http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/sections.cgi?prcss=display&id=200856
Print publication date: June 30, 2004
Alcoa, Airbus to partner on Airbus 380 jetliner
By Rita Pearson, rpearson@qconline.com
RIVERDALE, Iowa -- Alcoa and Airbus officials Tuesday celebrated their partnership that sustained 2,100 Quad-Cities jobs and will lead to the development of the world's largest commercial airline.
The European-based Airbus began developing the 555-passenger Airbus 380 with Alcoa's engineers in 1997 as part of a multimillion dollar, multi-year contract, said Robert Wetherbee, president of Alcoa Mill Products Division.
Airbus is building the A380 to meet the air-travel demand of the 21st century, said Allen McArtor, chairman of Airbus North America Holdings Inc. of Herndon, Va.
The first test flight will occur in early 2005, he said. After a year of flight certification, the A380 will be delivered to Singapore Airlines in early 2006.
Alcoa is a partner, not a supplier, with Airbus, Mr. McArtor said. A supplier makes parts and components based on a manufacturer's specifications, he said.
"We gave Alcoa a challenge, and Alcoa gave us engineered solutions," he said. "That's what partners do. They solve complex manufacturing problems, and they reduced our costs."
Airbus and Alcoa officials credited the 2,100 workers at Davenport Works for their quality work and development of new alloys that went into the Airbus 380. Half of the A380�s components and subsystems will be made in the United States.
"The A380 has more new Alcoa alloys and products than any other aircraft in our 100 years of aviation history," Mr. Wetherbee said.
The Davenport Works added about 100 new jobs in the last few months because of the Airbus contract.
Employees at Davenport Works supply the aluminum wings and fuselage, or the body, of the new A380, a double-decker aircraft with the largest upper and lower wingspan ever built at Davenport Works. Alcoa had to modify existing equipment and develop new machines to handle the bigger pieces.
"The A380 will have the largest wing skins and fuselage skins we have ever produced at Davenport Works," Mr. Wetherbee said.
About 200 selected workers attended Tuesday's ceremonies to hear company officials sing their praises. Other speakers were the mayors of Riverdale and Bettendorf; U.S. Rep. Jim Leach, R-Iowa; Iowa state Rep. Maggie Tinsman, and several other dignitaries. The hour-long event was dubbed "On Board the Airbus 380."
After the luncheon, Airbus and Alcoa officials planted a tree on the Davenport Works grounds.
The contract with Airbus has steadied employment at Davenport Works and contributed to 300 new hires since 1997, said Bob Larson, vice president of sales and marketing for Alcoa Mill Products.
The first shipments of Alcoa aluminum were sent out in 2003, Mr.Larson said. Alcoa will supply aluminum this year for the first six aircraft. The A380 will be built for the next 30 to 40 years, he said.
"Someone starting at Alcoa today could spend his or her whole career with this aircraft," he said.
Airbus spends more than $5 billion annually in the United States, or about $15 million a day, said David Venz, Airbus vice president.
Half of the A380 procurement budget is being spent with American aerospace suppliers and creating or sustaining 120,000 aerospace industry jobs in the United States.
During the program, two union representatives gave the Airbus executives a painting. Another Alcoa employee gave them a scroll with the names of supportive Davenport Works employees.
"It's good for Alcoa. It's good for the economy," said Ernest Huston, president of IBEW 1379 at Alcoa. "We're fortunate to be in partnership with Airbus and have the Airbus 380 aircraft."
Members of the United Steel Workers Union also are part of the production on the Airbus contract. They package and ship aluminum products that keep the Airbus contract going, said Ken Jubell, second vice president of United Steel Workers of America Union Local 105.
The Airbus 380 jetliner
-The world's largest commercial aircraft
-Developed for long-haul flights
-Holds 555 passengers
-Will travel more than 8,000 nautical miles
-Features twin decks with four aisles
-Under construction in France, with U.S.-made materials
-Meets the demands of industry forecasters, who say ridership will triple in the next 20 years and airports are not going to change as quickly
-More fuel efficient than your car
-Half the engine noise and less emission
-35 percent more personal space per passenger
-Lower operating costs than competing aircraft in long-range markets
-Begins service in early 2006
Source: Airbus
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