The largest contract ever between Alcoa (IW 500/53) and Boeing (IW 500/13), valued at $1 billion, will have Alcoa supplying aluminum sheet and plate products to the aerospace manufacturer.
In fact Alcoa becomes the sole supplier to Boeing for wing skins on its metallic structure aircraft. Alcoa plate products, such as wing ribs and skins, will also be on every Boeing platform, including the 787 Dreamliner.
“This historic agreement not only continues the 35-year Alcoa-Boeing partnership, it will take our collaboration on next-generation metallic technologies even further,” said Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa CEO. “We are proud that Alcoa's lightweight structural solutions will continue to fly on Boeing’s most advanced aircraft today, and that our metallic science leadership will contribute to the Boeing aircraft of tomorrow.”
Additionally, the agreement establishes a foundation for continued collaboration on new, high-strength and corrosion-resistant alloys, including aluminum-lithium that could be used for complex structural applications.
Alcoa, whose aerospace business had revenues totaling $4 billion in 2013, recently announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Firth Rixson, a global leader in aerospace jet engine components.
