Alcoa is providing aluminum for up-armoring kits used to upgrade Humvees and heavy trucks that are being targeted by insurgents in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Roadside bombs are at the root of many casualties in Iraq because insurgents are targeting Humvees that have lightweight, unarmored bodies. Humvees were designed for transportation behind the battlefront, but the unconventional tactics being used in Iraq have caused them to be on the frontline of the war. Up-armoring kits using Alcoa aluminum plate and other materials are being produced to protect American troops.
"The entire aluminum industry is being called upon to provide the metal for the up-armoring kits," said Dan Roup, marketing manager of Aerospace Distribution and Defense. "For Alcoa Davenport Works, our focus right now is to provide the more difficult to manufacture materials, such as the wider widths, while other companies are providing the other specifications."
Many products produced at Alcoa Davenport Works are used in the defense industry.
"All Alcoans are working hard to ensure that these orders move quickly through the plant in order to support our troops," said Mark Vrablec, director of manufacturing at Alcoa Davenport Works.
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