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Welcome!
Welcome to the first edition of Aluminations, an electronic newsletter to keep you informed about events and activities at Alcoa Warrick Operations. We hope you enjoy the information and we look forward to your feedback about what you like, don't like, and all the things you want to know more about. Just reply to this message to share your thoughts.
Warrick Power Plant Project Underway
In July 2005, the announcement that Alcoa would invest more than $330 Million to increase environmental performance, increase power efficiency and lower costs was tremendous news for the Warrick Power Plant and the community. The project is underway and pictures at our website can help you keep up-to-date on the progress.
To complete the project, more than 500 local contractors will work at the site before it is finished in 2010. Their work will result in an integrated environmental control system at the Warrick Power Plant that will include Wet Flue Gas Desulphurization spray/absorption towers and significant support facilities.
More than 25 new, permanent employees will be needed to operate the system that will provide for a:
- 98% reduction in Sulfur Dioxide (SO2);
- 87% reduction in Particulate Matter (PM);
- 99% reduction in Hydrochloric Acid (HCl);
- Greater than 60% reduction in Mercury (Hg);
- Greater than 50% reduction in Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4); and
- 6 to 8 Million gallon per day wastewater reduction
Major physical changes at the plant will include the demolition of the current stacks and the installation of two new stacks, new barge loading and unloading facilities, slurry handling and preparation facilities, water treatment facilities to reuse Warrick Operations discharge waters, gypsum dewatering and handling facilities, dry fly-ash handling, an electrical sub-station, new coal handling equipment, and improved control facilities for the entire system.
Vectren, which owns a portion of the Warrick Power Plant has also committed approximately $68 Million to the project, bringing the total investment to $400 Million.
In making the announcement, Alan Cransberg, President, Global Manufacturing for Alcoa's Global Primary Products Group said, "This is a significant investment to reduce emissions well beyond anything required by regulation while increasing the competitiveness of the Warrick Operations. It is a strong demonstration of Alcoa's commitment to sustainability and to the future of Warrick Operations."
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Where in the World Can You Find Warrick Metal?
By now we all know that when you drink your favorite beverage from an aluminum can there is a good chance that some of the metal in that can was made at Warrick Operations. But you may not know that you can also support your friends and neighbors that work at Warrick when you buy products in other aisles at the grocery store... and even when you're in other parts of the world. In this feature, we'll tell you each month about where you can find products that are packaged in metal that originated here in southwestern Indiana.
For many years, Warrick Operations has been supplying metal to Silgan Containers Corporation, the United States' largest manufacturer of metal food containers, for use in the packages they make. Warrick ships metal to nine Silgan facilities across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New York and Wisconsin where it is fabricated into cans for Vienna Sausages, Spam, 9 Lives, Mighty Dog and a multitude of other products. With a majority of their metal coming from Warrick, there is a good chance that when you buy a Silgan package, you're contributing to the long-term success of our business.
You have lots of choices when you shop, with packages that come in more types than you can count. The bottom line is that aluminum is an environmentally-friendly package - especially when you do your part by recycling - that also supports a local industry. Buying in aluminum packaging is always the right choice to make!
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Community Stakeholders Give Alcoa Valuable Feedback
In late 2005, more than 200 stakeholders in the surrounding community were asked to participate in an online survey to give their feedback regarding issues facing the community, and what role Alcoa should play in trying to address them. The 121 respondents were also asked for their impressions of Alcoa's performance as a corporate citizen.
Respondents indicated that the issue of most importance was the rising cost of healthcare. Other issues following closely were: supporting improvements in the quality of education; attracting new jobs; and ensuring the protection of clean air. For nearly every issue, participants agreed that Alcoa's role in addressing them should be to partner with others. However, for issues related to the environment, the majority of respondents believed that Alcoa should take the lead.
When asked whether comments were descriptive of Alcoa, Warrick Operations scored well in the areas of: demonstrates commitment to employee health & safety; is a leading corporate citizen; and financially supports worthy charities and programs. Areas that we didn't score as well as we would like include: takes an active role in community policy issues and encourages employee involvement in community activities.
