Alcoa's famed Cleveland Works builds the single-piece, aluminum bulkheads for the Lockheed Martin F-35, perhaps the most complex and expensive structural parts of the aircraft.So Lockheed must have been very worried a year ago when Alcoa decided to shut down the massive, 50,000-ton hydraulic press -- a Cold War industrial monument -- rather than invest $68 million to fix a crack in the foundation. The shutdown threat spread concerns far beyond the F-35 program. It would have added more devastation to the Cleveland economy, and eliminated one of the USA's most important domestic manufacturing capabilities.
Happily, that situation now appears resolved. Thanks to massive state and local tax subsidies, and the long-term commitment of the F-35 full-rate production, Aloca has decided to repair the famed press.
Bloomberg reports today:
Alcoa to Fix Largest Cold War Era Press to Build F-35 Parts
Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Alcoa Inc., the largest U.S. aluminum producer, is set to invest $110 million to repair one of the nation's biggest pieces of industrial machinery to help boost output for Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 fighter jet.
The 50,000-ton Cleveland Works press, which has been out of service for more than a year, will be completely disassembled and renovated, said Bill Christopher, head of Alcoa's engineered-products division. New York-based Alcoa aims to complete the project by the end of 2011's second quarter, aided by $21 million in state and local tax credits.
on November 5, 2009 3:44 PM | Reply
What are they going to do between now and 2011? Have cardboard replica parts noted "Alcoa Bulkhead Forging Goes Here"?
Has LM seriously looked at its suppliers' capabilities?
How many more of these "Oooops-es" are there lurking out there?
I get the sense that defense contractors can not manage the successful production of a simple turd.
on November 5, 2009 7:53 PM | Reply
/sarc on
I guess national defense and the preservation of real jobs wasn't enough to use the trillions of dollars available for bailouts and dubious projects..
/sarc off
on November 5, 2009 8:20 PM | Reply
I think the money would be better spent on new modern carbon composite technologies then relics of the cold war. I think Alcola understood that which is probably why they didn't fix it when it broke in the first place.
on November 5, 2009 8:48 PM | Reply
This is great news. This is important so that several hundred of the aircraft can be made before the program is cancelled.
on November 6, 2009 5:22 PM | Reply
carbon composites? As the primary structure of the aircraft? Sorry, we aren't there yet.
Alcoa bilked the union by threatening to buy a Southern CA forging company, something that got them concessions, tax money and a rebuilt press. The problem with that?
They never talked to said Southern CA facility, suggesting taxpayer fraud.
All in a day's work for Alcoa.