Alcoa broadens its tech, capacity, for auto industry

Alcoa has been in the automotive aluminum business since Ford's Model T, but the company's 2015 F-150 and plans by other automakers to increase use of the lighter-weight material gave the supplier high hopes for the future and prompted an expansion.

The global company with an operational base in Pittsburgh has invested $670 million to expand capacity, starting with $300 million at Davenport Works plant in Bettendorf, Iowa, and the creation of 150 jobs to meet Ford's needs to launch an aluminum-bodied pickup in the fall of 2014.

For its innovation and expansion to meet the needs of the automotive industry, Alcoa is the winner of the supplier category of the 2015 Detroit Free Press Automotive Leadership Awards.

Another 200 jobs and $300 million investment was added in Alcoa, Tenn., to further increase production of automotive aluminum sheet to support Ford's decision to use more aluminum in its SuperDuty pickups as well. The additional line in Tennessee will start running mid-year. Additionally a joint venture plant under construction in Saudi Arabia will be competed later this year with more automotive capacity.

The company will have to constantly evaluate the need for additional capacity and has developed new technology called Micromill that produces aluminum sheets that are 30% stronger and lighter and 40% more formable making it easier to make parts out of for multiple industries to use. It is being produced at a pilot mill in San Antonio. The company has not provided details of future plans for the technology that also speeds the process of turning molten metal into aluminum coil.

The supplier also developed a coating that helps bond pieces of aluminum, a patented technology Alcoa licensed for use by other aluminum suppliers at Ford's request., said Michael Murphy, vice president of Commercial for Alcoa Global Automotive.

By 2025, 18% of all vehicles will have all-aluminum bodies compared with less than 1% now, according to Ducker Worldwide which examines material trends and expects demand for aluminum in vehicles will nearly double by 2025. The amount of aluminum sheet per vehicle is forecast to increase tenfold as automakers work to shed weight and improve fuel economy.