Alcoa 2004 Annual Report Download - page 21

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Bigger Home Benefits
Alcoa Home Exteriors (AHE)
and Dow Building Materials
introduced Structure
Premium Insulated Siding for
residential customers. In
addition to low maintenance,
the product offers superior
strength and durability,
increased noise reduction and
water resistance, and energy
savings. AHE also added
Ventura Hidden Vent Soffit
to its premium line of soffits
and fascia. It delivers up to
50% more ventilation than
other hidden-vent panels
and better ventilation than
standard soffit.
Flying High
Alcoa Aluminio is playing
a vital role in two large-scale
airport expansions in Brazil.
The Itapissuma plant devel-
oped aluminum profiles
and coating to meet specifi-
cations for the Guararapes
International expansion. At
Congonhas Airport, a new
arrivals and departures
building was made with
Alcoa Façade Systems.
Alcoa’s Unit System technol-
ogy made it possible to
prefabricate panels and
install them during the few
hours available as the
airport continued to operate.
At the Top
Alcoa, Toyota Motor, and
BP were named the world’s
best in the first annual
Global 100 Most Sustainable
Corporations. The listing,
developed by Innovest and
Corporate Knights, ranks
companies by how well they
meet “the triple bottom line,”
a measure of value that bal-
ances environmental, social,
and economic impacts.
Thanks, Alcoans!
As part of Alcoa’s program
to plant ten million trees,
employees at Alcoa’s
Hannover, Germany, site
planted trees with the help of
a pachyderm named Sayang.
The main tree was placed near
the elephant exhibit at the
Zoo of Hannover. Sayang
apparently was thankful – she
lent her trunk to help water it.
Home Again
Red wolves were native to
North Carolina, but experts
believe that fewer than 500
of them now exist world-
wide. Alcoa Foundation
awarded the Rowan Nature
and Learning Center near
Badin (NC) a grant to con-
struct a red wolf habitat as
part of a renovation project
at the Center. Badin is home
to Yadkin-Alcoa Power
Generating and Alcoa
Badin Works.
Planning Ahead
Alcoa partnered with
Landsvirkjun, Iceland’s
national power company, to
work with an advisory
group to develop methods to
measure sustainable perform-
ance at Alcoa’s new Fjar aál
aluminum smelter and the
related hydropower facility.
The group comprises more
than 30 stakeholders repre-
senting diverse environmental,
social, and economic perspec-
tives, including project
supporters and those opposed.
Driving Down Problems
To eliminate ergonomic
concerns, Alcoa Engineered
Products in Lafayette (IN)
improved its method of hang-
ing driveshaft tubes for heat
treatment. The new process
uses chains and tools to hold
the tubes in place, eliminating
the need to twist strong
wires by hand. Production
also improved because the
stronger connection means
that fewer tubes fall into the
pit, reducing the need to
drain the pit to retrieve them.
Protecting the Blue Danube
Alcoa Foundation and Alcoa
Europe donated funds to the
International Commission for
the Protection of the Danube
River (ICPDR) to support the
Transnational Monitoring
System, a water management
network that tracks sub-
stances across country
boundaries in the Danube
River Basin. The funds pur-
chased technical equipment
for the Romanian Waters
Department on the Crisuri
River in Romania. The
ICPDR facilitates coopera-
tion between the European
Commission and all the
Danube Basin countries.
Upgrading Spanish Smelters
Alcoa is investing in technol-
ogy and environmental
improvements at three of its
smelters in northern Spain.
At Avilés, the Company is
making innovation and tech-
nology improvements that
will enable the plant to meet
European Union environmen-
tal standards effective in
2007. At La Coruña and
the San Ciprián smelter and
alumina refinery, Alcoa
is implementing the terms
of a voluntary agreement
with the regional government
to improve emissions.
Jaz Rana,
Exeter, United Kingdom
Alcoa Aluminio is playing a vital role in two large-scale
airport expansions in Brazil, including the Guararapes
International Airport.