Overall, we know that the community has high expectations for Alcoa and other large employers. Part of that expectation is that our neighbors want to know about our business, what impact we have on our community - economically, socially and environmentally - and how they can engage in dialogue with us to make decisions that are beneficial to both the business and the community.
Thank you to the participants of the survey. Aluminations, our new electronic newsletter, is just one way that we hope to keep you informed and engage in dialogue with the community. Your continued feedback is valuable to us, and we will be reaching out over the next year to make connections and discuss issues important to all of us.
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Russians visit Warrick Operations
Warrick Operations recently hosted eight visitors from Alcoa's two Russian facilities in an opportunity to share best practices and identify opportunities for improvement across our similar production centers. The visit was part of a whirlwind tour of several U.S. plants to benchmark environmental, health and safety systems; implementation of the Alcoa Business System; customer connection practices; and quality management techniques.
In 2005, Alcoa acquired two facilities in Russia. The Samara plant is 500 miles southeast of Moscow with 6500 employees and can sheet facilities similar to those at Warrick. The plant is also home to the largest forging press and extrusion press in the world. The other location is Belaya Kalitva, which is 600 miles south of Moscow with 5400 employees with specialized plate rolling and finishing equipment. Click here to learn more about Alcoa in Russia.
More than half of the global economic growth in the next ten years is expected to come from emerging economies, especially the "BRICK" Countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Korea). As these markets grow, their use of aluminum is growing exponentially. Alcoa's goal is to capture more than our traditional share of this growth, and a key tactic for this is to have production facilities in the countries.
These Russian locations are a part of Alcoa's Flat Rolled Products Group, as is Warrick. We share many common production processes and business conditions, and have a lot to teach each other as we work on similar issues such as full implementation of Total Productive Maintenance and developing tools to problem solve at the lowest levels of the organization.
Later in 2006, we expect to host a number of the Russian team members for several weeks, giving us the opportunity to show them more of our community as we continue to learn more from each other about manufacturing processes and systems.
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Alcoa and the United Steelworkers of America Contract Update
Warrick Operations is one of 15 Alcoa locations covered by a Master Contract with the United Steelworkers of America (USW). The current five-year contract covers approximately 9000 workers and is set to expire this May 31st. Alcoa has established a website to provide information regarding the status of the negotiations, the state of the industry, and the challenges we all face. If you would like to learn more about these issues or receive updates on the negotiations, please visit www.alcoanegotiations.com.
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Alcoans Judge CJHS Science Fair Projects
Students created more than 600 projects for the Castle Jr. High School (CJHS) Science Fair on Thursday, February 16th with projects that solved problems ranging from "Which laundry detergent works best" to "How angles affect velocity." Eight Alcoa employees spent the day evaluating the projects at the Fair and sharing their expertise to help the students learn.
CJHS officials were truly appreciative of the Alcoa employees who served as judges including: Stan Blaszczyk, John Greenwald, Jason Lee, Ned Malcolm, Bob Martin, Tom Scarafia, Phil Schunk and Katherine Varner.
Tom Scarafia, Fab Products Environmental Coordinator, summed up the day's experience by saying, "These students have come up with some tremendous ideas and creative solutions - some to problems we face every day, and others to issues that are very technically advanced. Problem solving is a vital part of Alcoa's business, and by participating in the Science Fair, these students have demonstrated their desire to learn, their ability to question the status quo, and their talent for finding answers. Those are the skills they will need to be successful in the work world."
"The success of the Science Fair depends on the time and talents of school staff, dedicated parents and community members. The event would not be possible without the volunteer judges, such as the Alcoa employees who gave of their time and energy for the day," said Dawn DeWitt, a parent volunteer responsible for recruiting judges for the Fair. "The students got tremendous benefit from the evaluations and feedback from the judges."
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Warrick Alcoans Give the Gift of Life
At a recent American Red Cross blood drive at Warrick Operations, more than 70 employees donated blood, surpassing the goal of getting 60 good units of blood. The numbers include ten new donors who will hopefully become lifelong donors. Stacy Linder of the Southwestern Indiana American Red Cross said, "Alcoa employees have shown their concern and interest in the community by participating in this vital community project." To learn how you can give the gift of life, visit: www.givelife.org.
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