By the Numbers: Alcoa in Italy 4 production facilities 1,200 direct jobs (one of the top 100 employers in the country) and 2,500 indirect jobs Annual 2007 production data: 195,000 metric tons of primary aluminum, 85,000 metric tons of rolled products, over 6,400 car frames US$920 million in annual revenues

“Italy is a strategic location for Alcoa because it is a very good market for aluminum products,” said Giuseppe Toia, Alcoa’s country manager for Italy. “The country is the second largest consumer of aluminum in Europe behind Germany, using more than 1.8 million metric tons per year. It has a strong manufacturing industry, mainly in mechanical applications that require high-quality aluminum products. Italy is also one of the world’s largest producers of packaging machinery and has the highest level of technological knowledge in that industry. Ferrari has strategically partnered with Alcoa for more than a decade. In the early 1990s, the automaker decided to innovatively change the design of its sleek sports cars through intensive use of aluminum. Alcoa and Ferrari worked closely to design and test the spaceframe prototype for the 360 Modena, even building the Alcoa spaceframe assembly line inside Ferrari’s plant in Modena to perfectly integrate the partnership. Since 1997, Alcoa has delivered more than 25,000 spaceframes to Ferrari, including those currently produced for the 612 Scaglietti, the F430 and the 599 GBT.
 
Facing the Challenges
Our biggest challenge in Italy is the rising cost of manufacturing, especially with growing competition from emerging Eastern European and Asian countries with lower cost structures.
 
“Europe needs to compete in the global market, and the big challenge is keeping a competitive position,” said Toia. “This is a common issue for mature economies like Italy’s. To remain competitive, we must be efficient in our manufacturing and also be capable of innovation—always staying in front of product development.”
 
Energy is another key issue for all of Europe and especially Italy, which is highly dependent on energy generated outside the country.
 
“All of the environmental and energy market policies are unified in Europe, and in some ways they are the most advanced in the world,” said Toia. “The region has very ambitious targets for emissions, and this is raising the bar for everyone. It will be a big challenge.”