Continues Advancement of Ecofriendly Ground Transportation
Vehicles in China
NEW YORK & CHINA–Alcoa (NYSE:AA) and CIMC Vehicles (Shandong) Co., Ltd., a leading
specialty truck manufacturer in China, announced today that they have
formed a strategic partnership, to design and develop a new,
energy-efficient, aluminum fuel tanker trailer for the Asian market.
Kevin Kramer, President, Alcoa Growth Initiatives, and Xiaoxu Liu,
General Manager CIMC Shandong, formalized the partnership in Jinan City,
Shandong Province. Alcoa will apply its world-class design, engineering
and manufacturing expertise with CIMC Shandong’s fabrication knowledge
to produce the lightweight, environmentally-friendly tanker trailer.
“The aluminum fuel tanker trailer will bring tremendous value to the
commercial transportation market in China, because of the outstanding
environmental and economic benefits that aluminum brings to this
market,” said Mr. Kramer. “The aluminum fuel tanker trailer will be 30
percent lighter than conventional stainless steel trailers, resulting in
a significant increase in payload, greater fuel savings and lower
emissions.”
The Alcoa Bohai plant in Qinhuangdao, China, will supply the aluminum
sheet and Alcoa Fastening Systems (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., in Jiangsu, China,
will provide the Huck® brand fasteners. In addition, the new aluminum
intensive fuel tanker trailer will roll on patented Dura-Bright® forged
aluminum wheels sourced from Alcoa’s Köfém plant in Hungary, enabling a
smoother ride with lower maintenance.
“This is an opportunity to grow this market and create a positive
environmental impact. The new aluminum tanker trailer is an optimal
sustainable solution that will offer our customers a new option and
opportunity to reduce their costs, while increasing their payload
capacity in an environmentally friendly way,” said Mr. Liu “With the
energy-efficient aluminum fuel tanker trailer, we anticipate payback
within one year.”
The combination of lightweight aluminum production and lower fuel costs
of the tank trailer results in a total CO2 savings of 90 tons per
trailer over the lifespan of each vehicle.
The first prototype is expected to be road tested in Jinan City and
Beijing in October 2009.
In 2007, Alcoa partnered with Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Company, China’s
leading bus producer, to develop a new generation of energy-efficient,
environmentally-friendly buses that were road tested during the 2008
Beijing Olympics.
Best-in-class Alcoa products, such as forged wheels, body sheet and
Dura-Bright® wheels, are helping the transportation industry meet its
goals of improved fuel efficiency, performance, customer satisfaction,
and reduced emissions.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world leader in the production and management of primary
aluminum, fabricated aluminum and alumina combined, through its active
and growing participation in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa
serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction,
commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design,
engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa’s businesses to
customers. In addition to aluminum products and components including
flat-rolled products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, Alcoa also
markets Alcoa® wheels, fastening systems, precision and investment
castings, and building systems. The Company has been named one of the
top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland and has been a member of the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index for seven consecutive years. Alcoa employs
approximately 63,000 people in 31 countries across the world. More
information can be found at www.alcoa.com
About CIMC Shandong
CIMC Shandong is part of the China International Marine Containers
(Group) Ltd. (CIMC), China’s leading transportation equipment
manufacturer with operations throughout China, the U.S. and Europe.