Alcoa capturing European demand for innovative architectural products through operations upgrade

Alcoa Kawneer Investing €25 Million in Germany and the Netherlands; Increases Recent EU Building & Construction Investment Commitments to almost €50 million

May 2, 2014

Alcoa Kawneer, a unit of Alcoa and one of the most recognized global brands in commercial building and construction products, is investing €25 million to expand and upgrade its operations in Germany and the Netherlands. The investment will enable the business to capture increasing European demand for its innovative, sustainable architectural solutions, such as windows, doors and curtain wall systems.

“Through this investment, Alcoa will accelerate development of cutting-edge architectural products to meet growing demand in Europe while providing unrivaled customer service,” said Glen Morrison, President Alcoa Building and Construction Systems. “In less than a year, Alcoa has announced nearly €50 million in investments to ramp up our European capabilities, positioning us to capture demand for products that enable the latest architectural designs while providing exceptional energy performance.” 

In Iserlohn, Germany, Alcoa will bolster skilled commercial and technical staff to accelerate new product development and enhance technical support for customers and architectural designers in Germany.  In the Netherlands, Alcoa will fund construction of a state-of-the-art engineering, warehousing and logistics center in the Harderwijk area to improve customer service and support new product introductions. Construction is expected to begin in the third quarter and to be completed by mid-2015. 

“Enhanced capabilities in Iserlohn and the new Harderwijk region facility will help grow Alcoa’s market position in the important European region,” said David Shuttleworth, Vice President and General Manager of Alcoa Building and Construction Systems in Europe.

This investment builds on a €24 million expansion announced last year in Montpellier France, where Alcoa is investing in the construction of a central logistics and industrial service center and an international R&D center with a focus on innovation in the field of sustainable construction with high energy and environmental performance.

These investments are part of Alcoa’s strategy to power growth in its downstream, value-add Engineered Products & Solutions business. In the first quarter of this year, Alcoa’s value-add businesses—comprising Engineered Products & Solutions and Global Rolled Products—accounted for 58 percent of revenues and 76 percent of total segment after-tax operating income.

About Alcoa Kawneer and Alcoa Building and Construction Systems
Alcoa Kawneer a leading supplier of architectural systems and services to the global construction market, with locations in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Its products include windows and doors, curtain wall systems, railings and shutters, which are engineered to work together to produce a wide variety of standard and custom building facades. It is part of Alcoa Building and Construction Systems, which generated US$1 billion in 2013 revenues and operates in 32 locations worldwide.

About Alcoa
A global leader in lightweight metals engineering and manufacturing, Alcoa innovates multi-material solutions that advance our world. Our technologies enhance transportation, from automotive and commercial transport to air and space travel, and improve industrial and consumer electronics products. We enable smart buildings, sustainable food and beverage packaging, high-performance defense vehicles across air, land and sea, deeper oil and gas drilling and more efficient power generation. We pioneered the aluminum industry over 125 years ago, and today, our 60,000 people in 30 countries deliver value-add products made of titanium, nickel and aluminum, and produce best-in-class bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum products. For more information, visit www.alcoa.com, follow @Alcoa on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Alcoa and follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Alcoa.