Alcoa, a leading producer of primary and fabricated aluminum products, has planned to install a sophisticated recycling and casting process as a part of B&C Research expansion initiative in Barberton, Ohio.
B&C Research is a division of Alcoa’s Wheel and Transportation Products business. The investment will help decrease greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption. The new process will aid the company to make its 100% recyclable aluminum wheels into more efficient products. The $21 million expansion will be completed in the second half of 2012.
The new facility will employ innovative technology and remelted scrap aluminum to produce billet, which will later be utilized for wheel production. The aluminum billet enhances the sustainability and efficiency of the company’s manufacturing process. It will be utilized to design new wheels.
The aluminum wheels from Alcoa offer several benefits to the user and the environment such as decreased greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced total weight of the vehicle. The advanced casting and recycling process is highly efficient and decreases the company’s carbon footprint by reducing 25% of energy consumption.
The expansion project will reinforce Alcoa’s position in the industry and expand its wheel products business in Barberton.