Alcoa 2001 Annual Report Download - page 23

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 23 of the 2001 Alcoa annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 72

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72

21
Breaking the
Cost Barrier
Under contract to the
U.S. Department of
Defense, an Alcoa-led
team, including Boeing
and Lockheed, comple-
ted the first phase of an
initiative to dramatical-
ly reduce the cost of air-
frames. The project will
apply collaborative
design methods Alcoa
developed in its work
with automakers. Dur-
ing this phase, analyses
were performed on
selected parts of three
military aircraft. Teams
have begun developing
lower-cost, conceptually
fiber to their systems
in increments, reducing
up-front capital
costs. Xpress Fiber
Management™meets
demanding needs for
high-density, cross-
connect uses.
Improved
Sheet Quality
Alcoa developed a
control system for
single-stand hot revers-
ing mills capable of
adapting to multiple
operating conditions.
The new software elimi-
nates aluminum sheet
variability by control-
ling mill temperature
and product thickness,
which are especially
important with multiple
product changeovers.
The system is now an
Alcoa standard and
will be installed on 15
Alcoa mills worldwide.
Innovations
for Safety
Alcoa is selling an
easy-to-install way to
prevent pedestrian
accidents with in-plant
railing systems. Alcoa
has applied to patent
the Alcoa Guide Rail
System™, developed
at Engineered Products’
Cressona (Pa.)
Operations, and now
available to Alcoa
locations and other
industrial facilities.
Guide Rail costs less
than similar steel
systems and includes
features developed in
response to users’
feedback. R&B Wagner
Inc., which specializes
in architectural and
industrial railing
systems, is the first com-
pany to market it.
High-Tech
Prototyping
Alcoa Automotive’s
Modena Assembly
and Fabricating Center
in Italy introduced
a unique prototyping
capability. The facility
can convert dimension-
al drawings and com-
puter-generated data
directly into prototypes
of aluminum and multi-
material automotive
components, ranging
from large substruc-
tures to full-body struc-
tural elements. It also
can integrate fixture
design with dimensional
variations occurring
during joining and
forming while develop-
ing the prototype.
Eye-Catchers
Scientists at Alcoa
Technical Center
developed a family of
ultrafine aluminum
powder products for
Sardinia: a fresh look
Antonello Murgia, Federico Strina (front),
Pierre Champoux and Giovanni Perseu (rear) of
Alcoa’s Portovesme smelter put new paint on
the walls of a 100-year-old house that serves as
a local community center in this small town
on the Italian island of Sardinia. Thirty Alcoans
participated in this one-day cleanup project,
funded by an Alcoa grant.
advanced aluminum-
based designs for wing
structures and for pri-
mary fuselage structures.
Solutions for
Communications
AFL Telecommunica-
tions introduced two
new products in 2001.
Its MicroCore™fiber
optic cabling system
uses stainless steel laser
welding technology,
which allows band-
width providers to add
Rick Russell,
Livonia, Michigan, USA