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Danville marks 10 years of service
Congratulations to Alcoa Danville, our sister facility, for achieving ten years of production. The anniversary was marked by a celebration and tour of the automotive satellite processing center by local dignitaries, Alcoa visitors and employees on July 27.
"The success of the last ten years has been possible because of the employees," said Lee Leathers, Operations Manager, Alcoa Danville. "They have definitely risen to the challenge of this very competitive market."
"I'm proud of the progress that I've seen at Alcoa Danville over the last ten years," said Gregg Whigham, Sheet Mill Manager, Alcoa Davenport. "Automotive is a very competitive market for aluminum, and the employees have responded by doubling their productivity."
It was back on August 5, 1996, that Alcoa announced that it had acquired 96 acres of land just south of Interstate 74 in which it would build an aluminum automotive center. Danville was one of 100 sites in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and Ohio under consideration for the facility. Eventually it was chosen due to its close proximity to the automotive customers that it now services.
The 45-employee plant is a Tier 1 automotive supplier, which means it provides aluminum directly to the automotive manufacturers. Danville produces more than 60 million pounds of metal each year. The facility receives automotive coil that is produced at Alcoa Davenport, heat treats it and then blanks it to the correct size for customers such as Ford, Subaru, GM, Daimler-Chrysler, Nissan and Freightliner. When it began production in 1997, Alcoa Danville supplied five programs. That has now grown to 15 programs ad six service parts.
"We'll continued to be challenged by the automotive industry," said Leathers, "We're under constant pressure to compete."
The future of automotive is an uncertain one given the difficulties that our domestic auto customers are struggling with at this time. In addition, there is intense competition for Alcoa from steel and other aluminum suppliers. Given that, Alcoa leadership is examining markets other than automotive to service. Cell phones, ammo cases, and boat sheet and even textured automotive sheet are potential markets Danville might supply.
The pressure to supply the automotive market is extremely intense as the car makers continue to demand a product that is high strength and yet lightweight to meet the needs of their customers. It is a mission that Alcoa Danville has successfully filled over the past ten years, and one that it will continue to fill for many more years to come.
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1997
Now
A TPM Event helped kick off the Alcoa Danville 10-year anniversary celebration.
Alcoa Danville Operations Manager Lee Leathers leads one of the plant tours.
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