Alcoa is increasing its heat-treated aluminium sheet and plate production by approximately 50% in response to an increase in customer orders.

With build rates for aircraft expected to grow strongly over the next few year, the aluminium manufacturer is making a capital investment of approximately $60 million across its rolling mill facilities.

This, along with improved productivity, will create additional production capacity.

Vice president Helmut Wieser says: "Not only is the aerospace market experiencing very strong growth, but the market is also changing as average plane size is increasing. Single-aisle sales are very strong and have placed demands on industry capacity. Military and new markets such as microjets are also experiencing growth." Approximately 95% of all aerospace alloys in use today were developed by Alcoa.

Source: Flight Daily News