Alcoa and The Boeing Company have established a new long-term supply arrangement, making Alcoa the sole supplier of aluminum sheet for wing skins on Boaing aircraft, and placing Alcoa plate products on every product platform across Boeing’s commercial aircraft and defense, space and security systems. The actual terms of the contract were not revealed, though Alcoa described it as a multi-year agreement worth more than $1 billion.
The two companies have had a series of supply agreements over several years, covering different products and materials, including some titanium as well as aluminum alloys, in semi-finished products like sheet and plate as well a finished products like castings, forgings, or machined parts.
“This historic agreement not only continues the 35-year Alcoa-Boeing partnership, it will take our collaboration on next-generation metallic technologies even further,” stated Klaus Kleinfeld, Alcoa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “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.”
The new agreement also outlines the partners’ program for developing aluminum alloys to be used in high-strength and corrosion-resistant applications.
Alcoa has a number of supply agreements in place with large, industrial consumers of aluminum (and titanium) including Boeing. It’s also making efforts to expand the scale of its supply to customers in the aircraft customers – including capital expansion plans for two aerospace investment casting operations, and purchasing Firth Rixson Ltd., a chain of aerospace forging operations.
