Our Sites

Alcoa opens world’s largest aluminum-lithium aerospace plant in Indiana

Alcoa, a provider of lightweight metals technology, engineering, and manufacturing, has opened what it says is the world’s largest aluminum-lithium plant in Lafayette, Ind., where it produces third-generation aluminum-lithium alloys for the aerospace industry.

Aircraft manufacturers are increasingly turning to lighter and stronger aluminum-lithium alloys, which are less expensive than titanium and composites and enable better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs, according to the company.

Alcoa also has expanded its aluminum-lithium capabilities at the Alcoa Technical Center outside Pittsburgh and at its Kitts Green facility in the U.K. The firm has contracted $100 million in aluminum-lithium revenues for 2017.

The Lafayette cast house, located next to the extrusion plant, can produce more than 44 million lbs. of aluminum-lithium annually. The new plant can make ingots about 50 percent larger than the nearest competitor and big enough to make a single-piece component on today’s aircraft, according to the company.