Alcoa Signs Agreement with Airbus

Alcoa has signed a multi-year supply agreement with Airbus valued at approximately $110 million for value-add titanium and aluminum aerospace forgings. Alcoa will produce the parts using its recently modernized 50,000-ton press in Cleveland, Ohio. This press uses state-of-the-art controls to meet stringent aerospace specifications and is uniquely capable of producing the world’s largest and most complex titanium, nickel, steel, and aluminum forgings.

 

“Our expertise innovating highly engineered products, long history in aerospace, and the unmatched capabilities of our 50,000-ton press make Alcoa uniquely qualified to produce high-end solutions for the most advanced aircraft,” said Olivier Jarrault, executive vice president and Alcoa group president, Engineered Products and Solutions. “This agreement deepens our long and collaborative relationship with Airbus with whom we will continue working to advance the industry with superior products.”

 

Alcoa will supply titanium parts, including forgings used to connect the wing structure to the engine, for the A320neo, Airbus’s most fuel-efficient single-aisle jet. The agreement also includes several large aluminum forgings for the A330 and A380 – including the A380 inner rear wing spar, which is the largest aerospace forging in the world – that will be made using Alcoa’s proprietary 7085 alloy intended specifically for large structural aircraft components. Most of these forgings support the wing structure where strength-to-weight ratio is critical to efficient flight performance.

 

In 2012, Alcoa signed multi-year supply agreements with Airbus for Alcoa’s leading aerospace aluminum sheet, plate, and hard alloy extruded products utilizing Alcoa’s current, advanced-generation and aluminum lithium alloys. Terms were not disclosed, but the agreements were valued at approximately $1.4 billion. In addition to sheet, plate, forgings, and extrusions, Alcoa specialty fasteners and structural castings are also used on Airbus aircraft.

 

Alcoa has been at the forefront of every major milestone in aerospace history, due to its deep technical expertise and a multi-materials approach, where materials, structures, and designs work in concert to provide optimal solutions for customers. Alcoa’s aerospace business generated $3.8 billion in 2012 revenues. The company holds market positions in aerospace forgings, extrusions, jet engine airfoils, and fastening systems produced by its downstream business, Engineered Products and Solutions (EPS), and aerospace sheet and plate produced by its midstream business, Global Rolled Products (GRP).