about the sleek aluminum bottle, and the revolutionary surface coating
that indicates when a beverage is at its ideal cold temperature. These ground-breaking technologies are changing the
way people around the world consume drinks, and they offer our beverage customers yet another chance to add value to
their products.
• In the aerospace and industrial gas turbine market, Alcoa is working with global customers like General Electric,
Siemens, Rolls Royce and Alstom to offer solutions that enable our customers to design even more complex cooling
schemes in the airfoil. In addition, Alcoa has launched an advanced casting process that yields dramatically improved
performance across the turbine operating environment. As a result, Alcoa Power and Propulsion has been awarded
lead supply positions on several next-generation and upgrade gas turbine and aerospace engine designs.
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Peterbilt truck
and LvL ONE® Wheel Aluminum keyboard
Miller Lite’s aluminum pint,
using Ball’s Alumi-Tek® bottle