Printer Friendly Version
 go
Alcoa in Social Media
In addition to www.alcoa.com, Alcoa is an active participant in and uses social media to communicate information about the company. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn are powerful tools that allow us to connect with our customers, investors, potential employees and fans.
 Alcoa on Facebook
 Alcoa on LinkedIn
 Alcoa on Twitter
 AlcoaTV on Youtube
|
| May 26, 2010
Alcoa and Exal Win Prestigious DuPont Diamond Award for Packaging Innovation
Exal’s Coil-to-Can® Technology and Alcoa’s Aluminum Bottlestock Sheet
Winning Combination for Sustainable, Lightweight Beverage Container
PITTSBURGH & YOUNGSTOWN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) and Exal Corporation announced today that the
lightweight, sustainable Coil-to-Can®, or “C2C”, aluminum bottle made
from Alcoa’s bottlestock sheet and Exal’s C2C manufacturing technology
won the top honor, a prestigious Diamond Award, in the 22nd
annual DuPont Awards for Packaging Innovation. The DuPont Awards are the
packaging industry’s longest running, independently judged competition,
honoring packaging materials, technology and service innovations.
Diamond Award winners are those determined to demonstrate excellence in
innovation, sustainability and cost/waste reduction by the judges,
comprised of global packaging executives, industry experts and
consultants, and industrial designers. This year 160 entries from around
the world competed, and the Alcoa-Exal team was one of only two
Diamond-level winners.
“This year we focused the DuPont Awards program on the essential
elements needed to drive breakthroughs in packaging. Innovative new
developments, along with cost/waste reduction and improved
sustainability, are what packaged goods companies and retailers are
seeking to respond to consumer needs,” said Carolann Haznedar, global
business and market director, DuPont Packaging & Industrial Polymers in
a press release announcing the award winners. “These winners demonstrate
the kind of collaborative innovation that is needed to solve such
multi-dimensional problems.”
Exal Corporation’s C2C technology combines the manufacturing speed and
lightweight of standard drawn & ironed aluminum beverage can technology
with dynamic shaping technology that at one time was only available with
heavier walled extruded aluminum containers. In the past, all aluminum
bottles for the North American market had been made using impact
extrusion-based technology.
C2C aluminum bottles made from bottlestock sheet weigh about 40 percent
less than impact extruded aluminum bottles, and while the wall thickness
of the C2C container is thinner than the wall of the impact extruded
bottle, the C2C bottle is stronger in the areas of container deformation
and burst strength. In addition, the benefit of less metal and a higher
run speed offers a competitive price when compared to an impact extruded
aluminum beverage bottle. Most importantly, the C2C aluminum bottle is
100 percent recyclable and is “close looped,” meaning, like the aluminum
beverage can, it can be remade into a new C2C aluminum bottle again and
again.
Exal commercialized its Coil-to-Can® technology in 2008 with the
production of aluminum bottles made from Alcoa bottlestock sheet for
ESKA Still and Sparkling Water of Canada. This launch was followed by
Coca-Cola using the inventive C2C aluminum bottle for several of its
Coke soft drink brands.
“We are very pleased to be recognized with the DuPont Packaging Awards’
highest honor for our commitment to innovation, sustainability and cost
improvement. It is a testament to the power of the true partnership we
have with Alcoa. We are particularly proud of the creative, committed,
hardworking “Coil to Can” operations team at Exal that made the
lightweight bottle a commercial reality,” said Edward B. Martin, Exal
Business Development Director.
“Alcoa is extremely proud and thankful for this highly regarded
recognition as a DuPont Diamond Award winner. The C2C aluminum bottle
offers breakthroughs in cost, innovation, sustainability and speed of
manufacturing. The package is lighter, stronger and less expensive. It
also compares favorably in weight, strength and cost to glass and PET
bottles. There is now a low cost, re-sealable, recyclable, visually
attractive aluminum package option for beverage marketers,” said Curtis
Hughes, Alcoa Commercial Vice President Rigid Packaging.
The C2C aluminum bottle was also recently recognized by the Institute of
Packaging Professionals with a 2009/2010 Ameristar Award, 2009
International Can of Year Award sponsored by Sayers Publishing Group,
and won an American Business “Stevie” 2009 Business Innovation of the
Year award.
For a complete list of the DuPont packaging award recipients, visit http://www.packaging.dupont.com.
About Alcoa
Alcoa is the world’s leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated
aluminum and alumina. In addition to inventing the modern-day aluminum
industry, Alcoa innovation has been behind major milestones in the
aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial
transportation, consumer electronics and industrial markets over the
past 120 years. Among the solutions Alcoa markets are flat-rolled
products, hard alloy extrusions, and forgings, as well as Alcoa® wheels,
fastening systems, precision and investment castings, and building
systems in addition to its expertise in other light metals such as
titanium and nickel-based super alloys. Sustainability is an integral
part of Alcoa’s operating practices and the product design and
engineering it provides to customers. Alcoa has been a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability Index for eight consecutive years and approximately
75 percent of all of the aluminum ever produced since 1888 is still in
active use today. Alcoa employs approximately 59,000 people in 31
countries across the world. More information can be found at www.alcoa.com.
About Exal
Exal Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer of extruded
aluminum packaging. The company also offers innovative coil-based metal
packaging container options in North America and Europe and is the
leading independent contract manufacturer of aerosol products and
liquids in Latin America. The company’s manufacturing facilities are
located in Youngstown, OH, Argentina, Netherlands, France and
Switzerland. More information is available on the company’s website: www.Exal.com
or contact Michael Clark, Sales Director, Beverage Containers: beveragesales@exal.com
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6305764&lang=en
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE: http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/alcoa/index.jsp?epi-content=MULTIMEDIA_GALLERY_PUBLIC_VIEW
&newsId=20100526005903
| | |
